I've just finished watching the most convincing documentary about marijuana and why it should be legalized. It's title was The Union: The Business Behind Getting High. I've seen several documentaries surrounding the concept of marijuana's pros and cons, but never one quite as well rounded as this one. In the film, director Brett Harvey explains how the business of selling marijuana has become one big twisted mess. For instance, it makes an overwhelmingly amount of sense to legalize weed for medicinal uses, so why not? Well, because you can't patent a plant like you can a pill. So, in turn the large pharmaceutical corporations would not make their money. It's reasons like these that the government has been so stubborn on the topic of legalizing marijuana when there are so many facts to back up it's positive effects. Check out the film for yourself...
So what about marijuana and music? The two have gone hand in hand for quite awhile. And it makes sense due to both marijuana's rebellious as well as creative reputation. The act of getting high and playing music in American culture predominantly arose out of the Jazz era. New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz, was highly responsible for fostering this cultural occurrence. Jazz musicians in New Orleans were often face with very long and tiring gigging schedules. Smoking weed was a helpful way to get over their exhaustion. On top of this, the high made their music more creative and imaginative. Listen to the jazz standard Groovin' High, composed by the great Dizzie Gillespie performed with Charlie Parker. The song's meaning can easily be explained by it's name, so I won't bother doing so.