Cannabis in the Media Pt. 3: Music
Since the beginning of legalization and decriminalization of cannabis across the country, the frequency and the way in which it has been portrayed in popular media has changed and generally been reflective of society’s view on the subject at the time, whether it be in movies, television or music.
This is the third part in a series on how cannabis has affected and been portrayed in popular media. This article will specifically cover how cannabis has been portrayed in music throughout the past decades. The previous two parts of this series can be viewed here:
· Cannabis in the Movies (Pt. 1)
· Cannabis in Television (Pt. 2)
1920s – 1930s (Jazz)
During the 1920s and 30s, jazz was one of the most popular genres of music and jazz musicians were known to smoke cannabis, often referred to as reefer, tea, or grass. A “jazz cigarette” was another slang term among jazz musicians who smoked cannabis joints. Cannabis is referenced in many songs at the time, including Cab Calloway’s “Reefer Man” (1932) and Trixie Smith’s “Jack, I’m Mellow” (1938). One of the most famous jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong, was known to smoke a “jazz cigarette” before recording and during his performances.
It's no coincidence that many jazz musicians used cannabis at the time. Dr. James Munch,
a pharmacologist and the official government expert on the effects of cannabis in the US throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, testified:
“Because the chief effect [of cannabis] as far as [jazz musicians] were concerned was that it lengthens the sense of time, and therefore they could get more grace beats into their music than they could if they simply followed the written copy… In other words, if you’re a musician, you’re going to play the thing the way it’s printed on a sheet. But if you’re using [cannabis], you’re going to work in about twice as much music between the first note and the second note. That’s what made jazz musicians. The idea that they could jazz things up, liven them up, you see.”
1960s (Rock & Roll)
Arguably the most popular era for cannabis-inspired music would be the 1960s. By this time, events such as Woodstock and the huppie movement had somewhat normalized the use of cannabis for the general public, which was reflective in the music at the time.
In Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” the singer blatantly states, “Everybody must get stoned!” However, in an interview from 2012, Dylan insisted this wasn’t a reference to cannabis, but rather a Biblical one saying, “It doesn’t surprise me that some people would see it that way….But these are people that aren’t familiar with the Book of Acts.”
Regardless, this was just one of several songs at the time that alluded to cannabis. The famous Beatles hit, “Got to Get You Into My Life” from the Revolver album (1966) was explained by Paul McCartney as actually being a love song to cannabis. The following lyrics from the song are about how it feels for someone to use cannabis for the first time:
I was alone, I took a ride
I didn’t know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there
Interesting to note, it was actually Bob Dylan who claims to have introduced John Lennon and the Beatles to cannabis initially.
In addition, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album (1966) was heavily inspired by cannabis, according to Brian Wilson, who said, “I wanted something with real merit to it, artistic and smooth. Some people say it was written on acid…. But I don’t accredit it to LSD, I accredit it to [cannabis]. I smoked just before I wrote it. I was playing at the piano and began singing about good vibrations, just fooling around.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Other notable cannabis-inspired songs of this decade include The Rolling Stones “Lady Jane” (1966), Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” (1967), and The Beatles “With a Little Help From My Friends” (1967).
1970s (Reggae)
More than any other genre of music, reggae is arguable the most identified with cannabis. Reggae music started in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is tied to the Rastafarian religion, in which cannabis is considered sacred.
Probably the world’s most popular reggae musician to date, Bob Marley was also a prolific advocate for cannabis. As a Rastafarian, Marley used cannabis as a natural aid for spiritual meditation and religious growth. Famous Marley songs that referenced cannabis include: “Rebel Music” (1974), “Easy Skanking” (1976), and “Kaya” (1978). Also, in 1976, Peter Tosh (Marley’s bandmate) released the single, “Legalize It,” blatantly referring to cannabis.
1980s
Possibly due to Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign or the inception of the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program at the time, music in the 1980s didn’t appear to be as influenced by or about the use of cannabis as much as in the previous decades. However, the 1980s did mark the beginning of hip-hop, which was heavily influenced by cannabis. One of the earliest references to cannabis in a rap song was in the Beastie Boys’ “Hold It Now Hit It” in 1986.
1990s – Present
Since the 1990s, hip-hop has become one of the most popular genres of music, even surpassing rock & roll. Today, hip-hop probably accounts for the majority of cannabis themed songs as well. In fact, a study from 2018 showed half of all rap videos produced featured smoking or vaping of cannabis.
In 1993, Dr. Dre’s debut album, The Chronic, was released and featured a cannabis leaf on the face of the CD. This album also featured the debut performance of Snoop Dogg, who has since become an icon and advocate the legalization of cannabis.
Other popular songs from this era include: Tom Petty’s You Don’t Know How It Feels (1994), Redman and Method Man’s How High (1995), Amy Winehouse’s Addicted (2006), and the very lighthearted and humorous Because I Got High by Afroman (2000).
The Science Behind The Music
Anyone who’s used cannabis while listening to music will tell you how much better it sounds, and as it turns out, there’s a scientific explanation to this. One of the reasons being our sense of time is slowed down when high on cannabis. One particular study showed when under the influence of cannabis, a 15-second time interval was “expanded” to an average of 16.7 seconds.
As explained in the article: “If you look into the literature on timing, it seems to be that the brain systems that are influenced by cannabinoids are producing a state of mind in which there seems to be a slower backward counting…. And that means your timing units, the time frames that you are overseeing, seem to be enlarged. So those who are improvising seem to have a bit more time to foresee the melodic developments in improvisation and to fine grain the rhythmic patterns.”
In his book, “The World in Six Songs” (2009), Daniel J. Levitin, music psychologist and professor of psychology and behavioral neuroscience at McGill University, explained how cannabis changes the brain to enhance the effect of music: “THC, the active ingredient, is known to stimulate the brain's natural pleasure centers, while also disrupting short-term memory….The disruption of short-term memory thrusts listeners into the moment of the music as it unfolds; unable to explicitly keep in mind what has just been played, or to think ahead to what might be played, people stoned on pot tend to hear music from note to note.”
Note: This article discussed only a fragment of cannabis related songs. A more comprehensive list of songs can be viewed here.
ADVERTISMENT
