MOVIE: MARIJUANA HISTORY 101

Many many far too many aeons ago, yours truly was a government test subject for the effects of marijuana on people, their work habits, what they were willing to pay money for, etc etc. The information was for use in work on the LeDain Commission. They had 24 of us divided into two groups of 12. One side got pot, the other side a placebo. The pot itself was from the Mississippi Delta because some enterprising soul had scythed down the RCMP acre of pot a few weeks before the testing.

We were cooped up in a ward, and every 20 minutes someone would come and assess our activities, who we were with, what we were doing and our general mood. There was no contact with the outside world at all. Everything cost money. A shower, a limited time with the TV, the sound system, time for an accompanied walk out doors. Nothing was free and every purchase was kept track of.

Twice a day, we sat down together in the main lounge and the nurses would take our pulses and other such basics. Then, we would be given two joints that had been rolled like a cigarette in a machine. The weed was smokin' good on my side. Every inhale was a delight. After the first was smoked, pulses etc were taken. Then the second was smoked. We had to wait 15 minutes and the pulses were taken again. Then we were free to go off on our own.

To earn money we were taught how to use a Peruvian loom to weave belts or lengths of thick fabric. One of the main components of the study was to see how the pot effected our work ethics. This went on for two months of being cloistered together. After a month everyone wanted to go home, but the bonus for lasting to the end kept us there. I was tired of having my veins jabbed three times a week for blood tests.

Anyhow, at the end, we learned about the status of belt making. The smoking side more than tripled in production from the non smoking side. Not only that, but our uses of colour and design and quality of stitch and product was by far superior to the non smokers. So, in other words, we smokers, who were pretty stoned day in and day out were more creative, more quality oriented and three times as productive. But oh we were all glad when it was time to go home!

MARIJUANA HISTORY 101