Henry Rollins is a lot of things. He\u2019s the former lead singer of one of punk rock\u2019s most influential bands. He\u2019s an actor who\u2019s worked alongside the likes of Al Pacino. He\u2019s a published author with a regular column in LA Weekly. He\u2019s also an advocate. But Rollins doesn\u2019t consider himself an activist, even though he can be found at the forefront of a movement. In his own words, he\u2019s the straight guy fighting for LGBT rights and the non-smoker who\u2019s also fighting to see Americans being able to legally buy and use cannabis.<\/p>\n
This advocacy has seen him regularly speaking to entrepreneurs and industry influences about cannabis, and its history and future in America. In June, Rollins will be sharing those views with attendees of the International Cannabis Business Conference<\/a> in Vancouver, British Columbia. We spoke to him about Reagan\u2019s War on Drugs, its racist origins, and how the prohibition will ultimately come to an end.<\/p>\n Cannabis Now: How does a non-smoker become a keynote speaker at one of the cannabis industry\u2019s largest conferences?<\/strong><\/p>\n Henry Rollins: I don\u2019t use cannabis \u2013 not at all. So, why am I speaking at multiple cannabis entrepreneur conferences? Because as an American, to me, the War on Drugs is a way to lock up non-whites and poor people on non-violent crime charges. Why would you want to do that? Well, because people make a lot of money with incarceration. It\u2019s a multi-billion dollar thing in this country. Besides weapons, it\u2019s our other big industry. Now that you have privatized prisons \u2013 where people are building them like they\u2019re building condos \u2013 your only problem is empty beds, \u2018cause you\u2019re not making any money. It\u2019s like a hotel. Empty beds? You\u2019ve got a problem.<\/p>\n From Reagan to now, they\u2019ve been making the path to incarceration \u2013 and into the system as a number \u2013 really easy. Suddenly, people\u2019s lives, for a pocket of weed, are ruined. With the \u2018three strikes and you\u2019re out\u2019 thing some guys are going away for 25 years, all for a fistful of cannabis. Or they can\u2019t even get a minimum wage job, because they screwed up when they were 23. Take a look at who\u2019s going to jail in my country by the truckload. It\u2019s not people like me. This is why I advocate vociferously on behalf of cannabis.<\/p>\n Are you seeing a big change in the perception of cannabis across the United States?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think, as always, more information is better. The more people know, the less they need to be afraid of. But I think cannabis could be a generational thing. Eventually, they \u2013 that generation blocking change \u2013 will pass on, and a new generation will step into the voting booth, and into public office.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just like we\u2019ve seen in America, with these marches the young people are having for gun control<\/a> \u2013 every single one of those kids is going to vote. Are you kidding? You\u2019re going to see one or two of them in office. We are going to see a cultural change. You better get ready, because change is coming \u00a0and it\u2019s going to come very swiftly.<\/p>\n Do you see more states following suit and legalizing medical and recreational cannabis?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ll be telling my audience that they are the ambassadors of culture. Yes, you\u2019re all going to make money. Good. I want you to become filthy rich. Fantastic. But part of your job, when you\u2019re not shoveling money into a truck to drive to your bank, will be to help the little old lady at the end of the block with her arthritis<\/a> with a cannabinoid<\/a>. It\u2019s to help someone who wants to try cannabis, and not sell them something that is so powerful they can\u2019t find their way home the first time using it. You\u2019re going to be an educator \u2013 someone who\u2019s changing culture and perception.<\/p>\n But, if all you want to do is make money, well, you\u2019re not my pal. You\u2019re just a schmuck who makes money. If you\u2019re not going to do it with goodness in your heart, to try and do good \u2013 because cannabis is good \u2013 just don\u2019t. That\u2019 what I\u2019ll be putting across when I have my 45 minutes up on stage.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, do you agree with Rollins\u2019 views on cannabis reform?<\/p>\n The post Henry Rollins Wants You to Know: Change is Coming<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Henry Rollins is a lot of things. He\u2019s the former lead singer of one of punk rock\u2019s most influential bands. He\u2019s an actor who\u2019s worked alongside the likes of Al Pacino. He\u2019s a published author with a regular column in LA Weekly. He\u2019s also an advocate. But Rollins doesn\u2019t considerContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3856,2175,69,3883,106],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26339,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26338\/revisions\/26339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Henry Rollins Wants You to Know: Change is Coming<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"