So Wednesday was 4/20, the international day of getting high. Originally thought to be a police code for “marijuana”, it was later discovered to be the designated time for a small group of smokers at San Rafael High School in California to meet at a specific location and light up. The number originates some time around 1971.
The Lion, The Legend
But I am not here to celebrate this event; rather I am honoring and shielding a great man’s name and legacy. I am writing this to honor Bob Marley. We all know, or at least should know, who the great Marley is. He blessed the world with great songs such as One love, Jammin, No woman no cry, I shot the sheriff, Get up Stand up, Iron Lion Zion and, my favorites, Could you be loved and Natural Mystic.
I know when I feel down, lost, and I just want to give up, his music brings me back from the brink, and I believe his music did that for a lot of people. My favorite pick-me-upper song is Three little birds.
Bob Marley never wrote a bad song. He left behind the most amazing body of recorded work. When you need to refer to a certain situation or crisis, there will always be a Bob Marley song that will relate to it. Bob was a musical prophet in my opinion.
I believe Marley has transcended all categories, classes and creeds through a combination of modesty and profound wisdom. Bob Marley and the Wailers have worked their music into the very fabric of my being, and all I have of them is pictures and CDs; I have never met them, seen them in concert and yet when it comes to artists, in a time when music changes every day, they remain my number one.
The Spirit and The Lion Killer
It was publicly known that Marley himself did smoke cannabis, the iconic plant he referred to as “the herb”, but he wasn’t just about smoking and getting high. Bob Marley used his music to bring people together, to open minds, fight against corrupt politics and stand for social justice.
Graphic - Jerry o'Brien
I believe he has earned a spot next to the great legends of peace such as John Lennon, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He had a cause, a vision and though his physical self has fallen, his ideas and spirit live on in those who had the honor of seeing him perform and have past his music to the generations that follow.
But now it’s time I stab this 4/20 legend sucker in the heart. I stated before that it was well known that Mr. Marley smoked cannabis, but do any of you 4/20 tokers know why? Well, allow me to educate you.
Bob Marley was a Rastafarian, as were many of the people who lived in Jamaica. Marley moved to Kingston, Jamaica in his late teens, and from there, his music career began to grow. In the ’60s and ’70s, Rastafarianism boomed and Marley was naturally drawn to it.
A commonly held tradition among the Rastafarians is the smoking of cannabis. It is considered to be the `holy herb’ mentioned in the Bible and its smoking is a holy sacrament to many.
It is said that through the use of Ganga (cannabis), the Rastafarian reaches an altered state of consciousness. In this altered state, “the revelation that Haile Selassie is God and that Ethiopia is the home of the Black” is realized. “The herb is the key to new understanding of the self, the universe, and God. It is the vehicle to cosmic consciousness” (The Rastafarians, pgs. 254-255).
But here in America, the use of cannabis has a totally different face. For one, it’s illegal, and has been since 1937, according to the UK CIA Fact Book. It supports gang activity, people are killed over it, doors are busted and people are arrested for possessing it.
Yes, the plant that brings so much peace to a people brings so much terror and turmoil to another. But crime isn’t the only issue – it’s the people who use it and blindly attribute it to Bob Marley.
In the name of the Lion
I would like to say here and now that Bob Marley didn’t smoke weed to support your boredom, he didn’t smoke it to support your mischief, your uncontrollable laughter or your late trips to fast food restaurants to remedy the munchies.
He believed that cannabis, the herb, marijuana, ganga, reefer, weed, whatever rolls your joint could heal nations. He saw it as the healer of nations and alcohol as the destroyer of nations. He didn’t sit on couch all day staring at the ceiling; he wrote powerful music and fought for the social justice of his people, of the world.
So before you light one up, remember, Bob Marley is bigger than 4/20, bigger than the plant. If you truly want the ultimate high for this unofficial and seemingly idiotic holiday, how about listening to the musical genius of Bob Marley, doing something to impact the world in a positive way and realize that Bob Marley was about getting past our differences, uniting, spreading positivity and fighting for our right to live.
He opened the eyes of the ones who refused to see to the wrong in the world and healed the scars of the oppressed with is legendary music.
Respect the lion.
Loading ...