Ah yes, its that time again. 420. I will leave all talk of getting blazed at the proverbial door. Do it, don't. Fuck if I care. These days I'm not thinking about a 420 wake and bake. Nor about driving down LSD, hotboxing a friend's car. Or when the first 420 blunt will be smoked. All my friends are at work and I'm broke. So what?
But all snark aside: Legalize it! Decriminalize it! Let the sick have their medicine, let the taxpayers do as they please in their own homes. Basically, keep your laws off my body. [Begin political rant]
Did you know Americans only started campaigning against marijuana after Mexican immigrants, who threatened their jobs, began settling down in the U.S. after the Mexican Revolution? The "dirty" immigrants were recreational users and suddenly America was too good for the remedy they themselves had enjoyed for centuries. (
1) In fact, its been said that Abe mother-fucking Lincoln smoked weed. (
2)
So much for welcoming the tired, poor & huddled masses. Don't get me started on another classic American-ism: fear of the Other. But I digress...
It all snowballed from there. This Act and that Act and that Ban and this Ban. I imagine the Leisure class, the blue bloods in office, had nothing better to do than place restrictions on the leisure time of the working class. We already own their labor, why not their free time? If they can't conform to our narrow-minded social standards, we'll make them criminals. And, bonus, they are illiterate non-English speakers so they can't stand up to us! *high fives* (
3)
We reach the Great Depression and the government-manufactured fear of marijuana (and immigrants) is now teamed with the real economic fear faced by millions. Broken down by fear, now with a bleak outlook and uncertain future, we turn to our government for help. The New Deal. Jobs! Great, awesome, I'm all for it. But did you know the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was created in 1930? And along with it, the film & print propaganda used to brainwash the masses? Okay, I guess some citizens were blessed with temporary work. Double-edged sword there.
Time goes on, research says this and that. There was even a "Hemp for Victory" campaign during WWII when importing the miracle fiber was not feasible. Then back to the criminalization and introduction of mandatory minimums, the goverment was on a roll. However, treatment was finally recognized as an option for offenders and those mandatory minimums were mostly repealed by the 70's. Things were looking up for Mary Jane. In 1972:
The bipartisan Shafer Commission, appointed by President Nixon at the direction of Congress, considered laws regarding marijuana and determined that personal use of marijuana should be decriminalized. Nixon rejected the recommendation, but over the course of the 1970s, eleven states decriminalized marijuana and most others reduced their penalties. (4)
But the vilified marijuana and its user were not safe from the hands of the law. Reagan, that batshit crazy ultra Conservative bastard, declared a War on Drugs. Mandatory minimums were back with a vengeance, life imprisonment and the death penalty were no longer just for rapists and murderers. (
5) The decisions of Reagan's administration had far-reaching effects which we are still recovering from today (think energy policy, the environment, etc).
I think time has the ability to heal wounds, those who championed the Drug War and their conservative cohorts are a dying breed, the progressives are maintaining a foothold in American government. My hope is that our society can let go of their ignorant reactionary ways and make room for fair-minded decision making. Some loonies want their guns and other loonies want their dope. Which scares you the least?
I don't even know how to end this, this rant I've gotten myself into. But I suppose its important to reflect on how the the hell pot became such an enemy, such a danger to society: this mindset was created, it is not inherent. And this is just a blip in history.
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Notes:
3: This comment is based on my personal study of early 20th century immigration, mostly in Chicago & the public services provided by Jane Adams and others like her. And no, I am not some loon conspiracy theorist but as an amateur sociologist, I am a Conflict Theorist through and through. I can't help it.
Best book ever:
"Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs" by Judge James Gray (2001).
