Word reached the Fifth Estate office last week that FBI and Detroit Narcotics Squad agents met with Wayne State University officials to plan a massive attack on users of marijuana, LSD, and other consciousness-expanding substances in the campus and Plum Street areas in the near future.
Already waves of maniac paranoia are spreading through the city’s psychedelic culture as the police-state fear machines go into action. But as poet Gary Snyder remarked at his poetry reading last month at WSU, “This is no time to be scared.” The narcotics bureaucracy works on one principle only—the fear-guilt-intimidation deal—and it can be exposed by bringing all the facts into the open.
The first thing to remember is that the police narcotics interests have totally brainwashed probably 90 per cent of the citizenry as far as marijuana and LSD are concerned, feeding them a cruel mishmash of misinformation and out-and-out lies about the effects of these mind-manifesting substances which are not narcotics at all.
There is presently a good deal of misuse of these agents, but the present laws and law-enforcement policies are almost wholly responsible for this condition. By constantly grouping marijuana and LSD with the real narcotics (heroin, other opiates, barbiturates and amphetamines) and making the psychedelics illegal, the police narcotics industry has managed to make criminals out of thousands of innocent, truth-seeking young people who otherwise have no connection with the world of crime at all.
Instant legalization of marijuana and LSD would eliminate most of the ill effects of these substances, free legions of experimenting youngsters to explore themselves without fear of punishment and mistreatment by the legal authorities, create an atmosphere. of trust and love, and put whole squads of narcotics agents out of work.
Their parents would cease worrying and eating their guts out over the kids’ thought-to-be dangerous activity (which would be seen as just what it is, once the FACTS are out and available to everyone, which would be possible once the fear-curtain were lifted), kids could turn on their parents and both could then come to a better understanding of each other, and the poor narcotics agents could spend their time smoking grass too and loving the world more, and truly be “peace officers” again.
The existing laws of the state of Michigan provide for a penalty of 20 years to life in the state penitentiary for any person found “guilty of selling any narcotic” including marijuana. The police usually do not bother with mere users but concentrate on those selling marijuana, since it is hard to obtain a warrant to enter someone’s home on the suspicion that they might be using marijuana. They can enter your home without a warrant only if they have knowledge, precise knowledge, that a felony has been committed there, which means that a police agent must have been present while the felony was committed.
Most users usually get only probation for a first offense, so it really isn’t worth their time and effort to bust the casual smoker. Still, a user can get one to ten years in the penitentiary if he is found guilty of possession.
Usually the seller is offered a “cop-out” to the lesser charge of “possession” since (1) it is hard to prove sales without having to deal with the restrictions against “entrapment,” which will be explained below; and (2) this way they are sure of a conviction, don’t have to fight a court battle and have the judge instruct the jury that they MUST sentence the defendant to A MINIMUM OF TWENTY YEARS IN PRISON for selling something as harmless as marijuana.
As most judges say, “Well, I didn’t make this law, and I don’t particularly go along with it, but it’s my job to enforce it”—the same old Adolph Eichmann defense.
In order for a narcotics agent to make an arrest for sales, he must worm his way into the confidence of the seller, which usually takes some little doing, as most dealers are at least vaguely aware of the penalty for doing what they are doing—in most cases, supplying their friends who can’t obtain marijuana themselves with the weed, their profit being a free grass supply and the privilege of turning their friends on free when they have no money.
There is certainly no “pushing” to be done—in fact, most dealers have to turn people to “attempted possession,” which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and usually less if the informer makes himself useful enough to the police), and all heads are constantly on guard against them. But they do make inroads, and then they casually bring a “friend” over and introduce him, he gets high with you, he takes your phone number, drops by a few times, and finally asks to cop some grass. The easiest way to spot informers and their “friends” is by their appearance and whole demeanor: they are almost always “shady” characters, talk about getting stoned a lot while looking out of the corners of their eyes both ways, are a constant bring-down, etc. And their “friends” are equally disreputable and talk “hip,” talk about bars a lot, say “well, if I can’t get an ounce then just a couple of joints will do. I’m pretty desperate,” and keep calling you up and coming over until you agree to cop for them, or sell to them, just to get rid of them. Don’t ever fall into that trap—if someone keeps bugging you to get him some reefers, tell him the best place to get some is at 1300 Beaubien, 7th Floor, ask for Warner Stringfellow or James Raley. That will usually cool him out.
As long as you smoke quietly, at home or with friends, have as little to do with “business transactions” that involve selling or buying large or semi-large (over an ounce, say) quantities of marijuana, and have nothing to do with people who aren’t friends or friends of close friends, you will have little trouble with the police. They will not be able to find you out.
Some of the best ways to get in trouble with cops are: (1) talk about getting high a lot in public, in a loud voice, so people will think you are “hip;” (2) fall into the company of people who don’t DO anything but are always slipping around looking for easy illegal ways to get some money; (3) smoke marijuana with ANYONE, saying to yourself “Leary said not to be paranoid so I won’t be” (4) get involved in big “deals” whereby you can “make some money” by scoring more grass than you can use and reselling it to people you don’t know well enough to even get high with; (5) sell any marijuana, in any quantity, to anyone at all the point, is, DON’T; (6) be completely open and friendly with everyone you meet, turn on people who say they are friends of someone you hardly know etc.; and (7) smoke grass in public and, act overly “cool about it,” looking behind you, being ostentatious, etc.
It is best never to smoke in public under any circumstances, though you can easily smoke grass in your car if you smoke it as if it is a cigarette and pass it around below seat level. But the best rule to follow is, HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH PEOPLE WHO PUT YOU UP TIGHT IN ANY WAY. You can usually FEEL it if the vibrations are wrong, and always TRUST THAT FEELING.
The point is, don’t let them make you a criminal. You are not doing anything WRONG, and you must remember that it is only their criminal logic that makes marijuana illegal… They will get very upset with you when they realize that you are not intimidated by their blustering attacks on you, but you have to return your own love of man for their hatred of anything outside their own tiny cognizance.
They are ignorant, and afraid of the world as it is, and will do anything to hold on to their own shaky identities as “protectors of the people.” They don’t know any better, but that doesn’t make the situation any less dangerous. Remember that your life is at stake here, and don’t do anything to jeopardize your freedom in the world. If to you that means “don’t smoke grass” then that’s where you’d better stay—get rid of your stash, spread paranoia and fear, and play right into their hands. But the time has come now that their control can be snapped and the psychedelics can be made available for EVERYONE to use for their own human purposes.
The LSD situation is less clearly definable, but a good rule to follow here is, don’t sell any LSD to anyone. If you have some in your possession, be prepared to ingest it any time. But the best way is not to carry it with you at any time, and never keep more than you will need in the immediate future—say, one capsule or cube at a time. It is almost impossible to be caught for possessing LSD, because it is so easy to “get rid of” when the time comes, even though you might be sent on an unscheduled trip—but you can work that one out ‘when the time comes, and probably be better off for it. The legal penalties for possessing and selling LSD are less right now, but don’t let that make you sloppy. Any time spent with the police is time misused and wasted. Believe it.