Cannabis Culture: Writing on 4/20

Hey folks,

I don’t think there is a better day than today, the 20^th of April, to talk about cannabis, its influence on literature, and the current debate about the legalization of drugs that is going on within the Americas and around the world. [If you don’t already know about the origins of “420” and the growing use of the term to describe the subculture of medicinal and recreational marijuana users, then read about it all here: 420 explained.]

 I’ve always found cannabis prohibition to be a bit confusing; how is it that a simple plant that would thrive across the world without government interference has developed such a negative stigma in society – especially when the plant is spoken of so highly by those who choose to partake? It simply doesn’t make sense in a free society where alcohol is accepted as a controlled substance and the drug of choice to countless addicts to so readily dismiss the use of a potentially healthier drug. I could probably spend the rest of this blog post pointing out the benefits of cannabis and the many ways that it beats alcohol when it comes to fulfilling society’s need for recreation and escape, but I’d only be wasting my breath; the argument has been made (read one rational and informed comparison here: Alcohol vs. Marijuana), and it has been – for the most part – ignored by prohibitionists. The fight for legalization has been fought for quite some time now.

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“I smoke marijuana every chance I get” – Allen Ginsberg in “America" 1956.

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            Allen Ginsberg was a very open individual – from his homosexuality to his cannabis use. There is appropriate suspicion that many of his poems and works were written under the influence of marijuana. In his essay, “The Great Marijuana Hoax: First Manifesto to End the Bringdown,” an interesting read which points out the ways the federal government gave bud a bad name, Ginsberg explains his views on cannabis, saying that “marijuana is a metaphysical herb less habituating than tobacco, whose smoke is no more disruptive than Insight.” This sentiment didn’t go against the views of many of Ginsberg’s fans and followers, men and women who often smoked pot with Ginsburg at his public readings. Other beat poets partook too – plentifully. William Burroughs, a close friend of Ginsberg’s, was known to be a cannabis user, and often wrote while stoned. Naked Lunch, Burrough’s most notable work, is said to have been written as short episodes under the influence of marijuana – among other drugs – and later revised and arranged with the help of his friends Ginsberg and Kerouac.

           

Now, almost 70 years after the beats, many countries in South America are pushing for a widespread legalization of not only cannabis, but nearly all narcotics, arguing that America’s drug war is causing more harm and trouble than it is worth. Still, stuck in its ways, America stands against an overwhelming amount of support for the legalization and fights on, spending billions enforcing its laws, and bringing violence to its borders. To the support for legalization, Obama plainly says, “legalization is not the answer.” (check this article)

So, finally, here’s my question: World of the internet and academia, what do you think about 420 and legalization? And, as an interesting side question, is there anything wrong with writing under the influence?