The Great 60s Marijuana Hoax
How the Beat Generation Fought the Machine
◄ Continued from page 12
again , the U . S . Customs seized a shipment of Howl , alleged for its obscenity and pro-marijuana and homosexual agendas .
Poet Allen Ginsberg leads a group of demonstrators outside the Women ’ s House of Detention on Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich Village , demanding the release of prisoners arrested for use or possession of marijuana . ( photo , The Library of Congress dated from January 10th , 1965 , photographer unknown ).
Ginsberg built himself a marijuana legalization empire through his poetry , lectures , and cultural influence throughout America ’ s counterculture . Writer Martin A . Lee described Ginsberg as “ the original culture warrior for cannabis , a one-man anti-reefer madness wrecking crew determined to shake the foundations of pot prohibition .” He used his popularity and infamy to land him on highly publicized platforms . He was once a guest of John Crosby on CBS TV , where he made a shocking claim that the government was wrong and that there was no danger associated with marijuana . The Federal Communications Commission intervened and made CBS air a seven-minute rebuttal from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics , touting the dangers of the menace weed .
Ginsberg solidified his rightful place as an ultimate marijuana activist when he published The Great Marijuana Hoax , an ode to marijuana and a rant against the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and corrupt government .
“ Already millions of people have gotten high and looked at the images of their Presidents and governors and representatives on television and seen that all were betraying signs of false character ,” writes Ginsberg in The Great Marijuana Hoax . “ I believe that future generations will have to rely on new faculties of awareness , rather than on the versions of old idea-systems , to cope with the increasing godlike complexity of our planetary civilization .”
References : Read Howl at : https :// www . poetryfoundation . org / poems / 49303 / howl
24 June 2022
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 .