Cannabis Revolutionaries of the Past & Present
Written by Ryan Najjar
Cannabis accessibility, science, and rights would be nonexistent without the efforts of revolutionary figures who worked tirelessly for its acceptance. Many have put in the work, and I regret not being able to name every victim of the War on Drugs who helped get us here.
A select few, through it all, have stood out for their particular contributions in this fight. These musicians, authors, physicians, and regular people alike have put years of work, often their whole lives, into the cause, and they deserve our recognition.
You may recognize some of these names already for one reason or another. Don’t feel bad for not knowing all of them; like many revolutionaries, ideological opponents have worked to bury their names and contributions. We’re here to keep their work alive and known.
Peter Tosh
While not everyone knows Peter Tosh by name, you’d be hard-pressed to meet someone who hasn’t heard his music. He, Bunny Wailer, and the iconic Bob Marley wrote and performed what is indisputably the most famous reggae ever made.
While Marley receives the most attention, Tosh dedicated himself to important social & political movements in his regrettably short time on Earth, including cannabis legalization.
His first solo record, released in 1976, was called Legalize It!, and it stands as one of the earliest public statements on weed legalization in music.
The title track became an anthem for the movement, speaking on the harassment he’d been facing from the police for his activism, and its popularity led to him facing even more police brutality.
His daughter has also testified to his advocacy regarding cannabis as a medicinal tool, pushing for April 20th to be dedicated as International Peter Tosh Day in homage.
He was also a vocal opponent of the South African Apartheid government, even performing for free at benefit concerts advocating for its end. Racial justice and cannabis rights are intertwined and always have been, so one could say his anti-Apartheid action is a form of cannabis rights activism in itself.
Rick Simpson
Rick Simpson Oil, often shortened to RSO, can be found in dispensaries everywhere. It’s a prevalent alternate cannabis form, with people reporting in scientific studies that they seek it out for personal relief in their daily lives (1).
While many weed products have names of varying relevance, RSO is named directly after its creator Rick Simpson, a retired power engineer from Canada.
As the story goes, his life changed in 1997 after suffering a head injury that conventional medicine wasn’t helping him treat. He turned to cannabis in his moment of need, whipping up a concentrated oil to more efficiently deliver what he considered to be the plant’s healing properties.
He started consuming it regularly, and he claims his health complications from this injury have dramatically improved or halted completely ever since. He even purports it can treat and cure cancer & other diseases.
After treating his health problems, he took to the media to begin fighting for everyone’s right to self-medicate with cannabis, advocating for further research as well. He says he’s dealt with legal trouble in this fight, though, including a raid on his home by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known colloquially as “Mounties.”
Without a doubt, the oil he created has a major place in the medical cannabis world, and his work has led to important research on the medical properties of cannabinoids & other chemicals within the plant.
It needs to be said that his claims about RSO’s curative properties are questionable at best, and harmful at worst (2). We can acknowledge his work as a cannabis revolutionary, and we have to emphasize you shouldn’t take everything he says as fact.
Unfortunately, he even tells people to make their oil at home with standard household items. We cannot stress enough that you need industrial processing equipment to make safe RSO, and you should not try making it at home.
Joycelyn Elders
While Rick Simpson advocated for medicinal cannabis as a patient, Joycelyn Elders had the unique opportunity & ability to do so as a physician. She isn’t just any physician, however: She’s the first black person & second woman to have served as the Surgeon General, the leader of the U.S.A.’s public health service.
She’s used her platform to champion several progressive public health movements, including the inclusion of more black people in the medical field & improvements in sex education.
Even before then, all the way back in 1993, Elders went on record as believing drug legalization would significantly reduce our crime rate. She’s also joined other researchers & physicians in making a formal case for legalization, citing new medical research and a desire to improve regulation (3).
While she’s done plenty already, she’s continued the fight for legalization into the 21st century, speaking up during interviews and international conferences alike to spread knowledge and advocate for the rights of cannabis users.
As she explains to The Nation’s host, Laura Flanders, “Marijuana has been used for 5,000 years. It’s never been associated with a toxic death or death from marijuana, so I feel that it’s more of a medicine and we should use it, regulate it, and tax it.”
Jack Herer
Some of you might have been waiting for us to mention Jack Herer this whole time. We don’t blame you; he’s even got his own strain! As it turns out, he did plenty to earn it.
His main contribution to cannabis legalization came with the publication of his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Released in 1985, it’s loaded with research and discussion of hemp’s legal & botanical history, along with a detailed breakdown of potential uses.
The book was very well received among cannabis enthusiasts, and it’s considered to be required reading for understanding the American history of cannabis legalization & the surrounding conversation. He pushed this conversation further by attending countless rallies after the book came out, regularly putting his voice and face behind his message.
As our scientific capacities & understanding of the plant have evolved, certain theories he put forth have been discredited with time, but most of the information within has remained relevant. It’s one of the earliest texts to explore hemp, and it sparked public discourse & interest enough to encourage research into Herer’s theories to this day.
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Works Cited:
Brady, J. P., Bruce, D., Foster, E., & Shattell, M. (2020). Self-Efficacy in Researching and Obtaining Medical Cannabis by Patients With Chronic Conditions. Health Education & Behavior, 47(5), 740–748. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48683560
Hendrickson, Robert G., Nathanael J. McKeown, Shana G. Kusin and Annette M. Lopez. 2020. "Acute Cannabis Toxicity in Older Adults." Toxicology Communications 4(1):67-70. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/24734306.2020.1852821.
Nathan, David L, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., H. W. Clark and Elders, Joycelyn, M.D., M.S. 2017. "The Physicians' Case for Marijuana Legalization." American Journal of Public Health 107(11):1746-1747. doi: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304052.