Loud, bud, tree, reefer, Devil's lettuce, weed.
Now that I have your attention, allow me to introduce myself. I am a new addition to BSU's Daily News opinion column, and my focus this year will be on issues in regards to social injustice, politics and reforming the public opinion on, you guessed it, marijuana.
In high school, you could find me on the football track as head cheerleader, golfing as captain of the girls team, on the honor roll, singing with the choir, playing the piano for local and state events or on stage performing with my dance company.
However, on September 2, 2016, I could be found somewhere else, somewhere I never imagined myself... I was walking out of the school I went to for eleven years for the last time, escorted by a local police officer.
I was suspended from my school and banned from all school sponsored events and the property, with threats of arrest if I failed to oblige with my new restrictions. I was also placed on formal probation for a period of six months.
How did I find myself in this predicament? By a roach, the leftovers of a marijuana cigarette, smaller than the size of my fingernail. It was found underneath the passenger seat of my Toyota.
Although the act in itself was careless and could have easily been avoided on my end, it was the public opinion and prohibition of marijuana that led to the severe consequences of my actions.
It was Harry Anslinger, Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, desperately looking for a substance to demonize after his funding was cut. It was Nixon, whose aide John Ehrlichman admitted in 1994, starting the War on Drugs in order to disrupt the hippie (anti-Vietnam) and black communities.
It was a combination of past events mixed in with my own negligence that led to my punishments over that pinky-nail-sized evidence. If you want more in depth information on the history and future of prohibition, along with views on other social injustices happening in our country, I encourage you to stay up to date with my following columns.
Until then, stay woke.
Read More
‘The program is still alive:’ Wapahani baseball defeats Alexandria on Raiders’ special night
By Zach Carter / 48 minutes agoAfter having multiple ceremonies before the game, Wapahani baseball defeated Alexandria 4-2. Raiders' starting pitcher Kayson Perdue threw a complete game with six strikeouts.
Self-immolation outside Manhattan courthouse where Trump trial is adjourned
By Staff Reports / 6 hours agoA person, who was later identified as Max Azzarello, self-immolated outside of the Manhattan courthouse where former president Donald Trump is on trial. Azzarello was extinguished and rushed away by emergency services. He is in critical condition at Weill Cornell Medicine - Burn Center, according to a press conference held by the New York Police Department (NYPD).
The closure of the historic Mark III Tap Room impacts Muncie’s LGBTQ+ community.
By Meghan Holt / 11 hours agoPatrons of the oldest gay bar in Indiana reflect on how it affected their lives.
