On the corner of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. and North Greenway Hayden Loop in Scottsdale, Arizona, within walking distance of this weekend’s Phoenix Open golf tournament, is a former bank building. All the old drivethru structure is there, save for the machines, tubes and signs.

But the parking lot is pretty busy from the time the establishment opens at 8 a.m. every day – except 6 a.m. on Saturday – until it closes at 10 p.m. every night.

The establishment is the Scottsdale location of Curaleaf, the nation’s largest retailer of cannibis, a.k.a. marijuana.

At this point in telling my parents about this nearly 70 years ago, I’d like to gauge how far their jaws would have dropped. Because it gets wilder, from their point of view.

Curaleaf has locations – the word used is dispensaries – in 14 states. You can choose the THC and CBD levels of your cannibis, which can be smoked, inhaled, rubbed on, drank or eaten. There’s plenty of knowledgeable sales help and a base of steady, otherwise sober customers ranging from age 21 to senior citizen.

My parents grew up at a time when the federal government had successfully completed the demonization of marijuana. As a result, they believed that it was totally and irretrievably evil.

While not a user myself, my college years were filled with the aroma of smoked reefer. It didn’t seem any more of a problem than when I tended to dormmates getting over a failed romance with rotgut booze.

I thought marijuana would be legal by the time I was 30. But like so many things about my generation, we talked a good game but didn’t deliver. It took this generation of 20- and 30-year-olds to make the push to legalize cannibis.

Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories have either legalized marijuana or are in the process of doing so. Many of these states – New York among them – actually promote locally grown weed.

President Biden has pardoned those convicted of federal charges of simple possession and his administration has downgraded its status among drugs perceived to be dangerous.

And Curaleaf, based in New York but traded in Toronto, recently reported 2023 revenue of nearly $1.4 billion.

Far out.