The MarijuanaNews Report:

By Richard Cowan

Greetings! I am going to be writing a bimonthly column for HIGH TIMES, so I should begin with a little history. (When someone is my age, we always have “a history.”)

Forty years ago about this time, I had a better day than Che Guevara. He got killed and I got high.

Actually, it did not occur to me to note the exact date when an old friend asked me if I wanted to “smoke some grass.” I do remember that I wasn’t surprised, even though this was in Fort Worth, Texas and I was 27 years old.

So what is the point?

First, I have smoked almost every day since then. The “almost” is important, because I have never had any problem quitting for a few days or a month, when I decided to – or when traveling made it impractical.

According to the 1999 Institute of Medicine Report on medical marijuana, “A distinctive marijuana withdrawal syndrome has been identified, but it is mild and short-lived.”

Mine was apparently so “mild and short-lived” that I did not notice. But I do know that I am heavily addicted to freedom. More on that in a moment.

Second, as I said when I started MarijuanaNews.com ten years ago:

“Prior to my becoming the National Director of NORML (in 1992) I had always been a very private person, the sort that stepped to one side when someone was taking a picture. I went from that to saying on national television – in response to a question by Phil Donahue – that I had smoked marijuana almost everyday for – then – 27 years…

The reaction to that was, to say the least, amusing. You may judge for yourself the state of my intellect, but it is important to note that I was an adult (27) when I started – and I take care to use it responsibly – and I am not stoned as I write this. (Would people have reacted in the same way, if I had said that I have a glass of wine every evening?)”

Third, let me be very clear about marijuana and me. Although, as the Rastas say, not everyone has a head for ganja, I have had a very positive relationship with it. I have written about it on MarijuanaNews.com, but please note that the greatest joys that I have derived from cannabis came from my involvement in the marijuana reform movement and the people that I have met through it.

Fourth, the law is clearly of no deterrence. Until 1973, possession of any amount of marijuana in Texas could get you life in prison, and there really were people doing LIFE FOR LESS THAN AN OUNCE. I knew the law, but I really did not think that it was actually being enforced. (Even today the prohibitionists try to hide the brutality of the laws, which – ironically – undermines their supposed “deterrent effect.”)

Fifth, when I became aware of that reality, my addiction to freedom kicked in, and I have been hooked ever since.

Warning: In keeping with the stereotypical behavior of addicts, I try to get others hooked as well. I find that if someone ever gets a taste of freedom, they are never the same.

And how time flies, when you’re not in jail. This weekend at the NORML conference I am chairing a panel on “Marijuana and the Senior Citizen.” While we “senior citizens” may reasonably argue that our use is “medical,” I will not.

Yes, cannabis helps me sleep, but I am just going to say what I have always said, to paraphrase the late Peter McWilliams, it ain’t nobody’s business if I do. It is my right and the right of every adult, without the permission of quacks and narcs.

If you don’t have a head for freedom, it doesn’t matter if you have a head for ganja.

Even Bob Marley’s most memorable words were not about ganja, but freedom: “Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!”

So, I’m going to be your pusher-man. I am going to push the idea that we can regain our freedom, if we stand up for our rights. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.”


Richard Cowan is the former National Director of NORML and currently the publisher of MarijuanaNews.com. Email him at Cowan@MarijuanaNews.com