February 26, 2016 ▸ Other, Science

Episode 68: Cannabis – Legalization and Prohibition with Tyler Durden

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This week, we look at the legalization and prohibition of cannabis.

It got a lot of buzz on our Facebook page, and the number one sentiment from listeners was that it should be legalized and decriminalized for reasons varying from tax revenue to a decrease in criminal activity and a lessening of prison population. With the oldest known cannabis user being a 2,700 year old mummy in the Gobi Desert, it seems this drug has been with humanity for quite a long time.

It turns out that the main reason for it being criminalized deals with a crazy racist bureaucrat named Harry Anslinger and his connections with none other than William Randolph Hearst. Anslinger ran a file called the “Gore Files” which he shared with agents at the newly founded Bureau of Narcotics which he ran in the 1930s; it was full of racism, bigotry, sexism, lies, and hatred, but it got the nation to turn against cannabis. Hearst got involved and was upset at Pancho Villa for taking a bunch of his timber land and didn’t want to lose money on his timber investment (timber was what he used for his newspapers, and he didn’t want hemp taking money from his ventures). All of this lead to the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

We talk about this history, the legalization movement and effects in states like Colorado and Oregon, the experience of taking cannabis personally, and even the pros and cons of different ingestion methods. With our special mystery guest known as Tyler, we have some serious laughs and drop some knowledge bombs.