“High! How are you?” In case you missed it, the front page of the Los Angeles Times Oct.7, 2022 had the following headline: “Biden pardons thousands for pot possession.” I am sure that those in the cannabis community applauded this news, not to mention the sub headline a few pages later: “Biden unveils plan to ease pot laws.” While the pardons are immediate, the easing of the pot laws, particularly at the Federal level, will be, shall we say, a tad more difficult. But hey, it’s a start. And it certainly didn’t take long for the “memesters” to run with the news. As a matter of fact, the meme below appeared a day before the headline!
One thing is certain though, we have certainly come a long way since the days of buying a joint from some sketchy guy on the corner, and then cowering in the basement of a friend’s house with one person standing guard at the window, while the others passed around the spliff. And if you weren’t paranoid before your first toke…Well, just give it a few minutes! We have also come a long way (sort of) from all the anti-marijuana propaganda and PSAs, which started way back when in 1936 with the now cult classic “Refer Madness,” which resurfaced in the 1950s. It was also around this time that the approach taken to discouraging the use of marijuana was to posit that smoking dope would lead to heroin addiction. For example, “High School Confidential” (1958) had the stark warning: “If you flake around with the weed, you’ll end up using the harder stuff.” And if you think that these types of anti-marijuana PSAs are only from decades ago, think again. These ads are still being produced and disseminated today! Although now they are quickly lampooned and memed on just about every social media platform. It appears that we have moved past “Just Say No,” to “Pass the Joint!”
After reading the news story mentioned above, I started to think of ways to commemorate this auspicious occasion. It was as if the random music station I was listening to at the time was in my head, because no sooner than I started to think about this, Peter Tosh’s 1976 “Legalize It” started wafting out of my speakers. Talk about a sign. And, if I have learned anything from my time on this earth, it is that you had better listen to the “signs” you are given!
So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite songs of the past and the not-so- distant-past that have paid homage to grass, marijuana, pot, dope, Mary Jane, reefer, bammy, giggle smoke, “wacky tobaccy” (I could go on, but my lovely wife proofreads these, and I am sure that she is either rolling her eyes, sighing, or getting the highlight pen ready…most likely all three)! By the way, if that last one sounds familiar it should as it is the title of a 2017 song by Toby Keith with the following chorus: “That old wacky tobaccy/When you feel it creeping up on you/That old wacky tobaccy/Kick back and let it do what it do.” The list below is by no means an exhaustive one. I would need a joint for that, but then I wouldn’t be able to write! So, sit back and relax but please remember that your condition or state of mind when you listen to the following musical gems is between YOU, your couch, and your buds (that’s earbuds before you get too excited)! Below this list you will find a link to the “pot musing” playlist…You’re welcome!
- 1932 – “Reefer Man” – Cab Calloway; starting off old school.
- 1965 – “Let’s Get Stoned” – Ray Charles; vintage Ray.
- 1968 – “Don’t Bogart That Joint” – Little Feat; the original, which is less than a minute long, then the follow-up below for “Easy Rider!”
- 1969 – “Don’t Bogart That Joint My Friend” – The Fraternity Of Man (Easy Rider Film)
- 1970 – “One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley; If this doesn’t get you tapping your feet nothing will!
- 1971 – “Sweatleaf” – Black Sabbath; It wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t a little metal.
- 1976– “Legalize It” – Peter Tosh; I am almost certain that just about every reggae artist at some point has a pot song, but I was trying to keep the list short.
- 1983 – “Smoke Two Joints” The Toyes; when One is not enough!
- 1992 – “Pack The Pipe” – The Pharcyde; hadn’t heard this one before.
- 1992 – “Smoke Two Joints – Sublime; a punk remake!
- 1994 – “You Don’t Know How It Feels” – Tom Petty; just about all his songs are better in a cloud!
- 1995 – “Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot” – Dash Rip Rock; this is an instant classic!
- 2008 – “Smoke Two Blunts” – Afroman; if you can’t smoke two joints, blunts will do.
- 2012 – “Roll Me Up (and Smoke Me When I Die)” – Willie Nelson, Snoop Dog, Kris Kristofferson, Jamey Johnson; the collaboration alone is worth the price of admission. Good ole Willie!
- 2015 – “High By The Beach” – Lana Del Rey; a dreamy stoner song if there ever was one.
- 2017 – “Wacky Tobaccy” – Toby Kieth; the lyrics say it all!
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/pot-musing-song-list/pl.u-V9DgkAptGav7q
Los Angeles 2022
Spinning Three Ways! 
Well here’s a topic that’s neat and dear to my heart. And given the time of year I currently have an ongoing physical relationship to the subject. Nod nod wink wink.
Now your list of songs is pretty wide ranging and does manage to span the decades hence avoiding the typical sixties/seventies myopia that our generation is prone to. But I do feel compelled to note one glaring omission and one factual correction. Peter Tosh was long dead by 2001 which you identify as the year of Legalize It’s release. Tosh was murdered in a home invasion in September 1987 and the anthemic tune in question was the title song to an album released in June of 1976. Now as for that omission. A song written and performed by the draft dodging Jesse Winchester whilst holding up in Montreal has always brought a smile to me face. And not an illegal smile as per John Prine’s classic tune. Comply with a location specific dealer and a lament not unknown to many of us in the smoke filled trenches, I give you “Twigs and Seeds”:
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Well here’s a topic that’s neat and dear to my heart. And given the time of year I currently have an ongoing physical relationship to the subject. Nod nod wink wink.
Now your list of songs is pretty wide ranging and does manage to span the decades hence avoiding the typical sixties/seventies myopia that our generation is prone to. But I do feel compelled to note one glaring omission and one factual correction. Peter Tosh was long dead by 2001 which you identify as the year of Legalize It’s release. Tosh was murdered in a home invasion in September 1987 and the anthemic tune in question was the title song to an album released in June of 1976. Now as for that omission. A song written and performed by the draft dodging Jesse Winchester whilst holding up in Montreal has always brought a smile to me face. And not an illegal smile as per John Prine’s classic tune. Complete with a location specific dealer and a lament not unknown to many of us in the smoke filled trenches, I give you “Twigs and Seeds”:
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How right you are! I will change the date pronto. Thank you. I will listen to that song too, love the title!
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Date has been changed. Thank you! Also, “Twigs and Seeds is awesome!
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