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1960s throwbacks do more harm than good for the medical marijuana cause
Jointogether.org | 11/1/2005

Having counterculture icons like Tommy Chong and Ed Rosenthal -- the "Guru of Ganga" -- advocating for medical marijuana could be doing the cause more harm than good, some observers say.

The Oakland Tribune reported Oct. 28 that Robert MacCoun, a public policy professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said that cannabis activists are sometimes "their own worst enemies."

"They rely too heavily on a 1960s countercultural playbook, but it's precisely that kind of association that inflames opponents," said MacCoun.

But Rosenthal, who recently led a medical-marijuana rally in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, replies: "It's not like we're trying to be far out, we're just appealing to a rainbow. Marijuana is the one issue that crosses gender, age, ethnic and political lines ... There's only one group that's opposed to marijuana and that's the criminal-justice system. It's fat in the budget for them and they don't want to lose it."

National leaders of the medical marijuana movement, like Drug Policy Alliance West Coast director Marsha Rosenbaum and Bruce Mirken, communications director of the Marijuana Policy Project, had no qualms about appearing at the rally led by Rosenthal. Mirken called medical-marijuana backers "a very disparate collection of folks from all corners of society who've come to the honest conclusion that our current marijuana laws make no sense."

"If this were a great, disciplined conspiracy, there probably wouldn't be a 'giant [joint] rolling contest'" as took place at the Golden Gate event. "I'm willing to bet no poll or focus group has tested that as an effective method of reaching the public."

"Part of what any organization needs to do is reach out to the people who are interested in your issue," Mirken added. "We do want to reach out to those folks even if the event itself is not necessarily the kind of thing we ourselves would organize."

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RL in IL

I agree.

Yes, possibly their "harsh" take on the 1960s countercultural playbook that gives the proceedings an aura that other drugs are also as benign. That needs to go, even a remote association to other drugs.

Even though the MPP wouldn't sponsor a joint rolling contest, it appears at this event to reach out to those people who might fit into their category. I think the majority of the US population who feel strongly about this issue belong in the MPP category. There were probably less of these people at the event mentioned at this article, but the few that were there are more easily reachable and can spread the word to others who would not attend such an event.

I always feel MPP is on the right track.