El Paso is a beautiful city; rich in history, steeped in different cultures and loaded with cool things to do, see and experience. An “O.G.” and a true O.I. – Original Influencer.
El Paso has seen its fair share of “firsts” throughout its history and has always been a true trendsetter. Among other things, we’re the first city to have a huge star on the mountain, the first with a Dubba G and the only city with a “you”. We’re on a roll, huh?
From day one, El Paso was on the cutting edge of things and could, along with El Chuco, Star City and “the 915”, add “El Primero”, (the first), to its list of nicknames.
What Did El Paso Do First?
El Paso first beat everybody to the punch with the first Thanksgiving celebration. Forget the Pilgrims, Juan De Onate partied with local tribes along the Rio Grande with fish and fresh game in 1598 near what is now San Elizario.
Racial Firsts For El Paso
El Paso is a very warm and friendly city where segregation and racism have never really had all that much of a foothold. A couple of examples:
What El Paso Shouldn’t Have Done First
In my opinion anyway, we blew it in 1915 when we became the first city to criminalize marijuana. Yep, prohibition started right here. Ironically, it’s pretty much ended about 20 feet outside the city limits in Sunland Park, Chaparral and the rest of New Mexico.
READ MORE: New Mexico’s 2nd Largest Dispensary Is In Sunland Park
I disagree with this, first of all, because, as you probably already know, I’m fine with legal marijuana. Even moreso though, I’m sad to say, is that the original laws against marijuana were racially motivated. The man, trying to keep us down …
El Paso wasn’t always anti-racism and initial laws against smoking pot were really intended to control the local Mexican population. Really. Just as opium was originally criminalized to keep the Chinese in check.
Except for that last one though, El Pasoans can be pretty proud of all the times they showed everybody else the way.
6 Texas Cities That Have Decriminalized Marijuana
Here is a look at the cities in Texas that decided to decriminalize marijuana.
Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins
States Where Recreational Marijuana is Legal
A fun collection of facts and photos! Learn which states have legalized recreational marijuana and when, plus some weed facts you may have never known.
Gallery Credit: Toni Gee, Townsquare Media