History as a Teacher
Okay, I have a couple of rants today.
The first was prompted by the Forbes Online article, “Are Republicans Better Than Democrats on Marijuana Legalization?” The author notes that a Republican Congresswoman from South Carolina has introduced a marijuana legalization bill and claims, with an explanation point no less, it is “the first ever from a Republican!”
H.R. 4498 was introduced on September 16, 1981.
The original sponsors — all Republicans— were Reps. Stewart McKinney (CT), Newt Gingrich (GA), Hamilton Fish (NY), and Millicent Fenwick (NJ)
Hold on! What about the bill introduced in 1981 that would have established a nationwide program of medical access to marijuana? It was H.R. 4498 and the four original sponsors of the bill were ALL Republican, including an up-and-comer by the name of Newt Gingrich. Newt eventually flipped on the issue, hoping to rack up some points with the President and First Lady (the Reagans)…it worked. Gingrich would eventually become Speaker of the House.
H.R. 4498 would go on to earn the support of 110 Members of Congress but it never received a single hearing because Democrats controlled the House and they didn’t like that the bill was sponsored by Republicans. I suppose you can split hairs and say the current Republican legislation on marijuana would legalize access for all adults so it is different than a bill for medical marijuana use. But in pure black and white, this is NOT “the first ever” marijuana legislation introduced by a Republican.
My second rant is aimed at a book, Marijuana: A Short History by John Hudak. Mr. Hudak works at the Brooking Institution where he has followed marijuana policy for some time. His book is, as promised, short but there is not a single mention of anyone involved with medical marijuana prior to 1996. Mr. Hudak is an excellent conveyor of facts and figures but he seems to feel that medical marijuana reform sprung fully matured in California with the passage of Prop 215. He does acknowledge that the AIDS community was instrumental in bringing about that historic proposition but never bothers to acknowledge the case of Barbra and Kenny Jenks, a young Florida couple with AIDS who, in the early 1990s, acquired legal access to federal supplies of marijuana to treat their disease and became the face of medical marijuana after appearing on the CBS new show “60 Minutes” on AIDS Day, December 1, 1991.
Mr. Hudak also fails to mention the 34 state laws that were passed between 1978 and 1981. These laws attempted to establish state-wide programs of research by using federal marijuana. Say what you will about the government’s pot in terms of quality (recent DNA sequencing places it closer to hemp), but think where we might be today if those programs had been allowed to go forward and collect research data. My late husband, Robert Randall, smoked government marijuana for 25 years to treat his glaucoma. His first ophthalmologist said he would be blind before he was 30 but he was 53 when he died in 2001 and he still had his sight.
Cannabis reformers (and reporters) should learn the history of the movement because, believe it or not, it is easier to know where you are if you know where you have come from. Returning to the Forbes article, the real story is not another medical marijuana bill introduced in Congress, albeit a Republican one. The real—and shocking—story is that people in South Dakota, who voted for legal access to cannabis in November 2020, will continue to suffer needlessly because a Republican governor has slammed the door in their face, just as Congress did back in the 1980s. There should be outrage, not titillation.
In today’s contentious environment I expect to see more actions like that of Governor Kristi Noem and if reporters and reformers continue to act as if such events are the “first ever” we really won’t get the job done. History reveals just how long and destructive this war against cannabis has been. Let’s start reporting it as the atrocity it has become.❖
Thanks for reading my blog.
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