But, one good law leads to another, and soon such prohibitionist tendencies led to the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act – which was also adopted partly because of gross misinformation that the use of marijuana led to “murder, insanity and death.” Which led to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which in turn led to the current “War on Drugs.” In fact, some $35 billion are spent on this “war” annually, with more money being expended on nonviolent drug offenses than on violent crime. And people still take drugs.
Today, we take it for granted that drugs are bad. After all, the government says they are, has endless laws and regulations concerning them, and has spent billions of dollars telling us to “just say no.” Most are not available on the free market, and if we request too much of the same one, our doctors or pharmacists may get suspicious and turn us down, give us a lecture on the dangers of substance abuse, or inform on us.
Of course, this diatribe isn’t meant to convince anyone of the legitimacy of recreational drug use. The Torah itself, in parshas V’eschanan, is explicit in mandating that we guard our health: “Only, take care of yourself, and take care of your life” (Deut. 4: 9); and, “Guard your lives well” (Deut. 4: 15) Regarding smoking, which involves the use of a drug, nicotine, Rabbi Menachem Slae has written an entire pamphlet, “Smoking and Damage to Health in the halacha,” while numerous religious authorities have been exceedingly critical of the habit. Kal v’chomer harder substances. Still, alcohol, which is classified as a depressant – the same drug class as a barbiturate – and can at times be more deadly, addictive, and violence provoking than many street drugs, is very much a feature of Jewish life.
And it wouldn’t help to know that both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp on their plantations – it’s even alleged that Jefferson recommended cannabis to help relieve headaches. Today’s authorities would just say that people were not as informed back then as they are now, and didn’t realize the danger inherent in the use of such things.
Actually, the danger lies in the pernicious hidden social costs and economic waste wrapped up with the government’s taking an active role in trying to stamp out drug use and lay down moral standards. But, one might be led to ask, if it’s not the government’s responsibility to do so, whose is it? As in the days before hyper-regulation, it’s the responsibility of those whom the government would, it seems, like to replace: parents, teachers, peers, and religious leaders.
The benefit of government non-involvement is that communities can regulate themselves. The money expended on ineffective federal efforts can instead be used locally, in a much more efficient fashion. Religious communities can initiate their own education, prevention, and rehabilitation programs. And for those who have no moral problem with substance use, well – we may not agree with them, but as long as they are consenting adults and do not impinge on our rights, we would have to exercise tolerance.
Those who were looking forward to Vicente Fox’s signing into law the decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use were not just people who wanted to take a quick hop over to Tijuana and indulge their yetzer haras for a few days. Many of them saw this as an opportunity for big government to scale back, with the hope that it might continue down the road of allowing people be responsible for themselves, for freely-associating groups to self-regulate their own moral systems. Many saw this as a step in the direction of reducing public expenditures, and of eventually eliminating the profit motive and violence so common in black markets. And it was going to take some of the theocracy out of government.
So it was no surprise that this year, with pressure from some of Mexico’s neighbors, that Fox, who had been so intent on Mexico’s sovereignty, vetoed the legislation.
One further note, perhaps best left for the linguists: Among the ingredients of the anointing oil found in Exodus (30: 23) is one called k’nei-bosem, usually translated as “sweet calamus.” Calamus is an aromatic plant, which Rashi translates literally as a “reed of spice.” Take away the final mem, run the two words together, and you’ve got something that sounds like “cannabis.” Coincidence?