The Cannabis Column - #38

Jon Gettman is a long time contributor to HIGH TIMES. A former National Director of NORML, Jon has a Ph.D. in public policy and regional economic development and consults with attorneys, advocates, and non-profits on cannabis related research and public policy issues. On October 8, 2002, along with a coalition of organizations, he filed a new petition to have cannabis rescheduled under federal law. This column will track that petition's progress.
The Stoner Rebellion

Marijuana use represents the longest, most successful rebellion against the United States government in our nation’s 231 year history.

Federal laws authorizing a national effort to use the force of law and the threat of arrest in response to individual use of marijuana appeared in 1937 with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. Despite various refinements in federal law, such as the replacement of the Tax Act with the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, and adjustments in federal policy, such as the Just Say No campaign of the 1980s, marijuana use has continued.

This utter defiance of federal law has persisted and grown over the last seventy years and at best contemporary public policy offers some hope of containing this rebellion; no one in this country seriously expects marijuana use to be eliminated. The best the government can offer is some hope that teenage use might decline over the years if society can be disciplined enough to project a consistent anti-marijuana message.

Most marijuana users wish to bring this long rebellion to a successful conclusion by convincing the public to provide for the legal regulation of marijuana’s production, distribution, and use in the United States, and slowly but surely the general public is coming around to this point of view.

However there are also many marijuana users who do not, in fact, favor legalization. They provide different reasons for their support for letting the rebellion continue, regardless of its cost to marijuana users and the country. One of the most obvious reasons why some users oppose legalization is that they make considerable profits from the sale of marijuana and their financial interests would suffer from increased competition in a legal market. Marijuana prohibition benefits marijuana producers even more than it benefits the government. Marijuana’s illegality discourages many people from growing and selling marijuana, and this restriction on production helps to keep marijuana expensive and profitable.

Others mistakenly believe that a legal marijuana market would make cannabis even more expensive through government taxation. The real impact of legalization, though, would be a reduction in the price of marijuana. Not only would commercial marijuana be cheaper, even with taxes added on to the price, but individuals would be able to grow their own marijuana for personal use.

Some people believe that personal cultivation would make it impossible for government to collect taxes on marijuana sales because everyone would grow their own and there would not be enough commerce to generate significant tax revenue to encourage the government to regulate cannabis. While personal cultivation would be popular in a legal market, growing marijuana is hard work that requires effort, knowledge, and time. Many marijuana users would prefer to buy marijuana than grow it themselves, just as most Americans choose to buy fruits and vegetables rather than tend their own gardens.

Another argument against legalization from marijuana users is that a regulated market would give the government and large corporations control over marijuana, and that this control would ruin the cultural benefits of marijuana use through commercialization and exploitation. This argument may have some merit, actually, but is suffers from a lack of faith. The positive attributes of marijuana use are not the result of its illegality but instead are the product of the herb’s characteristics and the values of the individuals who have decided to use it. After all, the government’s been trying to ruin and suppress the benefits of marijuana use without success for over 70 years.

Marijuana’s illegality may make it more fun for some folks, but this comes at a severe cost for many others. Over 25 million Americans use marijuana on an annual basis, and compared to that figure 750,000 arrests per year may seem like a small price to pay for the opportunity to participate and perpetuate the Stoner Rebellion – unless you or someone close to you happens to be one of those arrested. The culture surrounding marijuana use is about consciousness, community, trust, and support. People who use marijuana have a responsibility to their friends and fellow marijuana users to reduce and eliminate arrests.

It’s easy to take advantage of marijuana’s illegal status, too easy for some folks. Yes, it makes it profitable, and yes, it makes it a little more fun to get high knowing that you’re participating in the longest and most successful rebellion in United States history. But the real Stoner Rebellion is to resist that path of least resistance in favor of more active resistance to prohibition, to rebel against complacency and convenience and fight for marijuana’s legalization. The HIGH TIMES 420 Campaign, and the overall movement for marijuana’s legalization, is the real Stoner Rebellion, a rebellion that deserves your active participation and support today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes to achieve victory.