Reason.tv: "Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine"—John McCaslin on the biggest pot smuggler of the 1970s and drug policy in the age of Obama
Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with John McCaslin, the co-host of radio's America's Morning News (listen online here), a writer for The Washington Times, and the author of the new book Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine.
Weed Man tells the story of Jimmy Moree, who literally stumbled into drug smuggling when he tripped over a bale of marijuana that had washed ashore on a Caribbean island. Moree, soon to be nicknamed "Jimmy Divine" rapidly became the biggest pot smuggler of them all in the 1970s and his story, expertly told by veteran newsman McCaslin, is a potent tale of drug policy, racially charged social relations, substance abuse, law enforcement perfidy, and much more.
In this interview, McCaslin discusses the likely future of drug policy under President Barack Obama (whose drug czar just announced that "legalization is not in the president's vocabulary" and that "marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal value") and the rampant hypocrisy among DC pols when it comes to using illegal substances.
Approximately nine minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Meredith Bragg.
Go here for embed code, and downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
This is at least the third guy who claimed to be "the biggest pot smuggler of the 70's".
As a big pot smoker in the 70's, I can attest that the smugglers were providing a steady stream of mid-grade pot at prices even a jobless high-school student could afford.
Strangely enough, the video above syncs up perfectly with Dark Side of the Moon...
"legalization is not in the president's vocabulary"
Hey, I went to a state university and I know what legalization means. Affirmative action sucks!
"Hey, I went to a state university and I know what legalization means. Affirmative action sucks!"
Win
i heard mccaslin interviewed a little bit on michael savage's radio show recently. i remember savage saying "when did this guy get arrested and thank god he did" he added. i never believe savage, (who i find entertaining but agree with almost nothing he thinks...which is fine, people nowadays need to agree with everything the radio personalities, pundits and comedians they like think to an unhealthy degree) when he says thinks like that. ever since i read that savage used to hang out with beat poet allen ginsberg in his youth, i find it hard to believe michael savage has never smoked some pot.
Dude was a rat. Hope somebody runs him over with their golf cart.
wow, nick looks pretty stoney himself