Colorado’s Marijuana Legalization in Retrospect

Samuel R. Caldwell (U.S Industrial Hemp)

Marijuana legalization and the policies for implementing successful regulation should be important to Coloradans.  Often times when I’m discussing the topic with people the interest level is usually measured by how much they enjoy smoking pot, which misses the point.  People who don’t actively use marijuana find themselves reticent to discuss the issues.  An easier way to look at the broader societal issues pertaining to marijuana is to view it through the retrospect of history.  This is a conversation that we should all be having. (Disclaimer: I’m not hear for personal health advice and I think you should use as much pot as you want.)

What matters to me and, and many other Americans, is that we are no longer throwing people in jail, usually disproportionately African Americans and Hispanics, for possessing pot in Colorado.  To show how far we’ve come on the issue take Samuel R. Caldwell, 58, and Moses Baca, 26, who were arrested by Denver police and federal authorities on October 2, 1937, for a marijuana transaction.  Caldwell was selling marijuana to Baca at the Lexington Hotel, in the Five Points section of Denver.  Caldwell and Baca were arrested the same day that the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted, which essentially stipulated that the cultivation and selling of marijuana was permitted as long as you possessed a $1 government stamp, which no one was allowed to buy.  (Catch 22 anyone?)  Caldwell became the first person in history convicted of selling marijuana in violation of U.S. federal law on October 5, 1937.  The presiding judge in the case, Foster Symes said, “I consider marijuana the worst of all narcotics, far worse than the use of morphine or cocaine.  Under its influence men become beasts.  Marijuana destroys life itself.  I have no sympathy with those who sell this weed.  The government is going to enforce this new law to the letter.” (Cannabis News) The amazing amount of understanding this man had would make him qualified for our current congress.
 
Ridiculous as these notions might seem, Judge Foster Symes was one of the many Americans who listened to a decade of U.S government propaganda that argued the imaginary dangers of marijuana.  Blacks, Mexicans, and subversive people who enjoyed jazz music were said to push “reefers” on innocent school children, which turned them into blood deranged murderers.  (For a reference on this rational watch Reefer Madness). (Cannabis News)

Caldwell, the man who really wished he had the unattainable government stamp, received a sentence of four years hard labor at Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas for selling, while Baca was imprisoned 18 months for possession.  Both men would serve out their sentences completely and Caldwell died a year after being released. (Cannabis News) Early pawns in the senseless war on weed.

Caldwell, Baca, and countless others Americans had their lives ruined over the decades because of antiquated laws pertaining to marijuana, which is mostly a harmless vice.  This is why the issue should matter to Americans of any political flavor or smoking habits.  Forget about your affinity with marijuana and ask yourself, do I like the idea that adults can use a benign drug without being punished for it?  This directly answers the importance of the issue.  The legalization of weed in Colorado is a fitting tribute to Caldwell and Baca, who would be otherwise unknown to everybody if it wasn’t for the misfortune of being convicted of marijuana crimes during a transition of national policy, that would forever cement their places in marijuana history.  The first state to bust a marijuana seller in a major way is also one of the first states to legalize weed.  One has to love the beautiful irony involved.  In today’s Colorado, Caldwell and Baca would be the old guy hipsters at the counter of a recreational marijuana shop selling people grams.  (The dispensary could be within walking distance of where the bust took place in 1937.)  Baca could also notice that the editor of a mainstream pot blog that is part of the Denver Post shares the same name.  (More irony?)

Colorado is the state pioneering legalized marijuana with a regulatory system that is working.  From the 1930s marijuana scare tactics, to a reluctant but conceding ex-beer dealing governor, Colorado has made great strides on the pot issue.  Just ask Peyton Manning about his successful Papa John’s stores.