WE'RE HOSTAGE TO SILLY LAW LEFT OVER FROM PROHIBITION

In the rhetoric surrounding marijuana today, many anti-pot advocates are
using the old "bad because it's illegal" defense. Well, then maybe we
should investigate why marijuana was relegated to the status of illegal
narcotic in the first place.

Hemp and marijuana products were cultivated for thousands of years, often
making up the main agricultural product for many agrarian societies, going
so far as to be incorporated into the foundations of that society. Such
notables as Buddha have ties to marijuana. Only in the past century has the
seedy and criminal sentiment surrounding marijuana been tacked on to this
ancient and established herb. This was for a variety of reasons, least of
all the government's concern for the well-being of its citizens.

In the 1920s and '30s racist sentiment ran high, and Prohibition
capitalized on this. Marijuana was the recreation of choice for many
Mexicans in the southern United States ; the original lyrics for La
Cucaracha are about a Mexican soldier who will not march without marijuana.
It was also favoured by black Americans, being smoked in many of the new
jazz clubs for its delightful effect on music. Marijuana subsequently got
swept along with the race-fueled prohibition mania of the day, an error
that has not been corrected since.

Why are we letting one silly law from the conservative side of the century
dictate our views on marijuana today?

R. G. Stacey,

Edmonton