California High

AT THIS POINT, I'M THE LONGEST-SERVING

MARIJUANA EMPLOYEE IN THE UNITED STATES.

I HAVE BEEN WORKING 22 CONSECUTIVE YEARS,

70 HOURS A WEEK,

SIX TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA.

"NORML" IS AMERICA'S MARIJUANA LOBBY GROUP,

AND IT HAS BEEN SINCE 1970.

WE BELIEVE THAT THE RESPONSIBLE USE OF MARIJUANA BY ADULTS

IS NO BUSINESS OF THE GOVERNMENT

AND IT SHOULD BE LEGAL AND TAXED

LIKE ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS.

A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE BELIEVE IN OPEN SOCIETY,

WHICH IS PEOPLE CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT,

WHENEVER THEY WANT,

HOWEVER THEY WANT,

BASICALLY WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE.

AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEING TODAY

SOME OF THE HIGHEST DRUG USAGE

IN AMERICA IN A GENERATION,

AND THAT TO ME IS JUST PURE EVIL.

I TELL PEOPLE, "LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO CALIFORNIA,

AND DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN TO YOU."

THIS IS A STORY THAT'S GOT TO BE TOLD.

I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS FIGHT.

I ENDED UP INTO IT.

IN THE FIRST DAYS I WORKED AT NORML IN 1991,

I THOUGHT, "WE'RE GONNA GET MARIJUANA LEGAL

IN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS,"

BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT NEEDS TO BE LEGALIZED.

WELL, 20 YEARS LATER AND A LOT OF GRAY HAIR,

MARIJUANA'S BEEN ILLEGAL IN THE COUNTRY FOR ALMOST 75 YEARS.

WHAT THE DRUG LEGALIZATION CROWD ACROSS THE U.S.

AND ACROSS THE WORLD HAS TO UNDERSTAND IS

THEY WILL NEVER BEAT US.

WE ARE IMPASSIONED,

WE ARE MOTIVATED,

AND WE ARE NEVER GONNA GIVE UP.

STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING,

WE ARE OBSESSED WITH CALIFORNIA.

CALIFORNIA IS ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY,

WHERE ALL OF THE EFFORT IS FOCUSED.

WE BELIEVE THAT IF YOU CAN FLIP CALIFORNIA,

YOU CAN FLIP AMERICA. IF YOU CAN FLIP AMERICA,

YOU FLIP THE WORLD ON CANNABIS.

CALIFORNIA HAS A TOTALLY DISPROPORTIONATE EFFECT

ON THE UNITED STATES ON SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS.

ONE OUT OF EIGHT AMERICANS LIVE IN CALIFORNIA.

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT CALIFORNIA'S ECONOMY

IS THE SIXTH OR SEVENTH LARGEST IN THE WORLD

BETWEEN ITALY AND FRANCE.

CALIFORNIA IS A NATION STATE ALL BY ITSELF

ENSCONCED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.

PLACES LIKE LOS ANGELES

ARE NOW CENTERS THAT BROADCAST AMERICAN CULTURE

NOT ONLY TO AMERICA, BUT TO THE WORLD.

SO, WHEN YOU ASK THE QUESTION,

"WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE THAT CALIFORNIA HAS ON AMERICA?"

IT IS PROFOUND.

CALIFORNIA IS THE STATE

THAT ABSOLUTELY VETTED MARIJUANA

MORE THAN ANY OTHER STATE.

SINCE AT LEAST THE 1970s,

CALIFORNIANS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT,

VOTING ON, DISPUTING MARIJUANA

LIKE NO OTHER PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES,

AND FRANKLY, THE WORLD,

AND I THINK MOVING TOWARDS LEGALIZATION.

THE THING THAT'S MOST STRIKING TO ME

ABOUT MARIJUANA IS THE DECADES--

DECADES, NOT YEARS, NOT MONTHS,

BUT DECADES WHERE THIS BATTLE GOES ON,

AND IT'S THE PRO VERSUS THE ANTI.

BUT WITH MARIJUANA COMES A VENGEFUL

CONFRONTATION WITH THE LAW.

ITS MERE POSSESSION

IN THE EYES OF THE FEDERALS STATUTES

BRINGS A MINIMUM OF TWO YEARS,

AND SELLING, A MAXIMUM OF 40.

THE SIMPLEST WAY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IS--

WHICH I THINK IS VERY INTERESTING--

IS THAT AS THE PROBLEM GETS WORSE,

THE ANTI-FORCES BECOME STRONG.

AS THE PROBLEM GETS BETTER,

THE PRO FORCES GET STRONGER.

FROM 1978 TO 1991,

MARIJUANA USE IN THIS COUNTRY

WENT DOWN BY 60 PERCENT.

WHEN IT WENT DOWN, IT SOWED THE SEEDS

OF THE RENAISSANCE

OF THE PRO-MARIJUANA MOVEMENT

BECAUSE IT WENT AWAY AS AN ISSUE.

AND ALL THE FORCE THAT WAS BEHIND MARIJUANA VANISHED.

NOW WE'RE IN A PERIOD WHEN IT'S GOING UP,

AND EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING NOW, THE LEGALIZATION,

THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA, ALL THAT STUFF,

IS DRIVING THOSE MARIJUANA USE RATES UP.

WE WEREN'T AWAKE FIVE YEARS AGO, OR TEN YEARS AGO,

OR BACK IN 1996 WHEN IT PASSED.

EVERYBODY LEGITIMATELY THOUGHT

THAT THIS WAS GONNA HELP TERMINALLY ILL PEOPLE.

WE WERE FOOLED.

AND YOU LOOK AT IT NOW,

IT'S SO CLEAR TO ALL OF US,

AND I THINK CLEAR TO THE AVERAGE CALIFORNIAN.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF MARIJUANA IN THE UNITED STATES,

ONE HAS TO BEGIN WITH CALIFORNIA,

AND ONE HAS TO BEGIN WITH THE LAW IN 1996 CALLED PROP 215.

IT WAS SO BROADLY WRITTEN

THAT IT CREATED MANY OF THE PROBLEMS

THAT ARE TO THIS DAY, ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER,

STILL VEXING.

IF YOU TALK TO CALIFORNIA VOTERS TODAY,

THEY HAD NO IDEA THEY WERE VOTING FOR THIS.

IN 1996, THE ARGUMENT WAS REALLY,

THIS IS NOT LEGALIZING MARIJUANA.

THIS IS ONLY FOR SERIOUSLY SICK, DYING,

OR SENSE-THREATENED PEOPLE.

WHEN YOU READ PROPOSITION 215,

IT LEADS THE VOTER TO BELIEVE THEY'RE VOTING FOR SOMETHING

TO HELP SOMEBODY OUT WHO'S DYING ON THEIR DEATHBED.

BUT THERE'S A SENTENCE IN THAT PROPOSITION

THAT MOST OF US DIDN'T READ

THAT SAYS YOU CAN GET MARIJUANA

FOR ANY CONDITION WHATSOEVER

THAT PROVIDES RELIEF. THAT'S ANYTHING.

THE ONLY THING YOU NEED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO GET A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD

IS $100 AND A STORY.

YOU NEED TO TELL A PHYSICIAN WHO'S SITTING SOMEWHERE NEAR,

GENERALLY SPEAKING, A CANNABIS CLUB,

THAT YOU HAVE AN OLD INJURY FROM HIGH SCHOOL,

THAT YOU HAVE ANXIETY, THAT YOU HAVE DEPRESSION,

THAT YOU HAVE TRAUMA FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD.

AND HE OR SHE WILL PRESCRIBE YOU

A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD.

YOU TAKE THAT CARD TO GO TO THE DISPENSARY,

AND FROM THAT MOMENT FORWARD

YOU ARE A LICENSED MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER.

THEY TRICKED US. AND I MEAN "US".

ALL OF US IN CALIFORNIA.

AND NOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THAT.

YOU GUYS SMOKE WEED?

FUCK, YEAH. TELL 'EM HOW MUCH YOU SMOKE, MAN.

I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU,

THE WEED IN CALIFORNIA IS THE BEST WEED, MAN.

YOU'VE GOT MORE THAN 1,000 POT STORES ON THE STREETS OF L.A.

MORE POT STORES THAN STARBUCKS, 7-ELEVENS,

McDONALDS, BANKS,

AND ALL THE SCHOOLS COMBINED.

IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ENJOY THEMSELVES.

I DON'T SEE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.

AND I DON'T SMOKE, AND I'M TOTALLY OKAY WITH IT.

THIS RIGHT HERE ALLOWS YOU

TO HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WEED ON YOU AT ALL TIMES.

IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO GO INTO A MEDICAL STORE

AND PURCHASE SOME MARIJUANA.

WE KNOW THAT OUR BODIES, BRAINS, AND CELLS

MAKE CHEMICALS SIMILAR TO MARIJUANA.

THAT MEANS THAT WE ACTUALLY CAN RESPOND TO IT

IN A WAY THAT MIGHT BE THERAPEUTIC.

SO, I DON'T THINK THAT EVERYBODY

WHO SMOKES MARIJUANA

IS LYING ABOUT THE FACT THAT IT HELPS THEM.

TWO SHOTS OF VODKA MIGHT ALSO HELP THEM.

DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE MAKE THAT A MEDICINE.

YOU CAN'T DO IT IN FRONT OF THE COPS, BUT YOU CAN SMOKE WEED.

THEY CAN STOP YOU IF YOU HAVE WEED ON YOU,

BUT THEY CAN'T DO SHIT TO YOU 'CAUSE YOU GOT A MEDICAL CARD.

IT'S LIKE HAVING A BADGE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING?

YOU JUST FLIP IT OUT ON 'EM AND THEY CAN'T DO SHIT.

HERE'S THE IRONY HERE IN CALIFORNIA.

WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB GETTING PEOPLE TO QUIT SMOKING CIGARETTES.

IT'S REMARKABLE. YOU CAN'T SMOKE ON MANY OF OUR BEACHES,

YOU CAN'T SMOKE IN A RESTAURANT,

BECAUSE IT'S BAD FOR YOU.

WELL, SO IS SMOKING MARIJUANA.

PLUS YOU GET ALL THE OTHER THC-- TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL.

SO, HOW CAN THE STATE SAY, "IT'S OKAY TO SMOKE DOPE,

BUT WE WANT YOU TO STOP SMOKING CIGARETTES"? ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

WE'VE GONE DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE IN CALIFORNIA.

I HOPE NOBODY ELSE DOES ACROSS THE GLOBE.

YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THIS VIEW

OF AMERICA BEING THE FREEST COUNTRY ON EARTH,

BUT WE HAVE ONE OF THE HIGH-- BIGGEST PRISON POPULATIONS

PER CAPITA IN THE WORLD.

HOW CAN THAT BE, IN THE FREEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD?

SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE.

WE HAVE A MILLION PEOPLE IN PRISON IN THE UNITED STATES,

AND ABOUT HALF OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES.

IN CALIFORNIA, WE'VE GONE A LONG WAY TO REDUCE PENALTIES

FOR MINOR POSSESSIONS AND POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA,

BUT IT STILL REMAINS A FELONY

TO GROW EVEN ONE PLANT IN CALIFORNIA.

EVEN IN MY OWN FAMILY

THIS HAS COME TO BE A CONCERN.

MY BROTHER ORGANIZED AN INVESTMENT GROUP

TO SELL MEDICAL MARIJUANA.

LITERALLY THE NEXT DAY HE WAS ON THE PHONE,

ASKED FOR MY HELP, WANTED TO HIRE ME AWAY FROM NORML.

IN HIS MIND, READING THE HEADLINES,