What do Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have in common with Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, Curren$y, Three 6 Mafia, Snoop Dogg/Lion, and the old Kid Cudi? They’ve all had their run in with cannabis of course. Well we all know the president and the former presidents didn’t use marijuana to the extent of these hip hop stars, but all have admitted, or at least not denied the use of marijuana.
Marijuana, weed, dope, Mary Jane, pot, reefer, what ever you may call it, is everywhere: TV, movies, music and politics. Today marijuana is a hot topic in music and in politics, but for very different reasons.
Without marijuana the majority of the work produced by the artists mentioned above would not have names or content, for example, Wiz Khalifa’s mixtapes ‘Kush and OJ’ and ‘Burn After Rolling’, Kid Cudi’s weed anthem, ‘Marijuana,’ and Juicy J’s ‘Stoner’s Night’. Some people even claim a dramatic negative change in Kid Cudi’s music ever since he stopped smoking marijuana.
There is no doubt that marijuana has a huge affect on hip hop, so huge that you would think smoking weed is perfectly legal, but it’s not. This is where politics come in.
The War on Drugs is huge and the debate on whether marijuana should be legal or illegal is prominent discussion in America. There are arguments on both sides that make perfect sense. The use of marijuana can cause mild side effects but marijuana is not a deadly drug. Marijuana contains levels of some toxins even higher than tobacco and frequent use of marijuana can cause harm to vital organs, but marijuana can have medical value unlike tobacco. Marijuana can be a gateway drug, causing people to turn to more dangerous drugs. But the U.S. prisons are filled with marijuana offenders and millions of dollars would be saved if the possession and use of marijuana were legal. Also minorities are disproportionately affected by arrests for marijuana use and possession. Marijuana can be slightly addictive but it is still heavily used although it is illegal and legalizing marijuana would better regulate the drug.
In the end whether or not marijuana becomes legal or not, rappers and hip hop artists will still use it recreationally and to enhance the creative process of making music. I believe regulation of marijuana will have little effect on hip hop, what’s done now will just be more open than it already is. But does that make it right?
Whether they like it or not, millions of kids look up to rappers and hip hop artists. There are people who want to emulate the lives of their favorite artists, and more often than not, that includes smoking marijuana. Fans see that these can artists use marijuana with little to no consequences, but in the world outside of hip hop there are consequences. As stated before blacks and Hispanics are effected by marijuana related arrests more than any other race.
The Hip Hop community should want marijuana to be legal to get black and hispanic men and women out of prison and to keep young black and hispanic men and women from going to prison, not just for pleasure and to get high whenever and wherever we want. Too often the hip hop community glamorizes the use of marijuana and forgets the dark side that has lead so many men and women in prison. Hip Hop artists should not only rap about the great feeling they get when they get high but also about how marijuana is hurting the black community.