Yo:
Welcome back to the My Pal Sammy newsletter proceedings. Speaking of proceedings before we proceed we should concede that yesterday was 4/20 which of course means it was National Weed Day.
Did you partake in any of the celebrations?
I did not; though after watching the Raptors’ playoff hopes go ‘up in smoke’ (too soon?) as a cool down I watched Dave Chappelle’s 1998 goofy ‘classic’ Half Baked. And just marveled at the vibrancy of downtown Toronto in late 97; early 98 when they shot the movie.
Look at the Sam The Record Man all lit up, that Pizza Pizza joint where Kenny comes out with pizza and munchies is now closed; a pandemic casualty. (I don’t recall that wings place next door to the Pizza Pizza.)
4/20…April 20 has become a holiday for the cannabis collective. As an outsider it’s been fascinating to see how the symbols, meanings and the countercultural movement has evolved.
By the 70s smoking weed had become a symbol of protest against America’s broad systemic problems which included that ugly war in Vietnam. It was The Suits causing all the problems and laws often making harmful and/or racist decisions…corporations and politicians wore suits so weed became an easy way to demonstrate your political anti-suit stance.
Like wearing a team jersey at an NBA game; people instantly know which side you’re on. (Though where you sit at an NBA game says more about you…The Suits are down in front and the real fans are up in the 300s.)
(Sneaker culture is also embroiled in another us vs them battle with The Suits though casual clothing is easily winning that war. We’re all still dealing with pants though…that sucks. #DownWithPants!)
So 4/20 is a sobering reminder that despite the aggressive war on drugs and a slew of after school specials, weed has done a better and more effective job of deftly infiltrating pop culture as compared to trans, gay, Cancel Culture, Black Lives Matter, Anti-Capitalism and other similar accessible movements of the moment.
What was once civil disobedience has now become mainstream; often legalized and no longer an entirely countercultural call to action. No longer a revolution it is now a pop culture contributor.
(To the chagrin of parents with teenagers. As if having to deal with pervs online isn’t bad enough.)
That mainstream acceptance and legalization of weed hasn’t been smooth: it has cost billions of dollars, families have been shattered; a disproportionate number of black individuals have been jailed; America has often responded to mental health issues with laws rather than empathy, Mexican cartels effectively employ drug profited violence as part of their business plan plus a litany of other dark consequences in the battle against The Suits.
None of the current movements we have come without paying a ‘high’ cost.
This isn’t like simply smoking cigarettes which is a personal choice you can make. Or even Prohibition which briefly banned alcohol. Though for some reason we’re kinder to alcoholics and even accepting of their legitimate issues as they work through them.
We don’t have a war on alcohol; and yes: racism, transphobia and homophobia are dismaying matters as is the treatment of the handicapped and those grappling with mental health difficulties. When it comes to suffering I suppose it’s a good thing no one group has an emotional-monopoly.
Suffering is a societal pizza party and everybody gets a slice.
What we do have is a menacing war on drugs. A formalized government funded on the record war on drugs.
“In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon formally launched the war on drugs to eradicate illicit drug use in the US. "If we cannot destroy the drug menace in America, then it will surely in time destroy us," Nixon told Congress in 1971. "I am not prepared to accept this alternative."” ~ Vox
Following Nixon, President Regan escalated the war on drugs (remember Just Say No?) and now over the decades America has spent an estimated $1 trillion on this war with few ‘positive’ results.
Positive results being to destroy the “drug menace in America.” The war on drugs has been an ineffective exterminator who has failed to do his job; the problem persists. (In some ways gotten worse: a prime example is in Mexico where profits from drug sales have fueled cartels creating a violent monopoly resulting in public decapitations, thousands dead and countless others have just vanished. Not good. This clearly isn’t a ‘local’ problem.)And worse: rather than approaching drugs as a mental illness and developing appropriate rehab solutions or even actively promoting yoga, meditation etc.; America has continued to develop racially tinged policies which primarily affect notable minority communities.
Look: I don’t want to get lost in the ‘weeds.’
My point isn’t the war on drugs is bad; we all know that.
We also know how mass incarceration has negatively impacted black people while civil asset forfeitures have become a justified response by The Suits. (“These forfeitures allow law enforcement agencies to take the organizations' assets — cash in particular — and then use the gains to fund more anti-drug operations. The idea is to turn drug dealers’ ill-gotten gains against them.”)
Knowing all of that (and I barely skimmed the surface on the War on Drugs) means it’s impressive that weed has gone from a countercultural movement to a legalized enterprise.
Which makes it worth examining because they did something right.
It’s not to develop an ill-fitting template: blindly follow these 5 easy steps for your cause rather identify what is working and refine that for your cause which’ll hopefully alleviate the suffering of others.
Because we know what is clearly not working.
Weed jokes are acceptable for comedians. Nobody gets canceled over them:
In 2019 Sarah Silverman was fired from a movie after a 2007 comedy sketch in which she wore blackface...the premise of the sketch mocked the stupidity of racism. But the film producers took it out of context and she was fired. How does that help resolve racism??
October 2021: Dave Chappelle got ‘in trouble’ with the trans community over his Netflix special The Closer. As punishment for his jokes his Untitled documentary (which is most excellent and highly recommended!) has lost distribution.
“[When] this controversy came out about ‘The Closer,’ they began disinviting from these film festivals and now, today, not a film company, not a movie studio, not a film festival, not nobody will touch this film,” he added. How does that benefit the trans community??
College professors haven’t lost their jobs over their viewpoints on weed in proportion to comments about gay, trans and Black Lives Matter etc.
Neal-Boylan was the dean of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell’s Solomont School of Nursing before she was fired for using the phrase ‘everyone’s life matters’ in an email. Who is helped by her firing??
Last one: Nimesh Patel an SNL writer and stand up comic was kicked off stage for making a pro-gay joke about the hardships of being gay AND black. There’s humour in the premise yet if the joke bombed that’s okay we should all move on. Yet he wrote in the NY Times: “Columbia students didn’t like my joke and they had the right to cut my mic. But we all should have gotten the chance to stick it out.”
Well...yeah. Except he was informed by the event organizer: “I don’t think your entitled to certain jokes you’re making.” How does any of that make sense??
Or how is is any of those reactions effective??
They don’t promote inclusivity; they fail to advocate for those who suffer; dilute empathy and neutralize curiosity. They’re cheap karma: dollar store jewelry twinkles brighter than that.
“Use what is dominant in a culture to change it quickly.” ~ Jenny Holzer
She’s right (and often brilliant!).
That’s exactly what weed done…that’s why 4/20 has effectively become a day of celebration; far more effective than so many current movements.
From Vox: “Organizers for the 2014 Denver 4-20 rally — during the first year marijuana sales were legal in the state — put out a statement comparing the battle for legal marijuana to “the time when Jews fled from slavery in Egypt,” a moment commemorated in Passover celebrations. “This year’s rally represents the continuing fight for freedom from economic slavery for marginalized members of our community and a rebirth of creative genius that will get us there,” they wrote.”
If what you’re doing is not working or alleviating the suffering…which is the whole point of helping and why most movements are formed in the first place…why keep doing it??
I’m willing to acknowledge the reporting on these issues may not be fully accurate; there may be other factors involved. And yet here we are.
The media will naturally sensationalize these cancel culture responses which have become the symbols of many of these movements. They don’t always reflect the values of those in the struggle. (At least I hope they don’t. If they do then your movement is whack. And you’re no better than The Suits.)
Somehow…we got here: despite the decades long war on drugs; American’s penchant for racism…all that violence and all that death…what was once countercultural is now cultural.
4/20 should be less about National Weed Day as weed continues to be legitimatized and legalized; and now renovated as a day of reflection for all the fights we’re involved in.
A day of reflection and re-seeing.
Identify what is working and refine that for your cause which’ll hopefully alleviate the suffering of others.
Because we know what is clearly not working. There’s no benefits to ‘inhaling’ bad policies or terrible positions. Destroying others to elevate your tribe is dumb. If that’s become mainstream then there’s satisfaction in being countercultural.
By making it a choice when the doobie is passed to you to smoke or not to smoke, it’s ironically created a healthier counter culture.
II: The My Summer Lair Podcast
Attached is my interview with director Craig Pryce for his movie The Marijuana Conspiracy.
“The Marijuana Conspiracy is based on a true story that took place in 1972 over 98 days. It studies the scientific, social and physical effects of marijuana use during an all-female group study. Pryce optioned this story from investigative reporter Diana Zlomislic, who acts as story consultant.”
Yup: the Canadian government was fearful of marijuana and its effects of course on the economy and productivity. So to alleviate their fears on the effects of weed the Canadian government organized a study: sequestering 5 women and giving them 2 fatties every night at 8pm. How is this real life??
So much for ‘sober thinking,’ huh?
Dave’s Not Here…Man,Sammy Younan-28-
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