On April 20 (4/20 to marijuana advocates), lovers of ‘the good weed’ light up and celebrate its virtues. Not so for roots singer Autarchii who has no special day to enjoy a smoke.
“Although I smoke herbs, I have no direct sentiments towards 4/20 as it’s not necessarily a celebration of health nor one that is tied to Rastafari. Burning herbs for me is really a daily meditation,” he said.
4/20 has its genesis at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California in 1971. Since the 1990’s, the day has taken on global proportions, with celebrations in countries where public smoking is illegal.
Autarchii believes 4/20 has done little to promote the benefits of marijuana, or ganja, as the plant is known in his native Jamaica.
“In fact, the average person just sees 4/20 as a day for smokers where people get high from morning until night. It has to be more education and health-focused if it is to change the negative perceptions of ganja,” he said.
In Jamaica, people were prosecuted for smoking marijuana for many years. Many of the jailed were Rastafarians. Even reggae legend Toots Hibbert did a prison stint in the late 1960’s after he was arrested by police for weed possession.
Since 2015, however, legislators in the Caribbean country have passed laws that decriminalize marijuana. One of those laws prevents persons found with small quantities of ganja from being prosecuted.
While these steps have been hailed as positive by progressives, Autarchii is not impressed.
“Way more needs to be done in Jamaica. Imagine the Cannabis Industry is making billions of dollars worldwide for Arch Capitalists, yet Jamaica produces some of the highest grades and the government still fails to use that natural resource to boost its economy the right way. To me that’s a backward and selfish thinking,” he reasoned.
Autarchii’s 2015 song, Cure The Pain, salutes the benefits of ganja. His latest EP, Disrupting The Status Quo, was released in November.
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