The two sides of 'Motokwane'

| Friday November 20, 2009 00:00

Is the grass greener on the other side? Depending on which zol/ganja/dope/splif/motokwane/marijuana/cannabis you are smoking, it is! If you are smoking either the (Toronto) BC bud, chronic, or hydro as opposed to Durban poison, Swazi, Malawian Gold or majaja, the grass is greener on the other side for sure. Ever since modern man came into contact with the 'Holy Herb' it has raised quite a big smoke, some using this smoke screen as a vehicle to promote whatever agendas or ulterior motives they hold dear. We are not proposing the legalisation of marijuana/weed/pot/trees/dagga/joint/reefer. However, we are going to look at how the ideologies of the day, cooked-up studies, negative media, twisted logic and blanket laws of a few gentlemen spelled the end of the 'Green Smoke' for the wider world. 

Marijuana has been used throughout history in many different cultures to change mood, perception, and consciousness - in the colloquial, to get high. First described in print in a Chinese book of medicine called 'Herbal' in the 2nd Century BC, it was also used in China as an anaesthetic 5, 000 years ago. A bit before that, primitive tribes of South America, Africa and India used the 'herb' as medicine and for religious purposes as well. The ancient Assyrians (used 'ganja' as an incense in the 9th century), Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and East Indians used 'weed' to control muscle spasms, reduce pain, and to treat indigestion. In colonial America, marijuana was cultivated for its fiber in Jamestown, Virginia as early as 1611; 19th century American medical doctors used it to treat spastic conditions, headaches, labour pains, insomnia, and menstrual cramps. In some parts of the Middle East and Asia, it is still used as a medicine.

Despite such a long and recorded history, how did 'motokwane' end up becoming so bad for you that if, according to the laws of Botswana, you are caught with less than 60 grams of 'dagga' you are liable to a charge of no less than P1, 000 or 3 years in jail? If you get caught with more than 60 grams you stand to either get a fine of no less than P1, 500 and no more than P5, 000 or no less than one year and no more than 5 years in the slammer.

History tells us that the illegalisation of weed started in Geneva, Switzerland. The centuries leading to the dawn of the 1920s saw Europeans deeming themselves God's champions for the civilisation of the whole world. As they embarked on their divine calling, conquered masses fell under God's and the King/Queen's law. Marijuana, a Mexican slang made popular by staunch 'zol' opponent William Randolph Hearst, became illegal among 'white nations' who were signatories to the 1925 League of Nations' Geneva International Convention on Narcotics Control; being satellite countries (a nice term for conquered/colonial outposts), our fates rested on the decisions of our 'God sent' civiliser countries. Every country that signed the Convention had to pass national laws of their own to curb the permeating effects of drugs on society for the Convention to be ratified. So on the of September 28th, 1925, in the UK, and most of the world, 'dope' became a thing that could land you in jail; and since Europe 'owned' Africa, we became signatories as well!

'Cannabis' was added to the agenda of the 1925 Convention on Narcotics Control because Egypt and Turkey proposed it. Both countries had histories of prohibition based on interpretations of Islamic law. Newly secular, they were trying to be 'modern.' The Egyptian delegate denounced 'Hashism', which he said caused 30-60 percent of the insanity in his country. India opposed banning the 'weed' saying that it had been used there since time immemorial. Back then the 'herb' had few supporters. Apart from musicians and poets, herb had lost popularity with the masses. The west saw this revelation by 'foreigners' as fodder for the massive media propaganda that followed. Word began to circulate that 'drugs' was a filthy foreign stuff, which should be stopped for the foreigners' own good. Through newspapers and magazines, drugs such as cocaine, opium and 'weed' were seen as evils used by black men to have sex with corrupted white women.

The fear of a coloured race and black men having intercourse with white women were the first reasons for a universal European approach to curb all things 'drugs', especially the most commonly used, 'joints.'

The 1920s saw a bunch of 'gentlemen countries' caught up on moral issues such as the prevalence of alcoholism, interracial sex and marriages, and drugs.

Despite the fact that 3/4 of the known world was under the yoke of colonisation, and racism being sanctioned by church and state, alcohol, drugs and black men having sex with white women were seen as unnecessary evils that needed to be nipped in the bud.

Apart from the interests of people such as William Randolph Hearst (who practically owned every newspaper and magazine in America) who wanted to put a stop to mechanised hemp production, which was threatening cellulose producers (Hearst was a big investor in the wood pulp paper industry), the propaganda machines focused on the sex and miscegenation issues. A popular propaganda movie, 'Reefer Madness', heavily funded by Hearst and his boys, made 'ganja' out to be a drug that made ordinary decent white boys and girls go criminal like the sex-crazed and job stealing blacks of the 1930s, a time when people were looking for scapegoats for the Depression.

The Americans, the beacon of morality and civilised behaviour of the day, and non-signatory to the League of Nations, did not sign the 1925 Convention because they thought the world was soft on drugs.

Having dismally lost the battle of Prohibition to Al Capone and his boys, 'reefer' became the next target. With most drug then imported from mainly Germany and England, the Americans had no problem with taxing 'drugs' to take money off the top form European drug companies. In 1931 Prohibition Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger became the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Anslinger used everything from science to newspapers to make 'marijuana' 'Public Enemy No.1.' Despite the opposition of the American Medical Association and the Seed Oil Institute Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937.
Possession laws varied between States until 1970. After Kennedy fired the deranged Anslinger, and THC (delta 9-tetra-hydro-cannabinol - the stuff that gets you high) was discovered as an ingredient of weed, serious research got underway to look into the medicinal aspects of the 'herb.'

Marijuana became a popular choice of drugs in the 60s in white suburban classes when popular jazz (voodoo music), blues, R&B and Rock n Roll (sex) singers, and poets, most notably the Beatniks, got into smoking 'pot.' These cross over arts went and played a big role in the popularity of the drug, apart from its association with the growing black and third world revolutions that were sweeping across the globe. Young white males started smuggling and selling 'trees' to their friends believing that they were benefiting a new, happier and calmer society.

The criminalisation of 'pot' has seen a world wide rise in arrests and jail terms for a lot of young men and women. In the UK, for example, 1964 was the first year that saw more white people than black convicted of cannabis-related offences. The massive use of 'ganja' was sparked when the Beatles, broken in by American singer Bob Dylan, started lighting up. That incident, together with the homosexual beatnik Allen Ginsberg's troubles with the law as a result of his homosexuality (a massive underground homosexual movement was slowly gaining popularity then) endeared 'pot' smoking to the masses. In 1965, the Dangerous Drugs Act in the UK brought her laws in line with the UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs - a Convention that saw 'cannabis' being listed under the same group as cocaine and opiates as 'having strong addictive properties' and or 'a risk to public health.'

What started as a propaganda issue among newsmen, business people and racists has now spread across the world, with misinformation being the order of the day. Although the laws were relaxed as more information into the less-addictive nature of 'weed' became public, some countries still maintained their tough stance on 'marijuana' long after the deaths of Hearst and Anslinger. Several reports have gone on to show that 'ganja' is not that evil drug that makes its users crazy and end up as serious criminals. Although that is the case with some people, for others it is not the case. But that is the truth about drugs in general: different people react to them in different ways.

'I don't have a problem with it. As a matter of fact, my girl and I smoke a joint before we engage in sex. It helps, you know, to prolong it!' said a young man as his girlfriend gave a devilish smile.  But for others, ganja is not as nice. 'I had a serious problem with trees man. I had to get hospitalised for it. Look, drugs are not for everyone,' said a young Counsellor at a pre-departure orientation of some UB students heading out to study in Australia. 'The stuff makes me want to sleep all the time. I'm just not up to anything when I'm high,' said a colleague.

However, despite all the negatives, people should know some of the positive and negative discoveries about 'zol' that researchers have stumbled upon. THC can be used to treat glaucoma, a condition that affects the eyes. It can also be used to stop nausea and vomiting (it is prescribed for patients after chemotherapy). It can also be used to treat some tumours and asthma. In a 2003 interview Psychologist Kefentse Mzwinila said that 'dagga' is enticing to most people because it makes one 'happy.' Artists swear that 'joints' enhances their creativity. On the negative side 'motokwane' is a time-killing drug.

If you smoke it because you have nothing to do, you end up doing just that, nothing. It decreases your hand-eye co-ordination and other motor skills. It causes damage to the limbic system and the hippocampus (parts of the brain that deals with instincts and emotions). It is also known to cause Korskakoff's Psychosis, a disorder commonly found in heavy, long time alcoholics. Long-term users risk dementia and other mental deterioration.

So, as you light up, remember that you stand a chance of landing on either side of the scales; plus the slammer awaits you as well!