Prettyman Commission (1963)

[RainDog]

1. another interesting moment from that time

Allen Ginsberg noted that he was targeted because he spoke out about marijuana reform. A friend of his was arrested and the FBN (Fed. Bureau of Narcotics) offered a deal to the friend if they could get Ginsberg.

He was strip searched when he returned to the U.S. from speaking engagements abroad, and, he noted, they used magnifying glasses to examine the lint in his pockets to find evidence of marijuana.

He wrote to his congressman and told him he was afraid the govt. was looking for a way to find charges to put him in jail... for speaking about the relative harmlessness of marijuana.

When he was in New Jersey, he gave a speech that mentioned he had smoked marijuana while there. The mayor of the city where he spoke charged Ginsberg and arrested him but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

In response, Ginsberg published this: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/66nov/hoax.htm

"The Great Marijuana Hoax."

This nation has never been about freedom; all words attesting to the same are smoke and mirrors for jingoists.