[87] in libertarians
Atlantic Monthly on Marijuana
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vernon Imrich)
Thu Jul 14 18:51:35 1994
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 94 18:38:39 -0400
From: vimrich@flying-cloud.mit.edu (Vernon Imrich)
To: libernet@dartmouth.edu
Cc: NATNORML@aol.com, borden@netcom.com, libertarians@MIT.EDU
This month's _Atlantic_Monthly_ has a cover story on Marijuana
and the legal issues surrounding it. It leads in by surprising
people as to how many non-violent marijuana offenders are being
prosecuted and how stiff the penalties are "...and you thought it
was practially decriminalized..."
It was a superb story filled with all the kinds of marijuana
facts the drug policy reform movement so desperately tries to
disseminate. Some things even surprised me:
- The first law in the US regarding marijuana passed in Virginia
in 1619, REQUIRING ALL FARMERS GROW IT! Hemp (as they called it)
was used to caulk ship hulls and make rope. It was seen as a
strategic necessity to have plenty of it. (It is doubtful they
knew of the psychoactive power in the plant's buds.)
- Tom Jefferson and George Washington grew it for its fibers.
(This I had heard before, but wasn't sure of.)
- Hemp has been grown for 5000 years for its fibers. It is the
first and oldest agricultural crop not grown as food.
- It is one of few known medical treatments for which no fatal
dosage is known. Even aspirin can be fatal if taken improperly.
(Estimates are something ridiculous, like a person would have to
smoke 100 pounds a minute for 15 minutes straight. I'd have to
reread the article to remember this exactly.)
- The largest production of the plant in the US appears to be
in the Midwest -- the good old heartland!
It details quite clearly how the criminalization movement was
driven first by fear and resentment of Mexican immigrants ca
1915, then urban blacks in the 30's, and persued again in
the 50's as one of the subversive elements "associated with
jazz musicians." After the 60's and 70's it was almost
mainstreamed, but the Reagan Drug War (spurred on by angry
moralists and parents groups) turned back the tide in the 80's.
I suggest everyone get a copy and read it. It's not hard to
miss. The cover art is of a person smoking a joint with
the words "Reefer Madness, and you thought..."
There is to be a followup next month on mandatory minimums.
(One of the most disturbing subtexts of the current article
is the fact that growers without any violent records are doing
life in prison w/o chance of parole, while the average murderer
spends 8 - 13 years.)
I give the story an A++
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