Source: seattlepi.com
Jack Herer
We can blame Jack Herer for legal marijuana.
Back in 1990, one year before the first Seattle Hempfest, my colleagues and I obtained a copy of Jack Herer’s book,The Emperor Wears No Clothes. The title is in reference to The Emperor’s New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen. Herer uses Andersen’s story as an allegory for the current prohibition of cannabis. Herer’s assemblage of factoids, news clippings, graphs and pie charts detailed a rich history of propaganda, collusion, and conspiracy on the part of the U.S. government and certain monopolistic industrial interests.
The goal of those conspiratorial efforts was to thwart the Indian Hemp plant from domestic production in order to replace hemp as a raw material in the manufacture and production of thousands of household items. After these power players successfully prohibited the domestic cultivation of all forms of cannabis (including industrial hemp), synthetic petro-chemical based materials as well as wood fiber products went on to completely replace hemp in the U.S. marketplace — a staple of human existence since the beginning of modern civilization (roughly 5,000+ years). Cannabis was considered a primary tool of medicine, and deemed highly valuable because, if administered, no amount of it could kill a patient. That was all to change as petro-chemicals became a primary source of American medicine. That was the plan of the industrialists all along.
Herer’s book is universally hailed as the catalyst that initiated the modern cannabis reform movement. Herer did not stop with industrial hemp; he boldly and unashamedly championed the triad of the modern reform movement: industrial hemp, medical marijuana, and personal use of cannabis.
In what would turn out to be an eerie premonition of things to come, we secured a permit that year to hold a modest protest rally in downtown Seattle’s Westlake Park. Our guest speaker was Herer himself. I recall being mesmerized by the presence of Herer up on that small cement podium, saying things about cannabis that nobody had ever heard before. Herer was adamant that the cannabis plant would be rediscovered by the Americas, and that it would eventually reclaim its position as the most useful plant to humankind.
“Hemp will save the planet!” I recall Herer proclaiming. “The cannabis plant will once again be used for food, fuel, fiber, and medicine! History will record cannabis prohibition as a crime against humanity and the planet!”
I can still remember a large group of mainstream- looking fellows that were standing on the right side of the plaza. They were laughing hysterically, elbowing each other and mocking Herer.
I walked over and stood next to them, so I could hear what they were saying. “It will never happen,” said one of them. “These people are pissing up a rope. Prohibition is here to stay. These people are idiots. ”
I wonder what those fellows are saying today.
Fast forward over 20 years, and you’ll see that we are living proof of Herer’s predictions. The entire landscape of cannabis prohibition has started to shift, and America is clearly on a steady, albeit incremental, path toward substantial reform. Nearly half of the states have adopted some form of medical marijuana legislation, and Colorado and Washington voters have legalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis, sending shockwaves through the prohibitionist institutions that have formerly experienced an orgy of success.
However, that pesky little devil, called Details, resides tufted neatly within the folds of the new laws. Washington and Colorado officials continue to grapple with the uncertainty over the possible federal reaction, the irreverence of state voters to federal law, and the fears and concerns of parents and community groups.
You see, there exists a palpable lust for tax revenues coming from all directions, and once again, we are setting out to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. People did not vote for I-502 because they wanted to raise revenue for the state. People voted for I-502 because they thought that marijuana prohibition was an unjust and bad policy. And, as flawed as the language of I-502 may be, the policies of prohibition are significantly more so. Time will tell how effective the new law will be and if voters end up getting what they voted for.
Here in Seattle, city planners are agonizing over what form of zoning should be instituted for medical marijuana dispensaries (and subsequent state sanctioned retail operations). There is great concern that access points are not placed in residential areas, near schools, or historic sections of the city.
Supported by emotional hysteria generated by people’s perceptions, and largely derived from government- supported propaganda, our citizens fear that improper placement of medical marijuana dispensaries will result in wanton social disorder and decay, crime and violence. The available data does not support those fears, however.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on what other dispensaries routinely exist within our communities. What about pharmaceutical drug dispensaries, those things we call pharmacies? They are chock-full of dangerous, toxic, deadly drugs, including Oxycontin, the number one drug danger to urban youth.
And then there are those alcohol and tobacco dispensaries. And we cannot forget about the gasoline dispensaries that operate with impunity. Nobody needs to show any kind of card or identification to purchase gasoline. Who could say that petrol is not dangerous? You can use the stuff to set water on fire, for Pete’s sake.
If you calculated the number of deaths that have resulted from the products sold in these other dispensaries, you could match every grave at Arlington National Cemetery, and still have room for more.
The paranoia surrounding pot prohibition is absurd, asinine, and outrageous. It is also a political dinosaur, watching the asteroids of its extinction streak across the sky. The events that Herer predicted in his groundbreaking expose of America’s dark policy of prohibition have been set in motion, and all we can do now is sit back and watch it fall. The smart people will get out of the way, because this dinosaur is going to make a big dent when it finally tumbles all the way down.
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