420 ISSUE APR 2014 M A G A Z I N E ROOTS / ROCK / REGGAE / RESPECT HEMPRESS SATIVA 10 GANJA TRAX UNCONQUEREBEL RESPECT LIONESS PROTOJE KABAKA PYRAMID TURBULENCE JAHKIME JESSE ROYAL SATORI MOVEMENT KEZNAMDI NATURAL BLACK ONE LOVE / ONE EARTH / ONE CHANCE IRIEMAG.COM THE 420 ISSUE / 2014 “When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.” - Bob Marley Nicholas “Nico” Da Silva Founder/Publisher IRIEMAG.COM Celebrate 420 everyday! ROOTS. ROCK. REGGAE. Irie 420 Satori Movement Hempress Sativa From Jamaica One Love / One Earth / One Chance Unconquerebel Lioness RESPECT. REWIND. RIDDIMS. Kindah Danny Creatah Ganja Trax One Family World A Reggae Music for the Cannabis Culture TABLE OF CONTENT. Jamaica ROOTS. Irie 420 From Jamaica IRIE 420 From Jamaica By Kam-Au Amen Ganja babe my sweet ganja babe I love tha way ya love me and the way ya misbehavin’ ganja babe my sweet ganja babe come wake body-ody take my mind away GANJA BABE, MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD Being Jamaican, and growing up in that culture one can hardly escape knowing what ganja, otherwise referred to as marijuana, weed, pot, cannabis, herb, I-ncients, collie, sensi, and a number of other names is. The use of ganja in Jamaica is still illegal, and its possession is criminal, therefore it is largely used outside of the public eye. No doubt this has contributed to its mystique and appeal. In Jamaica, the use of ganja has primarily been associated with the Rastafari brethren. These days however, lots have changed. Much of Jamaica’s international renown is due to its seeming- ly very integral role in counter cultural movements. Jamaica’s rebel history boasts figures such as Boukman, Marcus Garvey, WEBSITE Bob Marley and Peter Tosh to name a few, and the nation has urbanyardjamaica.com given birth to significant political movements such as Marcus Garvey’s UNIA and ACL, and Rastafari. 1 of 6 IRIEMAG.COM It has also loaned its support to numerous others such as African independence struggles, anti-apartheid struggles and the Non- Aligned Movement. A significant part of this success, one could argue, is the role Jamaica’s music has played, and the impact it has had on these developments. Therefore, there is nothing surprising about Jamaica having some skin in this game so to speak; rebel is what we are, it would appear. But even though we may appear as rebels to the world outside, internally the progress to embracing ganja has been among the most reactionary one will find anywhere. Reasons for that vary, not least of all is the fear for international repercussions from trading partners such as the USA. Increasingly, the establishment is acknowledging the tremendous value of ganja for medicinal uses such as to treat glaucoma and asthma. Yet, the actions to fully take advantage of its medicinal capacity have been slow. In one newspaper article, one former Prime Minister went at length to speak of the repercussions Jamaica could face from the USA if ganja were decriminalized; this is to say nothing of legalization that would be taking it a step further. One would almost forget that Jamaica is a politically independent nation, at least in theory. What makes this cowardly is that the decriminalization and legalization of the use of ganja for medicinal purposes is moving along in the USA where several states have already created this exception or are pursing it, and at least two states allow some recreational use. 2 of 6 IRIEMAG.COM In Jamaica the struggle to decriminalize the use of ganja, and even make it legal has been a long one. The landmark 2001 Report of the National Commission on Ganja commissioned by the then Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, has yet to find its recommendations implemented. Among the recommendations were: • that the relevant laws be amended so that ganja be decriminalized for the private, personal use of small quantities by adults • that decriminalization for personal use should exclude smoking by juveniles or by anyone in premises accessible to the public • that ganja should be decriminalized for use as a sacrament for religious purposes • that a sustained all-media, all-schools education program aimed at demand reduction accompany the process of decriminalization, and that its target should be, in the main, young people • that the security forces intensify their interdiction of large cultivation of ganja and trafficking of all illegal drugs, in particular crack/cocaine • that, in order that Jamaica be not left behind, a Cannabis Research Agency be set up, in collaboration with other countries, to coordinate research into all aspects of cannabis, including its epidemiological and psychological effects, and importantly as well its pharmacological and economic potential, such as is being done by many other countries, not least including some of the most vigorous in its suppression These recommendations seem harmless and forward thinking, particularly in light of the develop- ments in the Netherlands and in the US where the establishment is exhibiting some capacity to be flexible. Unfortunately, the Jamaican establishment is not demonstrating that willingness. In these matters they seem prepared to follow. Notwithstanding, the Jamaican popular culture has taken the lead and has very clearly articulated the direction it would like to see these developments take. 3 of 6 IRIEMAG.COM To date there are several “ganja anthems” that have been done by reggae artists in Jamaica and worldwide. And there exists compilation albums with some of the more popular songs. One of the anthems I think that captures the enduring sentiment of the Jamaican popular culture is titled Tired Fi Lick Weed Inna Bush originally released in 1976 by the inimitable Jacob Miller. It’s still relevant. Ooh, now, want to be free.... Tired fe lick weed in a bush Tired fe lick pipe in a gully We want to come out in the open Where the breeze can blow it so far away To the north, to the south, To the eas’, an’ to the wes’ , to the wes’ Talkin’ about Jones Town, Trench Town, concrete jungle, too From Waterhouse, that’s the wes’, that’s the bes’, that’s the wes’ From St. Ann’s it comes to you The best collie weed you ever drew So why should you run and hide From the red seam, the blue seam, the khaki clothes, too, hmm Jacob Miller Tired fe lick weed in a bush Tired fe lick chillum in a gully We want to come out in the open Where the breeze can blow it so far away YOUTUBE To the north, to the south, http://youtu.be/9kxe-O15xjE To the eas’, an’ to the wes’ , to the wes’, ooh now We want, we want to be free.... TIRED FI LICK WEED INNA BUSH, JACOB MILLER 4 of 6 IRIEMAG.COM In the USA advocates have managed to demonstrate a marked capacity to influence officialdom in a way the Jamaican players have not been able to influence theirs. Notwithstanding, it seems the time has come for more movement to happen on this matter, and things are indeed changing, if even slowly. In the mean time, I find the story of the origin of 420 interesting. For readers who may not be familiar, the Huffington Post article titled “420 History: The Story Behind April 20 Becoming ‘Weed Day’ gives a useful account of the history of 420. It tells us that it all began with “a group of five San Rafael High School [California] friends known as the Waldos - by virtue of their chosen hang-out spot, a wall outside the school”. Their own account of the story goes: One day in the Fall of 1971 - harvest time - the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of this free bud. The Waldos were all athletes and agreed to meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside the school at 4:20, after practice, to begin the hunt. “We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis and we eventually dropped the Louis,” Waldo Steve tells the Huffington Post. The first forays out were unsuccessful, but the group kept looking for the hidden crop. “We’d meet at 4:20 and get in my old ‘66 Chevy Impala and, of course, we’d smoke instantly and smoke all the way out to Pt. Reyes and smoke the entire time we were out there. We did it week after week,” says Steve. “We never actually found the patch.” 5 of 6 IRIEMAG.COM Apparently, this is the earliest known and verified account surrounding the term and its meaning. What is equally fascinating in this account is the rest of the story that speaks to how the term 420 became popular internationally. As the article accounts it is with the moving to the Marin County hills - just blocks from San Rafael High School of the Grateful Dead that enabled the spread. It tells us further, “as the Grateful Dead toured the globe through the ‘70s and ‘80s, playing hundreds of shows a year - the term spread though the Dead underground. Once High Times got hip to it, the FOLLOW magazine helped take it global.” Much like the case in Jamaica with the spread of the ganja culture Kam-Au Amen through reggae music, so too 420 spread through the music in the USA. 420 has cemented itself in the counter culture tradition of the USA and now has a permanent place in American culture.