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August 10, 2007
A Simple Question (Historical, Political)
Although the admonition to “keep it simple, stupid,” is a relatively new one, the underlying idea certainly isn’t. In the spirit of seeking enlightment by the shortest possible route, and also because 2007 marks the Seventieth anniversary of the Marijuana Tax Act and the Fortieth anniversary of the Summer of Love, I plan to spend a few entries exploring the connection between those two phenomena.
One way to do that is will be to make use several easily accessible books, some, not written directly about pot, which authoritatively document important historical milestones needed to understand a simple, yet confusing, story: how today's pot market could become so big while so many pretend not to have noticed.
Towards the end of 2006, the news that pot (marijuana) is now America’s most valuable cash crop caused a brief ripple of excitement before being promptly forgotten. As it flashed across the attention span of those who read English, it didn’t seem to surprise anyone enough to provoke what, to me, had become the most obvious question: how had a commodity outlawed by Act of Congress in 1937, allegedly because of its danger to adolescents, become such a huge economic force in a mere seven decades? Another question, made even more obvious by the silence of those with most obvious stake in the issue: why their denial?
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at August 10, 2007 04:39 PM