Bloom, Fred_Marijuana Culture

8/14/2019 Bloom, Fred_Marijuana Culture

1/14

mariua cu1ttrnBY FRED BLOOM

toppingata neighborhoodtorerecentlyo pick upa cartonofmilk andsome other tems,I asked heclerk,a boyof about ifteen,forone of the pickledeggs froma large ar standing nthecounter.As he turned o get one, a flashof annoyancerossedhis face;heseemed o be thinking.Thenheaskedone of the other toreclerks ohandhima package f Baggies.Whileshe wasgetting hemhe tookthemoney or gum andsodafromtwo smallchildren.He turned omy milkandotherpurchases ndrang hemup, ignoring he Baggiestossedup on thecounter. paid hetotalandhe startedoputmystuffintoa bag."Whatabout he egg?" I asked."Oh, I forgotall about t," he said, clappinghis handto hisforeheadwithasurprisinglourish.tall cameback ohim;hebecameawareof theBaggieson thecounter."I didn'tevenchargeyouforit."Ipaidhimanotherhirty-fiveents.He got outaBaggieandbeganto twist openthe wrong ar."No, I wantanegg, not a sausage,>"protested.Afteranotheroverlyabashed pology, finallygot my egg.Very ikelythisyoungmanconsidered imself hatevening obein aheightenedtateofconsciousness,nd hecurrentanguagewouldsupporthatview. Hewas "high."Whatwouldotherwise avebeena dulleveningbehind hecounterof thisbareandbright orner tore,promises,witha few tokeson ajointin the backroom,to be transformed. phantasmagoriaf in-teresting etailwill rise off thesurface f objects o bathe hemind.Colors, extures,patternswillbecome ascinatingndabsorbing,ullof meaning, rypticmeaning erhaps, utall themoreabsorbingorthat, ts cipher ust out of reach,rich nassociations.There s thejar


2/14

278 the antiochreview

of eggs, each egg a perfectandenigmatic gg shape, reflectingstrange gg lightfromwithin he liquorn which t is bathed,a finalandabsorbingmeditation, ndthrough hisreverie, ikea prodat asleepingcat, comes thethought,"I'vegot to putone of theseeggsina Baggie or this guyandI'm out of Baggies,"a thought hatcallstheyoungmanout of hisreverie nd ntotheveryordinaryndmun-dane askof waitingon me.The clerkexperienceshiscapacityorattention ndabsorption,whetherhe knows t or not, or even thinksabout t, duringat leastthe bestphaseof a marijuanantoxication.At best,it is whyhegetsstoned.Fromhis pointof view, if hecouldarticulatet, the suchnessof theeggsinthe ar s morereal han heBaggieproblem,while rommy pointof view, this kid is in outerspace,he is wastingmytime,andhe is nomore n touchwithmy reality han f he werehalfasleepora dimwit.An organizationalling tself the MaineMarijuana rowersAs-sociationwasoutin forcerecentlyn frontof the statecapitolwherethe legislaturewas in sessionconsidering bill to recriminalizehepossessionof small amounts f marijuana, hichwas "decriminal-ized," thoughnotexactlymade egaleither,a fewyearsago.Aspartof this obbying ffortmany egislators iscoveredn themorningmaila marijuanaigarette, ucked nto a letter nforminghemthattheycould nowbe subject o criminalprosecution. helegislators,whowereseriously onsideringhisrecriminalizationill,neverthelessidnot wantto appear quare o the reporterswho came to get theirreactiono theletters,so they madevariousattempts thilarity uchas suggesting hatthe cigarettes e tested orquality, mplying hatalthoughheywere not "for"marijuana,heywere nota bunchofprudes ither.California'sOffice of AgriculturalResourceshasrecentlyac-knowledgedhatmarijuanaas become hatstate'snumber-oneashcrop,aheadof oranges ndgrapes,whilenationally,marijuanaankssecond,behind orn,which s stillnumberne,butahead f soybeansandwheat.And,we aretold,the odorof marijuanamoke s now aspervasiven WallStreet unchrooms s in the audience t rock androllconcerts.Yet, thewidespreadocial disseminationf marijuanahasprovokedelativelyittlepublicdiscussion,andevenless criticalthought.Major ecent ritical tudiesof American ulture itheromitanyreferenceo drugs(Christopherasch'sCultureof Narcissism,forexample) rinterprett in the contextof somegeneralpolemicasa signof decayora signof alienation.Empiricaltudies,with some


3/14

marijuanaculture 279

notable xceptions uchas WeilandZinberg's tudyof theeffectsofmarijuananspeech,havebeensopurelymedical s to missthemostcrucial uestions,whicharenotmedical uestionswhether itcausescancer,birthdefects,psychosis,orthe famousdiseaseof thehippies,"amotivationalsyndrome" but are social and even religiousquestions.Eventhe medical ffectsof a drugcan be largelydeterminedythe social formof its use. Tobacco, orexample,probably id notcausecancerwhen t was usedbythe Plains ndians,becausehe useof the drugwas restrictedo ceremonialunctions ndtherefore idnotbecomehabitual raddictive.Themost ellingsocial actof mar-ijuanause is that thereareno effective socialforms,no generallyunderstoodimes, places,or reasons o smokemarijuanahatwould,by giving definition ndmeaning o its use, restrain ndcontrol t.Theofficial llegality f marijuana,ven where t isdecriminalizedotheextent hatyou get onlyacitation,ikeaparkingicket, orgettingcaughtwithit, combinedwithwidespreadocialacceptance f thedrug,mayactually reventhedevelopmentf socialconventionsndrestraints y inhibiting espectable ublicacknowledgmentf druguse. The socialconditionsmaximize ppetite ndminimize estraintno less withmarijuanahanwithanyothercommodityna consumerculture.If we are o understand hatmarijuanaoes,we muststudy t inthe particularocialcontext n which t is used.Itdoes littlegoodtoknowwhatmarijuanaoesina laboratoryf we arenotalsogoingtoaskwhat t does in a marriage.Wemustunderstandoththe effectof thedrugon ouractual ocialexistence,and he effectof thesocialreality n whichwe live andconsider owthedrug s understoodndused. Betweenme and the storeclerk,and ourirritationwithoneanother, ndbetweenourlegislators'wish to appear othanti-mari-juanaandat thesame ime"hip"enough o want oseeif potof goodqualityhadarrivedn the mail(the nitialpolicereport adconcludedthat t was"vegetablematter," utone of the egislatorslaimed hathis "independentestingsources"had confirmed hathis cigarettecontainedhe realstuff), the social contradictionsf marijuanaseareapparent. hesecontradictionsrenotinherentnthepharmacol-ogy of thedrug,but in thesocialreality hatdefines henature nduse of thedrug,andthat s inturnbeingshapedby thatuse.Marijuanamay producean intensificationf perception,whatmayseemtobe anilluminationfperception,s if one werereally eeing,


4/14

280 theantiochreview

smelling,or tasting orthefirst ime.If thispsychedelic ffect s lessprofoundhana peyotevision or anLSD trip, it is alsousually essterrifyingorpsychologicallydisorganizing.For thisreason,mari-juana,rather hana morepotentpsychedelic,hasbecome hestapleof theAmerican rugdiet.Marijuanaoes not dissolve heconven-tionalworld; t justmakes hatworldgentlydifferent- slightlybuoy-ant,butstill recognizable.Music, orexample,maybe heardn a newway,withan ncreasedintensityof absorption ndimmersion,as though rom withintheinterstices f a Bachcello suiteor as thoughhe listenerwerereson-atingwiththe instrumentnRaviShankar'sands.There s a kindofecstasy nthis, andsomethingo be learnedrom heexperience.It wasthere the mindaccompaniedhelong, drawn-out ighnote of thephraseas it cameout the bellof MilesDavis's rumpet;the note thencascadeddownwardndoutward, pread,accelerated,and broke ntoa showerof bright parkles t the moment he saxo-phonecame n. Foranintervalhemusiccontinuedo spark ff tran-sitions nvisual magery;t became henonlythedrivingbackgroundto an internalascadeof associations, achflyingoff tangentiallyothe one before, each as absorbing pparentlys Miles Davis, butincreasinglyndependentf the music,until it was evident hatforsome time one hadnotbeen istening.This latterexperiences notecstasy; t is an ordinary uphoricpothead everie,andthere s somethingo be learnedrom t as well- a harderesson.Gettinghighcanmakeone acutelyawareof thegapbetweenourtruecapacityor attention nd thewithdrawn, is-tracted,andlazy condition f theordinarymind.Werecognize hatdegreeof attention o be possiblewithouta drug.RaviShankarsobviouslycapableof it. Andyet, we knowthat t is notavailableous, at least not now,as we are. It is not available o a harassed ighschoolmathematicseacher,or an anxiousandfrazzledbureaucrat,or anembitteredactoryworker omingoffa twelve-hourhift.Whatis availableoallthese,andwhat hey ncreasinglyurn o, is ajoint,or a beerand ajoint.We couldsimplysaythesepeoplearelookingforanescape,butwhatwould hatmean?Escape romwhat,andtowhat?Forthesepeople, no different n their undamentaleligiousneeds fromany otherpeople n anyother ime,a joint is a means,howeverdistorted ndill-conceived, o seek concentration,ision,andtranscendencef theordinary.Whatappearsnmarijuanantoxicationobeanincreasednergy


5/14


forattentions partlyan increasedeceptivity rsensitivity hatmayhaphazardlyllow a heightened wareness f reality.But it is just aslikely,haphazardly,o heighten omespecificneuroticdistortion freality hat is then experiencedwith the same increased ensitivity.Thedrugcannotdistinguish etween actandfantasy,betweenvalidperception ndparanoid rojection.Liketurningupthe volumeontheradio, hedrug ncreasesheintensity f the signal, henoise, andthe distortionndiscriminately.his is, in part,whatproduces hecharacteristicrritabilityndoverwroughtypersensitivityf habitualmarijuanasers.But, inadditiono increasedensitivity,marijuananduces mildandmostlybenigndissociation f thought.This is experiencedub-jectivelyas anopeningupof spacebetweenevents.Eachnew ex-perience standsout distinctlyandvividly because it has becomeuncoupledromwhatever amebefore.Eachnewdistraction, hetherfromoutsideor inside, wipesthe slate clean.Suddenly, amonlylistening o MilesDavis;the musicoccupies he entireuniverseofperception.amnolongerworried boutwhethermydate s impressedwithme, or thatI shouldbe homestudyingor acalculus xam.I amonly listening o MilesDavis;or whenthat s interrupted,amonlyfantasizing isual magery, ronly eatinga peanutbutter andwich.Thedissociationf thoughtnduced ythedrug nterruptshe umbleof anxieties ndpreoccupationshatnormally ccupy hebackgroundof awareness ndcompromiseurcapacityorfreeattention.Wemaythenbecome,howeverbriefly, otally mmersedn theinstantaneouspresent.The increased apacity or attentionproduced y marijuanasclearlydifferentrom hatwhichhasbeendeveloped ythe musicianwhoseattentionmustbe sustainedhroughouthe duration f hisper-formance nd not subject o distractions.t is nevertheless,or themoment hat t survives,of the samequality.Theexperiencedmari-juana moker s acutelyawareof both heextraordinaryature f hisexperience f total mmersion ndof its vulnerabilityo destructionbysome ntrusionrrecollectionf histemporarilyissociatedreoc-cupations.Thepopularmusic hat s nowbeingdirected rimarilyoa market f stonedadolescentsttemptso useoverwhelmingensoryinput oovercomehisdistractability. hereashemusicof BachandVivaldiwasdesignedo sustainhe interest f a listenerwhoalreadyhad hecapacityor sustainedttention,urrent ard ock s designedto sustain he attentionf a listenerwho hasinducednhimselfphar-


6/14

282 the antioch review

macologically n ndiscriminate,ree-floatingnterestnanythinghatmay come along.The musicianhas learned,at leastforthe durationf theperfor-mance, o some degree o let go of preoccupationshatwouldother-wise compromise is attention.He follows n this the ancientpathofall spiritual, sychological,ntellectual, ndaesthetic isciplines, lltraditionalmodesof struggleorconsciousness,whicharecharacter-ized by a protractedffortto let go of whatever s preoccupying,wasteful, llusory, r in thebroadestenseof the wordneurotic,what-ever interfereswith being present o immediate eality.Marijuanaintoxication ppears o sidestep his needfor protractedffort.Bygettingstoned, he little neurotic ircuitof worryandpreoccupationis interrupted. ne is suddenly ree of it, andthatfreedom s expe-riencedas energy.Butif we havemade ome advancen meditation,or in psychoanalysis, r in growingup, it is not becausewe haveinterruptedhe holdof neurosis n us, butbecausewe have et go ourhold on neurosis.With he drug t is the reverse.Letus take hecaseof Arnold tonedmind.hehold hatArnold'sneurosishas on him is the anxiety,worry,andinsecurityhe mustexperiencewhenhe is made aware hat he mightbe to blameforsomething.Thathe would ike to getridof. Thehold hatArnoldhason hisneurosis s the illusion hathecan be aboveblame, heperfectboy, andthus nvulnerableo accusation.That llusionhe would iketokeep. WhenArnold ets stoned,hedecreasesheholdhisneurosishas over him. He becomes ess anxious,worried,andpreoccupied.Transiently,tleast,he is moreableto listen o MilesDavis.But,hehas notrelinquished isholdon neurosis.Whenhis roommate omes hometo discover hatArnold orgotto put the roast ntotheoven, andgets angrybecausehe will nowhavetoeat canned oup or supper,herealityhatArnold s toblamecomes into conflictwithhis imageof himself as a blamelessboy.While in realityhis roommates angryonly aboutnot havinghissupper,Arnold eels, or wants o feel, thathis roommatewants omakehimfeelguiltyand nadequate. ttributinghesemotives o hisroommate llows Arnold o ignorehis ownactualguiltand ustifieshis self-righteousefenseof theimageof perfection e seeksto pro-tect. If he can maintain mpathic ontact, f he canpayattentionotheotherperson,he will continue o see thathis roommate antsonlysupper.He will have to experiencerealguiltover whathe has ne-glected o do. He may then,in timeandwitheffort,letgo his wish


7/14


to beblameless, ee that t is onlyanevasionof hismorehumble,butreal,responsibilityo notbe negligent.He will haveprogressedutof a neuroticand into a real involvementn the situation,andwillhavepreserved is experience f therealityof theotherperson.Butthe increased ensitivityproduced y thedrug which, aslong as everythingwas "cool" and"mellow,"allowedfor an in-creased apacityorattention hastheopposite ffectnowthat hereis sometrouble,a "hassle."Arnold'sncreased ensitivity o the ex-perienceof blame,his increased ageat having o feel it, and thesudden nterruptionf his euphoric tate,all makehim less able topayattentionothe realneedsand eelingsof hisroommate ndmoredisposed o see him as hispersecutor.At thispoint the effectof marijuanas opposing heeffectsoftraditionalormsof trainingnddisciplinehat trengthen,atherhandebilitate,one'scapacity o maintain ontactwith what is outsideoneself.Culturen all formsstrengthenshatcapacityby providingthemeans o findmeaningnexperienceutside henarcissisticmain-tenance f theself. Here,themediatingunction f culturehas beenreplacedby the mediating ffectof the drug,which has increasedArnold's ensitivity,but not his mentality.He experiencesmore n-tenselybut without greater apacityo comprehendhemeaning ftheexperience.Thethoughtful, eflectivemind, n search f compre-hension,understanding,ndmeaning,which s servedby the insti-tutions f culturenthateffort, s weakened ythepharmacologicallyheightenedntensity f bombardmentithsensationromoutside,andwith neurosisrom nside.Thestimulating,uphoricffectof thedrugcompromiseshe ef-fortof thereflectingmind o take nthecomplexitiesfexternalventsandinternaleelings,and to findmeaningn them.ThedruggivesArnoldnotimefor reflection.However,withthedrug, nadditionobeingcompromisednhisability o reflect,he no longerneeds o doso. Heno longerneedsrealcontactwiththeotherperson,becausehenolonger eallydepends n him. Hedependsnstead ngettinghigh.Arnold anignore he realpersonandreplacehim withhisparanoidfantasy mageof a persecutor ho wants o makehimfeelguiltyandinadequate. ecan hen eelguiltless; eisthen heenraged, ighteousboywho sbeingpersecuted. hemediatingffectof thehighreplacesthemediatingunction f the truth.

It is marijuanahat urnsArnold n;thenhelistens o MilesDavis.Itis MilesDavis hatwilleventually resenthedifficulty,nddemand


8/14

284 theantioch eview

theworkof attention.Marijuanaill continue opresent odifficultyanddemandnothing.SoonerorlaterArnold hrowsout Miles Davisand ust gets high.Inthebeginning ettinghighmade tpossible, ora moment,really o hearMilesDavis. In theend, it will notmatterwhetherMilesDavis orAC/DC s on the stereo.No one woulddenythatgettingstoned s a moreradicaldeparturefromanordinarytateof mind hangettingdrunk.But eventhoughthe effectsof marijuanaremoreradical han he effectsof alcohol,they are alsomoresubtle.Theobviousgiddyeuphoria ndthe rapidflowof ideasandassociations haracteristicf marijuanantoxicationareapparent nlyin thebeginner.Experience evelopsa familiaritywiththe new stateof mind.It is no longerso dazzlingor so out ofcontrol. t becomespossible o "playstraight,"o behaveapparentlynormallywhileintoxicated.Later,even theawareness f play-actingdiminishes.

This s notbecause hedrughas ess effectwith ongeruse. Thereis no evidence hatpharmacologicolerance evelops o marijuana.Inthisrespect t is unlikealcoholandnarcotics,whichover imehaveto betakennlarger oses oproducehesameresult.Onthecontrary,it oftenappearshatmarijuana roduces sensitizationo itself, areverse olerance;nexperienced otsmokerwill requireess of thedrug oget high hana novice.So thedrug ontinueso haveaneffectthat s asprofound, ndwithtimemayeven becomemoreprofound,butbecomesat thesametimes ess noticeable.It hasbeen suggestedhatbecauseresidual mounts f pharma-cologically ctivecompoundsrestillpresentnthebodyevenseveraldaysafter mokingmarijuana,abitualmokersemainlightly tonedallthetime; hey hereforemaynotnoticeabig change ach ime heysmoke,and hiswouldaccount ortheapparentessening f thedrug'seffects.Buthabitual mokers ertainly nowwhen heywantanotherjoint;theyknow whentheyarecomingdown,so theymuststill ex-perienceheeffectsof beinghigh. Rather, heyhavebecomeadaptedto thoseeffects.Getting tonedhas becomenormalized;t ceases toproduce napparent isruptionf ordinaryife or to interferewith heperformancef dailytasks.The youngclerkwho waitedon me was in this respectstill abeginner.nayearhewillbeable ogetstonedat workwithout eingnoticed,andwithoutnoticinghimself.Thelongeralcoholism ontin-ues,the hardert is to hide.Withhabitualmarijuanase(andwehaveno correspondingame for that) t maybe just the reverse.Being


9/14


stonedcanbe invisibly ntegratedntodailylife in a waythatbeingdrunk,aftera point,cannot.In thiscircumstance,einghighmaygraduallyeaseto seem ikean unusualor extraordinarytateof mind. On the contrary, eingstraightmaybegin o seem iketheabnormal, stateofdis-ease,being"bummedut."Ordinaryxperiencemay hen eem ifelessand mpty,to be reinvigoratednly by getting tonedagain.This s certainlyhecase forpeoplewhostaystonedall thetime.But t is alsotrue osomedegree ormanypeoplewho are still morediscriminating, howaituntil hey getoff work,orfortheweekend,orfor when heygo out,to smokemarijuana. heyalsofeel that heyare n somesensereallyaliveonlywhentheyarestoned.Being highat somepointceasestobe a means o go beyond he ordinary, nd becomes he meansbywhichordinaryife is mediated;t becomes heordinary.Accordingo the rhetoric f whatcame to be called the "drugculture," he effects of the so-called onsciousness-expandingrugswereopposite o alcoholandnarcoticswhich, t wasclaimed,dulledrather hanexpanded onsciousness.Because hey expanded ware-ness, because hey allowedawarenesso transcendheordinary,n-toxicationwiththe newdrugs ouldbecomparedoreligiousvision.Taking hesedrugswas searchingor illumination,whereas akingalcoholornarcoticswasonlyanescape.There s a difference,however,between eligious xperience rreligious nsight hatreveals herealitybehind heappearancef or-dinary ife, its mystical ssence,or its redeemingmeaning ndpur-pose, and a psychedelic drug experience that simply shiftsconsciousnessntoanother ear, ndependentf themeaning f whatis experienced.n the firstcase, an experience f the nonordinarytransformsheordinary;n thesecond, henonordinarynlycontraststo theordinary. omeonehighon LSDmaytakea bite out of a ripepeachandsuddenly eenrapturedithanexquisiteensation f taste.He may experiencehe peachas he has neverexperienced peachbefore. But whenthe drugeffect is over, a peachwill go backtotastingas a peachalwaysdid, anddespitehis intuition hat hedrugexperiencewas more"real,"the druguser does notunderstandrexperience rdinaryife differentlyn thelightof thatreality, xceptto feel itsdifference, ndhe hasnowayback o thatreality ther hanto takethedrugagain.To thinkof consciousnesss "expandable" y drugs s tounder-standconsciousness,not as a synthesisof sensoryperception ndsociallycreatedand transmitted eaning,but as a kindof inherent


10/14


physiological otentialityhatcan beaugmented,rheightened, y achemicalcrankingup of the mind/brainmachine.Operatingn itsaugmentedtateontherawmaterialfreality,hemind/brainroducesmeaningas a product r output.Meanings thusthought f as theproduct f consciousness atherhanas a constitutive lementof it.Thedependencef the mindon culture s denied.Intensedrugexperiences o stimulate search ormeaning.TheLSDcrazeproduced veritablepandemoniumf mystical/religiousshopping round.However,"religious xperiences" n drugs eemparadoxicallyoproduce ninvulnerabilityorealreligiousdevotion.Instead,drug nitiatesbecome heeasy,if fickle,convertso a wholehodge-podge f pseudo-therapyndpseudo-religiousystems,noneof which s able o takehold or ong.Theymay um nreactiono anti-intellectual nd rreligious uthoritarianults hat akehold oomuch.Nevertheless,heimpetuousndself-righteouseligious hetoricof thedrug ultureurvives, ndcontinueso rationalizendglamorizedruguse. The correspondingationale hatpuritanicallyondemnsdruguse is equallyself-righteous.A housewifewasbitterlyrepri-mandingher husband or gettingdrunkandstonedon a Saturdayafternoon.Aftermuchbadgeringe rosefromhisstuporousndiffer-ence to herfor a counter-attack."Don'tyou ever get sick of your.ownmindandyourownlife?"he asked.Hewas out of work.They ived n a dreadful, ingyapart-mentwiththree mallchildren lwaysunderfoot. heybickeredon-stantlybecause heywerehaving o live too closetogether."Whatcan'tunderstands why youdon'twant o gethigh.""Iget highon life," she assertedwithsomearrogance.Helookedat her oralong, futilemoment eforehefinally epliedlaconically,"Well,I get highon whatevert takes."The druguser andthe drugabstainer achhas his own line ofcant.The abstainerives in realitybecausehe doesnotescapewithdrugs.Theuser ives in Realitybecausehe doesescapewithdrugs.Howwould hewifebe able oassert hat hegets highonlife if therewerenotthose ike herhusbandwhoget highondrugs?Andwithoutherlittlehypocrisy,whatwouldassure he husband hathis high islessaself-deceptionhanhers?Eachprotectsheother'sllusion.Eacharguments a polemic,directednot towardunderstandinghedrug,buttoward heopposingargument.Marijuanainksback nto invis-ibilityuntilthe nexttime it is needed o serve as a banner r as ascapegoat.


11/14


In 1961,the yearRichardAlpertandTimothyLearyorganizedFIF,theInternationaloundationor Internal reedom,heyear heywerealso kickedout of Harvard ndmovedinto an upstateNew Yorkmansionhathadbeenmadeavailable y somebenefactoro continuetheirresearch ndtheir ripping, efore heymoved,orweremovedagain,to Mexico,thefreshman ormat Harvard as already caf-eteriaof drugexperimentation.longwithbrochuresecruitingFIFmembers ndcontributors,tudents tHarvard eresending rypticdirectiveso their riendson what heyought o trynext."Grindup a whole nutmegand takeit in a frappe.Don't befrightened y hallucinations accept hemwithequanimity."Or:"Romilar oughsyruphas tracesof hallucinogenicubstances.Drinkone whole 16 oz. bottleandbe preparedo be highforsix toeighthours."In thosedayspeyotebuttons ouldbepurchasedncartons,mailorder, romsomeplacen Texas,andseveral ecipes or theirprepa-rationwerebeinghotlycontested.Mescaline ndpsilocybinwereonthe list of sacred ubstances;akingoneof these n andof itselfcon-ferred he statusof shaman.LSD, theepitomeandprototype f allconsciousnessxpanders,wasnot FDA-approved,ut twas alsonotyetillegalor onofficial istsof dangerousrugs.Morning-gloryeedsweresaidto containalkaloids elated o LSD withsimilarpharma-cologicproperties, ut also tracesof strychninehat sentgangsofstudents ff to themedical chool ibraryor thetextbook escriptionof strychnine oisoning.Therewas experimentationithampheta-mines,whichwerealreadyhe traditional ayto get throughinals,overdosesof NoDoz(caffeine),and Sominex scopolamine),whichproduces hallucinosisn largeamounts, nd,of course,marijuana.Duringhe"trickle own"of marijuanarom he freshmanormat Harvardo theclerkin ourcorner tore,a socialadaptationndaccommodationf the drughastakenplaceparallelingheadaptationand normalizationhat takesplacein the individual ser.TimothyLeary'sapocalyptic reamof turning n everykid in Americahasbeensubstantiallyealized.But theturned-onidhasprobably everheard f Leary, nd houghhewillcertainlyurnon,andmay osomedegree une n, if hedropsoutit is no longerwiththeillusion hatheis off tojoina counter-culture.ejustdropsout.Leary'sbeliefthatthedrugwouldcarry heapocalypticdeawithin tselfto the masseswas characteristicallymerican oth n its romanticnti-intellectual-ism and n its underestimationf theextantmeansof socialcontrol.


12/14

288 the antiochreview

Drug akingwasvisibleso longas it wasanactof socialrebellion.Because t wasnot respectable,t carried t leastthe appearancefpolitical meaning.Once widespreadocial toleranceof marijuanasmokingdeveloped,which t so quicklydid, it was no longeranactof rebellion, ven if it was still a crime.It is no longera statement,and thereforet is becomingnvisible.The moremarijuanas used,the less it is discussed rthought bout.The morea partof life it is,the less we questionwhatpart t plays.Itseffectis like the effectoflanguage;t is pervasive nd herefore nnoticed. eoplewhosmoke,like peoplewhodrink,hardlymentiont, justas peoplewho watchtelevision alkaboutwhat s on television,butnot about elevision.During he sixties, for the first imein ourhistory, he segmentof societywiththehighest,rather han helowest, aspirations eganusingdrugs.Theold rationalehatdrugswereanescapefroma lifeof hopelessness nd despair ould hardlybe applied o the nation'smostpromising ndergraduates,t leastnotwithout omefurther x-planation. ncontrasto thebeerdrinking ndpanty aidsof the pre-cedinggenerationfcollegeundergraduates,hich eemed nassertionoftheright obefrivolous, henewdrug aking, nd hequasi-religiouslanguage ppropriatedorit, seemedmoreanassertion f theright obe serious.If therewashopelessness,t was not theeconomicandsocialhopelessness f the underprivileged,utthe metaphysicalndreligioushopelessness f the overprivileged.

Drugsbecame means o accommodatehecontradictionetweenthe abundance ithwhich ife was providedxternally nd he dread-fulemptiness f life felt inwardly. tudentsooking orreligious x-periencen LSDtripsweremorecontrolled ya consumermentalitythanthey knew. If cars and ranchhouses weremeaninglesscon-sumption,heywouldconsume isionary ubstances. hequestion ftherealdifferences etween religiousulture ndaconsumerulture,and between a religious mind and a consumermind, were leftunexamined.Thedrugculture hetoric f consciousness xpansionmplies hat hedrugmakes he individualmoreavailable o music,to hisfriends, ohisjob, ortohislifegenerally.The factof druguse over he ongrunis that he music,the friends, he life, becomemerely he means ortheindividualo enjoyhishigh,orconversely, mpedimentshat n-terferewiththe enjoyment.Drugs endto makeall experiencentomerely hefurnishingsndornamentationf theintoxication.


13/14


Wemighthave believed hat he youngfather ould"relate" ohischildren etterwhenhe wasstoned,becausehe couldreally"getinto"playingwiththem,untilwe alsosawhowirritatede becomeswhenone of thechildrenmakessomedistractingemandor hisat-tention.Thenwe areforced o admit hatwhathe hasbeen"relatingto" really s beingstonedandthat hechildren reonly incidentalothat.They arethe backdropo thataction. Whenthey presume odemand heirseparatexistence, heybecomea "hassle."

The musicians able to playfreeof distractionecausehe haslearnedo lovethe music; o it is the music hatnow holdshim. Forthemarijuanamokerhemusic s onlyincidentalo a stateof mindthatdependsnot on the music,buton the drug.The lettinggo ofneurosis,or self-absorption,rpreoccupations alwayscorrespond-inglya takingholdof what s outsideandreal, anactof love. Art,religion,psychoanalysis,tudy,all institutionsf traditionalulture,workto assistin thatact of takingholdthroughhe discoveryandpreservationf meaning ndvalidityn what s outside heself. Mar-ijuana,as it is now used,makes t thatmucheasier or the individualin hisperennialazinessandnegligenceoletlife slipoutof his hands.Theexcitementf marijuanantoxicationends o leave ittle imefor the reflection ecessaryo work hrough ifficulty ndconflict oa discovery f meaning.Butdrugsmake, eflection bsoletebecauseit is no longermeaninghat s needed.Conflicts nddifficulties e-come mpedimentsobegotten idof before heyruin hehigh,beforetheybringyou down.The needis increasinglynly to keepthings"cool"or "mellow,"onlyto avoid"hassle."There easeto beanytolerableormsof social nvolvement. verythinghat iesonepersonto anotherresponsibility,duty, ove,dependency willeventuallycome underattackas a "hassle,"a "guilttrip,"a "bummer," r a"drag. The ndividual ecomesncreasinglytomic,uncoupledromsocialconnectionxcept n a formal,mechanisticense,deprived fintimacy,whichdepends ntrustand hereforenresponsibility,ndunaware venof the need orintimacy, s all needsare ranslatedntotermsof stimulation.While he individualeels thathe is getting tonednorderoputhimself nto a goodframeof mind,his actual tate s becomingmoreirritable nd ntolerant.Hisroommateays, "Arnold, oudidn'tputtheroast ntheoven,"andArnoldhreatensoflyintoarage.Hewillnottolerate eing"bummedut"by "guilt rips." nordero containandto justifythis stateof irritabilityndintolerance,heeveryday


14/14


language f interpersonalesponsibilitys replaced y a language fautisticallyetachedmental tates. nsteadf saying"Iforgot,"whichwould mplysome acknowledgmentf a failedresponsibilityndoftheself as a moral ubject,ArnoldStonedmindeplies,"Oh,I musthave spaced t," which substitutes languagen whichthere s nomoralacting ubject,butonly the mind/brain achine ubject ome-chanical ailures.That he so-called onsciousness-expandingrugshaveproducedthisconsciousness-destroyinganguage an be explained nlyif wefirstaccept hatthe drugreplaces ulture.The invulnerabilityf theacid freaksof the sixtiesto religiousdevotion s a resultof the factthat, though hey were looking ormeaningn the various eligioustraditions,he old functionof meaning s thatwhichmakesoutsiderealityavailable,as thatwhichbrings he world o you, is nowthefunction f the drug.The new function f meanings entertainment.Any particularradition, owever laborate,s therefore oundogetboring prettyquickly. After all, how many times can theprajna par-amita sutra be fun, or the Lord'sPrayer?So a steady supplyof newinput s required.But onceentertainment,atherhanreality,s whatis sought,anycrackpotdeawillserve.One s equallywellturned nby ghoststories,astrologicalorecasts,or a newtheory hatBigfootis in realitya visitor romouterspace,as by the Hindupantheon rspeaking n tongues. When you get bored, you simply switch thechannel.Whatever ower hese strange rugsmighthaveto enhance, n-liven, or enrichexperiencen a religiousculture,one in whichthesacred s still a socialpossibility, epends nthereligiousdefinitionsanddescriptionsf theworldcarried y thatculturen ritual,myth,andceremony,andgivento the userwith thedrug.In oursociety,wherereality s definedby consumermarkets nddescribed y ad-vertising, hoseadvertising escriptionsndconsumer efinitions illcontroldrugconsciousness s well. Thehopethat he"drug ulture"couldbe a "counter-culture" counter,hat s, to consumer ulture- wasbothpolitically ndreligiously aive.It is nowpossible oseethat the "drugculture,"which was bornof the wish to reviveanexperience f the sacredby employinga pharmacologicacrament,hasbecomeat bestonlya subculturef consumerulture, ratworst,its nihilisticmind, anguage, ndculture-destroyingvant-garde.

Documents

Bloom, Fred_Marijuana Culture