Three shows, three eras: how cannabis went from a political third rail to a punchline, then to a plausible policy position.
In 2001, a career-ending scandal for a top government official was not leaking classified information or committing financial corruption. It was speaking neutrally about marijuana. Or at least, that’s how The West Wing depicted it.
The West Wing, which began airing in 1999, showcased the Bartlet administration handling issues that were politically, socially, and economically relevant. In Season 2, Episode 15 (“Ellie”), the show explores marijuana, its legalization, and the potential health effects. The episode begins when an online forum asks the Surgeon General whether she favors the decriminalization of marijuana. She responds, “It’s not for me to say. I can say marijuana poses no greater public health risk than nicotine or alcohol. It doesn’t share the same addictive properties as heroin and LSD. Yet bizarrely, to many of us in the health care profession, the law categorizes it as a Schedule 1 narcotic while putting a government seal on a pack of cigarettes.”
The White House senior staff received her statement with political panic, immediately interpreting her comments as a reversal of the official White House position against legalization. During a press conference, the Press Secretary assures reporters that “the president is 100% against legalizing drugs, including marijuana.”
Behind closed doors, the Deputy Chief of Staff confronts the Surgeon General. In response to her assertion that she carries an obligation to tell the truth, he states, “The truth is different if you’re a GP or a member of the Stanford Faculty Club than if you’re the country’s chief medical practitioner.” He notes that only 23 percent of Americans support legalization and pressures her to resign, which she refuses to do unless fired by the President himself.
Taken together, the …
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Author: Coco Kesselman / High Times
