This isn't about the plant

Why does cannabis continue to remain a villainized substance? Why does it remain a tactic for the targeting Black and Brown people? Why is this natural substance STILL federally illegal in the US and beyond?

History of not-that-long-ago can shed some light on the answer.

Throwback to September 1951, as described in Martin Booth’s (excellent) comprehensive text “Cannabis: A History”

“John Ralph, writing in [Britai Sunday Graphic in September 1951, stated “After several weeks I have just completed exhaustive inquiries into the most insidious vice Scotland Yard has ever been called up to tackle - dope peddling…One of the detectives told me, ‘We are dealing with the most evil men who have ever taken to the vice business.’ The victims are teenage British girls, and to a lesser extent, teenage youths…the racketeers are 90 per cent coloured men from the West Indies and the west coast of Africa…as a result of my inquiries, I share the fear of detectives now on the job that there is the greatest danger of the reefer crazy becoming the greatest social menace this country has known.”

1951. It wasn’t THAT long ago and if, let’s say, you became a parent in the 1950s, this narrative (in combination with all the others that echoed this one) shaped how you raised your kids and the beliefs you may have instilled in them. The same rings true for many people that became parents in the 30s, 40s, 60s, 70s, 80s and continues into today.

This is why we’re still dealing with this. It’s not really about the plant.

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