sold . Everyone knew where to find Mezzrow when they needed the reefer man .
Earlier in his pusher days , he developed the first mail-order grass delivery and would ship shoeboxes of weed through the mail to musicians all over the country . It became his life ’ s mission to provide this plant to all those musicians he admired .
And they reciprocated the love . You know , all those great marijuana songs of the 1930s and ‘ 40s ? Most of them , in some way , pay homage to or reference Mezzrow . Fats Calloway wrote a song with the lyrics , “ I dreamed about a reefer five feet long , a Mighty Mezz , but not too strong .” Violinist Stuff Smith recorded a song called “ You ’ se a Viper ,” calling out Mezzrow . During this time , marijuana smokers were called “ vipers ” due to the hissing sound of the long inhale associated with smoking weed .
The Jazz Age gave birth to a whole new vernacular to describe marijuana , and Mezzrow was all over it : jive , reefer , grass , muggles , vipers , and mezz , mezzrole , and The Mighty Mezz . But most famous of all was Mezz ’ a nickname as Muggles King .
The Muggles King was a controversial figure and indeed would have been the model after which Norman Mailer
wrote his scathing and infamous essay , “ The White Negro .” To Mailer , this term was synonymous with the phrase hipster . An example of this behavior included a person who “ takes marijuana because it supplies him with experiences that can ’ t be shared with ‘ squares .’”
Also , to Mailer , people like Mezzrow were “ bohemian juvenile delinquents [ who ] came face-toface with the Negro … Marijuana was the wedding ring between them … And in this wedding of the white and the black it was the Negro who brought the cultural dowry .”
So , to this culture , Mezzrow dedicated his life . He lived out his days in Paris , where he died on August 5 , 1972 . He is buried in the famous Père-Lachaise Cemetery , the eternal home to those such as Jim Morrison ( The Doors ), Frédéric Chopin , and Oscar Wilde , to name a few .
Mezzrow fancied himself a great jazz clarinetist . Although he was claimed to have been “ so out of tune he might ’ ve developed a new scale system ,” his contributions to jazz culture by way of creative expression through altered consciousness and his early advocacy of normalizing marijuana grant The Mighty Mezz a seat at the table of the Great American Potheads .
Karla Deel is the Flora Farms Marketing Director , a writer , poet , and researcher , with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Media Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City . She ’ s published a book titled “ Storied & Scandalous Kansas City , a History of Corruption Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze .” Deel also serves on the Jackson County Historical Society board , works in communications for the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library , and volunteers for several local nonprofits . Visit Karla at
www . KarlaDeel . com .