1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: All right, we had the Lord of bang reefer madness. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: So how do we get from hiding weed from the 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: cops much less our parents, to having parents who legally indulge, 4 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: sometimes in front of their kids. Cannabis has had a 5 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,880 Speaker 1: really long and occasionally rocky past, but now for a 6 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: lot of folks, it's not a whole lot different than alcohol. 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. From reefer madness to a casual smoke 8 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: with friends? How did that happen? That's next on the backstory. 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. Weed was demonized for generations, but 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: its backstory is pretty captivating. It goes back thousands of 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: years and up until the twentieth century, most people had 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: no problem with it. Three thousand years ago in the 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: Middle East, records show that people would gather in a 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: large sort of tent and throw bunches of cannabis onto 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: a fire. When observer wrote, it delighted them and they 16 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: shouted for joy. I'll bet Hindus. In India, Assyrians, Greeks, 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: and Romans all used weed for health problems including pain, arthritis, depression, 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: menstrual issues, inflammation, lack of appetite, and asthma, and it 19 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: was celebrated by early Greek and Roman doctors for its 20 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 1: mood enhancing ability. It was also used for religious purposes. 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: In fact, Hindus gave Shiva, one of their supreme gods, 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: the title the Lord of Bang, their word for weed, 23 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: because they thought the cannabis plant was his favorite food. 24 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: I love that bang, pretty aptitle. Right, Let's head forward 25 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: to the nineteenth century. If you were dealing with pain 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: or any number of physical or mental issues, cannabis was 27 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: considered a medical marble, and it was also used by 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: adults and children to stop convulsions, treating epilepsy, Parkinson's MS, 29 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: and what they call tremors. So, what the heck happened? Well, 30 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: now it's the early nineteen hundreds. We see the beginning 31 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: of weed's descent from medical marvel to a vilified substance. 32 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: Why did that all happen? Excellent question. Well, it was 33 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: fueled by racism, politics, and fear. It was associated with 34 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:18,959 Speaker 1: African American jazz clubs and also Mexican immigrants. In fact, 35 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: the term marijuana, with its Mexican Spanish roots, was popularized 36 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: to help fuel this fear in those days, making cannabis 37 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: look foreign and dangerous. And then came the nineteen thirties 38 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 1: and Ree for Madness, a film that was the epitome 39 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,119 Speaker 1: of all the fear surrounding weed. It basically told everybody 40 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: that if you used weed, you'd turn into a psycho 41 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: nut job. They said it incited violence, madness, and immorality, 42 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: and within a year the Marijuana Tax Act of nineteen 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: thirty seven pretty much criminalized cannabis for decades to come. 44 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: But who was behind all this? I'm sure there were 45 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: the religious and social groups that had also pushed for 46 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,639 Speaker 1: the prohibition on alcohol, which by the way, had been 47 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: legalized once again just a couple of years earlier. But 48 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: it was more than that. First, you had thousands of people, 49 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: including enforcement agents, who suddenly realized they had nothing else 50 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: to fight. With alcohol off the table, they wanted to work, 51 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: especially in the midst of the Great Depression. AH. Weed 52 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: is a perfect target. But most nefariously, you had the 53 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: liquor industry. Pot weed, marijuana, whatever you called it had 54 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: become a major competitor for liquor producers during prohibition, and 55 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: they wanted it out of the way. So the movie 56 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: re for Madness became a massive propaganda tool for the 57 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: liquor industry to fight the use of weed for folks 58 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: who just wanted to get festival or relax. Liquor producers 59 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: wanted to own that category. Thus the push to demonize 60 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: a plant that had been used medicinally and for religious 61 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: and cultural celebrations for thousands of years. But it went 62 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: a whole lot further. We get to the nineteen seventies 63 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: and President Nixon declared a war on drugs, categorizing cannabis 64 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,640 Speaker 1: right with heroin and cocaine as a Schedule one drug, 65 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: calling it an enemy of the American people, and that 66 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: war was not just on substances, but on the communities 67 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: that used them. Now. On the other hand, the sixties 68 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: and seventies counterculture embraced weed as a symbol of peace, love, 69 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: and rebellion. The hippie movement, which was all about freedom 70 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: and spiritual awakening, embraced cannabis with music festivals like Woodstock, 71 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: which celebrated weed culture, calling it a natural and harmless high, 72 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: and that began the gradual shift in public perception. Weed 73 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: became a muse for all sorts of musical genres, from 74 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: rock and roll to reggae, hip hop. Bands like The Beatles, 75 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: Led Zeppelin, and The Grateful Dead often celebrated cannabis in 76 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: their music and lifestyles. It became a symbol of rebellion, 77 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: a way to reject societal norms and embrace that culture 78 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: of peace and love. Then, rappers like Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, 79 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: and Whiz Khalifa began celebrating cannabis in their lyrics and 80 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: even became entrepreneurs in the growing cannabis industry and from 81 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: a medical standpoint, in nineteen ninety six, California became the 82 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: first state to legalize medical marijuana. That opened the floodgates 83 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: for research and showed weed's potential for treating chronic pain, epilepsy, 84 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: and even reducing the growth and spread of certain cancers. 85 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: Pretty amazing. Today, the cannabis culture here in America is 86 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: evolving at an unprecedented pace. It's a booming industry with dispensaries, cafes, 87 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: and even cannabis infused restaurants sprouting up once again. It's 88 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: recommended by doctors to treat all sorts of illnesses and 89 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: other physical and mental issues. Its celebrated through art, music 90 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: and festivals, kind of like the wine industry. Is it 91 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,440 Speaker 1: hard to embrace the change in thinking For some yes, 92 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: it's understandable. But remember this. As recently as three hundred 93 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: years ago. Tomatoes were villified. Why because aristocrats mostly ate 94 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: them off of pewter plates. And it turns out pewter 95 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: is infused with lead and the acid and tomatoes leached 96 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: the lead into the fruit and led to a lot 97 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: of deaths of prominent people from lead poisoning. Big shots 98 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: dying after eating tomatoes. They must be evil. Of course, 99 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: nobody really understood why, and they just thought tomatoes were 100 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: poison So you see, a lack of understanding is what 101 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: leads to misinformation about so many things in our lives. 102 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: And now the stigma about weed is being lifted. That 103 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: change is part of the ever changing tapestry of American values. 104 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: Cannabis is slowly being rebranded as a lifestyle choice and 105 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: a wellness trend, a major shift from the days of madness. 106 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying the backstory with me, Patty Steele, Please 107 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: please subscribe, and if you have a story you'd like 108 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: me to dig into and share, feel free to dm 109 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: me on Facebook at Patty Steele or on Instagram at 110 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production 111 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel 112 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. 113 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free 114 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: to reach out to me with comments and even story 115 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook 116 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the backstory with 117 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know you 118 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: needed to know.