History, It's What's For Dinner

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012                                                  7:50 P.M. E.S.T.  
SORTIE 4 OF THE DAY
PILOT F. Irish S/A    
EQUIPMENT Old Blue Eyes   


ENTRY 2

GH HIT!

     We've been told our entire lives that we study history so we do not repeat the same mistakes. As time has shown, not everyone studies history... they look at it for support of their own claims, and deny the other side. And yes, most history is written by the victors, but you can find the defeated stories if you look properly. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the United States. For those of you who do not know, MLK Jr was THE leading civil rights activist up until his assassination in 1968. Today is meant to be a day of remembrance, to honor not only his memory, but the collective memory of our country's bleak past of bigotry so we do not repeat those same mistakes, those same acts of bravery and violence, as we progress as a nation into the future. I have had the priviladge (thanks to the tireless efforts of a dear friend) to meet Dr. Andrew Young, himself a leading civil rights activist and friend of Dr. King Jr.'s. His bearing and tact, even now, left a profound impact on me as I watched him walk into the lecture hall two years ago [Note: he received threatening letters, and STILL showed up to enlighten "...the future leaders of our country."].

HIT!

     History is what gives us identity, what binds us to other people, and what tells us we have a future. My own history with marijuana is what gave me the confidence to undertake this Log in its many forms. As a for instance, the first 'Flight Log' I ever created, a comic strip, was influenced by a Kid CuDi song entitled "Up, Up, and Away". I woke up, toked up, and walked around, and it just so happened that I was so enamored by an occurrence on that walk that I needed to draw it. Other comic strips followed, and eventually it was decided that comics could not truly account for the depth of the subject matter presented. Thanks to the internet, I have ready access to images that have long since faded.

HIT!

     The following are the dates relating to the United States from the Marijuana timeline info page of Narconon International:

• 1915-1927    
      Cannabis begins to be prohibited for nonmedical use in the U.S., especially in SW states...California (1915), Texas (1919), Louisiana (1924), and New York (1927).
• 1937    
      Cannabis made federally illegal in the U.S. with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act.
• 1967    
      "Smash", the first hashish oil appears. Red Lebanese reaches California. (No idea at present what Red Lebanese is...)
• Oct 27, 1970    
      The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defines a scheduling system for drugs and places most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis) in Schedule I.
• 1972    
      The Nixon-appointed Shafer Commission urged use of cannabis be re-legalized, but their recommendation was ignored. Medical research continues.
• 1975    
      FDA establishes Compassionate Use program for medical marijuana.
• 1988    
      DEA administrative law Judge Francis Young finds after thorough hearings that marijuana has clearly established medical use and should be reclassified as a prescriptive drug.

Their timeline ends in 1995, which is most upsetting as the most important breakthroughs concerning medical marijuana have been made since that year.  From An Average American Patriot, the info the the U.S. Army was using marijuana as a truth serum in 1942 can be stated, though I cannot claim the source of this information as factual (even though I'm trying to find out that exact information).

HIT!

     Through all the reading I've been doing, the general theme to the illegality of marijuana has been race, competing industry, lack of education/sensationalism, bigotry, and 'social acceptability'; and that is not mentioning the various INDIVIDUALS who refused to accept scientific fact. Not saying anything bad about people with blind obedience...eh, maybe I just lied. I severely detest people who blindly follow their 'leader' into the most ridiculous situations...Learn for yourself, never take someone's opinions as if they were God's divine will. Which brings us back to the original message of this post: History, learn from it. You personally must interpret history for what it is, and what needs to be taken away from it. Never rely on someone else to give you a good representation of the facts without checking them yourself.

HIT!

     All the searching has thrown me off track. [Reread Pause] The history of marijuana in the United States is one of prejudice, not fact. Prejudice is always overcome, and those old crusty people from the Old Guard need to step down and let new Guardians of Liberty ascend the alter of our nation. You've done enough, you've damaged our national pride, weakened our economy, imprisoned thousands (if not hundred of thousands as it is nearly impossible to find the current figures) on bull shit charges stemming from your ignorance, and committed our soldiers to wars that our general population cannot understand as you will not give out the facts. Learn from history, no matter how much you try to enforce laws, social change will eventually overtake the wrongs of your ignorance.