The mood has turned noticeably ugly in the marijuana reform camp since the November 8 election of Donald J Trump. Despite the last 20 years of solid progress, our newest Pres. elect seems to be bulking up his political muscle and preparing to go mano y mano against the reform movement. As such, Adam Conover attempts to uncover the root cause of the plant’s prohibited status, and just how “We the people” allowed our politicians to revoke America’s claim to being “the land of the free.”

By tapping Sen. Jeff Sessions as the United States Atty. Gen. and Republican Tom Price from Georgia as Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, few doubt that Trump is sending up anti-legalization smoke signals. Establishing the political foundation to roll back the recent progress made against marijuana’s highly unwarranted prohibition, this diminished-looking bunch of discredited ideologues is loaded with bigotry and hypocrisy for all!

Marijuana and Public Opinion

Marijuana was ultimately prohibited in the U.S. due to the greed of competing industries, racism, and ignorance. As such, today’s polls have found the majority of well-informed Americans want marijuana legalized. Fueled by political deception, bewilderment and prejudicial attitudes (read: Mexican Americans and individuals of color), the prohibition of marijuana was germinated in the early 1930s by Harry J. Anslinger and our country’s fear of the unknown. Cognizant that racism and lies are a lawmaker’s best friend in the cesspool of American politics, marijuana lost its battle with common sense.

Classified as a Schedule I narcotic within the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, the Nixon administration took that opportunity to ignite the absurd War on Drugs. Compelled to “protect” America’s youth by imprisoning them, President Nixon’s ultimate goal was to silence his pot-smoking political adversaries.

Why is Weed Illegal?

By weaponizing America’s drug laws, politicians like Nixon and Trump are allowed to legally imprison their opinionated adversaries. Incarcerating politically active pot smokers and those reform-minded minorities for violating “the law,” marijuana prohibition was converted into a dangerous tool for the politically motivated.

As President-elect Trump threatens to transport us back to the dark ages of prohibition, Adam Conover of ‘Adam Ruins Everything’ fame has just released a timely video: The Sinister Reason Weed is Illegal.

America’s history of prohibition is long, confusing and completely absurd…enjoy!