The hotel has wifi so I just stopped by. HOLY C**P, what did I start!!???!!??? I'm amazed at two things:
first, the sheer number of posts in less than 24 hours, and
secondly, the ability of this board to take on a political discusssion of this sort, complete with disagreements, and handle it with respect and dignity. It makes me proud to hang out with you guys.
420: There are numerous urban myths:
* California police code for pot smoking in progress
*The number of chemicals in cannabis
*The time of day that cannabis was invented (yes, I've really heard people claim this!)
The above are all false. The truth appears to be that it started in the 70's at a high schol in San Rafael (not far from Alembic - LOL) where a group of students would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to indulge together.
As for laws, conceptually (from a legal standpoint) all laws fall into one of two categories: malum in se, and malum prohibitum. Malum in se crimes are those that are inherently bad, sort of Olie's initial proposition that illegal=immoral. These are crimes like murder, theft, rape, assault, burglary, etc., where one individual's conduct adversely affects another. These are the type of crime where there is an actual victim and most in society would agree these are bad or immoral acts.
Malum prohibitum crimes are those crimes that society deems to be bad. These include victimless crimes like getting high, prostitution, gambling, unmarried sex, improprer corporate record keeping, even oral sex (I dare anyone on this list to argue oral sex is immoral bad or evil, yet there are places in this country (I believe) where it is still illegal!).
As for the malum in se type of crime, I suspect most of us would ascribe to Olie's theory: illegal=immoral. It is the malum prohibitum crimes that create the controversy, both on this list and among people everywhere throughout history.
Joey:
Name one person who played better loaded? I believe if you read any of the books about the Grateful Dead, whether excellent biographies like Blair Jackson's Garcia, Dennis McNally's book, or even Phil's autobiography Searching for the Sound, you will find a very strong argument that psychedelics, especially LSD, had a profoundly positive effect on their music. Drugs are like most things, they can be used or abused. The music world bears ample evidence of both, IMHO. Unfortunately, when some drugs are abused, there are very dire consequences that we all know all too well.
Well, I've got to get ready, my panel starts in an hour and a half. Then lunch with Tommy Chong! (Maybe I should ask him about his guitar and amp set up in Up in Smoke? LOL
I love you guys
Bill, tgo