Please Make April 20th a Day of Service, Not Partying

Unfortunately, as of April 20th, 2022 certain types of the weedy hemp plant remain illegal according to the federal government. People’s lives have been destroyed for the crime of growing this plant. People have died for growing hemp. People are serving life sentences for possessing a few scraps of the leaf of hemp. The Drug War is still killing people.

The federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance is a scandal. During the Trump Administration, Jeff Sessions tried to pressure states to roll back legalization. Because of his push, It became more widely known that police forces in many states were bringing in millions to state coffers through property seizures related to drug prohibition. Shockingly, the Canadian government has advised its citizens to not carry cash in America due to the penchant of police officers to confiscate on the pretense of drug crime.

The divide in the United States is growing on so many different fronts it is hard to point to marijuana legalization as the most contentious. However, it is one of the biggest divides in the USA. The Drug War has allowed selective policing. The Drug War, especially around marijuana, has always been about race. The usage of cannabis became so prevalent it allowed police to pick and choose who they stopped.

If you smelled marijuana coming from the open window of the car, a police officer needed to stop that car. It meant the drivers were abusing a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance. It meant the drivers were felons and likely violent is the how police officers were trained. Officers were trained pot smoking is a terrible terrible crime. It was such a terrible crime it was worth imprisoning people for decades. Many officers took the law into their own hands, beating and even killing people.

A couple of years ago, young people were dying in many of the states where cannabis law is still a simple extension of federal law. At the federal level cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug. This means it is a substance subject to terrible abuse and causing awful societal harm.

The EVALI epidemic was a clear consequence of the Drug War. EVALI stands for e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury. Many home-brewed vaping oils were being created. Also, with neighboring states selling recreational marijuana under a regulatory regime, it made sense that some crops might not pass inspection. These crops often ended up on the black market causing societal harm, like EVALI. A black market that would not exist but for the federal prohibition on marijuana.

As long as the federal prohibition endures, no dope smoker is safe. Consider that fact on this April 20th. The Feds can come in and do as they please just as they have in the past. American jails are full of marijuana smokers. All across the country, corporate prisons made huge profits and continue to do so by keeping cannabis illegal.

However, many states now have recreational cannabis and understand the plant is relatively benign. Nonetheless, people are rotting in prison cells for no other reason than the possession of a small amount of pot. Their lives have been utterly destroyed by overzealous police enforcement of “Reefer Madness”. Consider this on 4/20.

Also, imagine the mindsets of the people who have pushed this Drug War and the incredible human cost of their misguided morality. People were beaten and even killed enforcing the unjust laws. Who are these people who pushed so hard to punish pot users for having a plant? Will there be no consequences for people who have been enforcing so ENTHUSIASTICALLY these unjust laws? Consider this on 4/20.

These "enforcers" apparently have no conscience and only the citizenry can force a conscience upon them. These people have demonstrated tremendously flawed judgment and an incredible lack of compassion. There MUST be consequences for these “Reefer Maniacs”.

The enforcers and the enablers in the legislature must be sociopaths. They are the true threats to the social order. Perhaps they need to be locked up to protect the rest of society? Consider this on 4/20.

However, first and foremost, on this 4/20, please take a moment and consider how you can help the people who have suffered SO MUCH for your freedom to indulge in cannabis. Don’t forget the victims of these unjust laws. Don’t forget that all across the country people are languishing in prison for doing just what you are doing joyfully.

Don’t forget the mindset of those who have enforced these draconian drug laws. They are not fit to lead or make judgments on the human condition as they lack compassion. Many are nothing more than moral monsters or robots that do whatever they are told, no matter the cost to the humans “underfoot”.

There should be consequences for those who have ruined so many lives. Take a moment and remember the victims of the Drug Wars. There is a move afoot to attack opioid abuse in the same way, with a ferocious drug war. Please "Just Say No" to this new Drug War and help free the victims of the current one. Consider this on 4/20.

Finally, please consider how the Drug War was able to change voting demographics. Many red states continue to have laws on the books making possession of hemp leaves a felony. A felon cannot vote on top of having problems getting their lives back on track after incarceration. The Drug War drove America’s electorate to the right by force. Many who might have voted for a more permissive society ended up being victims of the punitive society.

The Drug War is a political war and a war about the profits of a select few. There can be no doubt any longer. As long as the federal government refuses to recognize the fact that hemp leaves are not a dangerous addictive Schedule 1 Controlled Substance there can be no relief. It is shocking and tragic this is still the central government’s enforcement position! Consider this on 4/20.

The Drug Policy Alliance and NORML are organizations that could use further support. These are the organizations that have really concentrated on reducing societal harm rather than feeding the prison-industrial complex. These and other ideas on social justice reform came from the book Libertarian-Socialism: American Style.