The Friendship Between the Music World and Marijuana
From the beginning of the jazz era through the 1960s and into today’s world of rock and pop, marijuana seems to have always walked hand in hand with music. Many legends of the music world including the great Louis Armstrong and Bob Marley commented that weed brought them inspiration and a surge of creativity.
In the 1960s, marijuana turned into a symbol of counterculture, revolutionary visions and hippies. It helped the musicians of that time perform and their audience to understand the meaning behind their words. Most importantly, weed was seen as a sign of protest against social norms, legal restrictions, and formalities. These days, marijuana is no less popular in the music world, although the attitude towards it is rapidly changing.
A Brief History Of Cannabis Use In The Music World
Back in the days when modern weed vaporizers weren’t a thing, Louis Armstrong was arrested and spent nine days in the Los Angeles City Jail for smoking a joint between sets. In 1931, the authorities viewed and publicly labeled jazz music as “satanic” and stemming from cannabis use by black performers. Those who supported prohibition often made racist and exaggerated claims about the harm of weed to appeal to the public xenophobia of that period. It is no wonder that numerous jazz musicians saw freedom and resistance in cannabis.
The peak of marijuana popularity came thirty years later when Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan entered the scene as the most notable and prominent figures in the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Between Dylan’s “everybody must get stoned” and Ginsberg’s “Pot Is Fun,” the dedicated fans felt inspired and readily embraced weed as a part of the culture that resonated with their desire for a new world free of limitations.
Cannabis use was not yet a widespread phenomenon in American society at the time. Among musicians and their fans, however, it was hardly possible to find a community where marijuana was frowned upon. All four of The Beatles, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Michelle Phillips and dozens of other musicians smoked pot and advocated for normalizing cannabis use.
Modern research suggests that there is a profound cultural and potential neural connection between cannabis use and appreciation of art. Marijuana is reported to make people more receptive to music by inducing a state of relaxation and greater focus. Smoking pot makes users more open-minded and able to see a broader spectrum in everything, especially in such an emotional phenomenon as music.
Contemporary Music And Marijuana
These days, a fan with a weed vaporizer can be frequently found at rock and heavy metal concerts. The link between marijuana and metal is somewhat counterintuitive. After all, the trend to smoke cannabis originates from inherently peaceful and philosophical genres such as jazz and folk. While many might struggle to associate metal with weed, the combination has been around for decades. Known as stoner metal, this subgenre brings together psychedelic rock and heavy metal.
Black Sabbath can be rightfully considered one of the most influential bands in the history of music. They were also the fathers of heavy metal and doom metal and their song “Sweet Leaf” is arguably the most famous metal song about smoking pot. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Flying High Again,” Sleep’s “Dopesmoker” and Pantera’s “Goddamn Electric” all indicate that the heavy metal community has been fascinated with marijuana for a long time.
The modification of meaning that people put into smoking weed was not the only transformation that the herb went through over the years. Another makeover occurred as cannabis entered the 21st century. Now crowds at Coachella abandon combustible smoking devices in favor of vaporizers.
Nowadays, a marijuana vape pen is a common accessory of those who consume marijuana, and it is replacing conventional joints at a rather impressive rate. The tendency is not surprising. Unlike their 1960s counterparts, modern proponents of cannabis legalization or use back their opinions with research rather than subjective claims about its safety. The increased level of awareness about one’s health and the global tendency to lead a healthy lifestyle contributed to the popularization of weed vaporizers.
Health Benefits Of Vaporizers
In 2019, “smoking pot” is not cool anymore, even among those who use marijuana regularly. Research conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information in 2016 discusses the potential dangers of cannabis itself while indicating that the data is insufficient to make final claims. It also highlights that the vast majority of risks to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems come from inhaling the harmful byproducts of combustion, produced when a joint is lit.
An herbal vaporizer is not a revolutionary device, although its use is mainly associated with medical procedures. A dry herb vaporizer, as the name suggests, is used to heat herbal solutions and produce steam for inhalation. Such vaporizers operate at temperatures below the point of combustion. It allows the user to inhale the vapor free from carcinogens and other harmful substances.
A cannabis vaporizer can significantly improve the condition of those who use marijuana for medical purposes. This way, the drug gets absorbed from the lungs into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system. It increases the effectiveness of the medication while reducing its cost. When cannabis is used recreationally, an herb vaporizer has the same health benefits. However, vaping marijuana reportedly produces stronger effects than smoking it, which may result in a more severe manifestation of marijuana side effects and can contribute to the development of an addiction. To experience the health benefits without the ‘stoned’ effect some users are turning to high-CBD hemp flower. This can be mixed with terpene flavoring (like this from True Blue) to improve the taste and enhance the medicinal effects.
One of the best dry herb vaporizers to get started is Pax Labs PAX 3. Atmos Jump is also a good and more affordable option for beginners. The best new vaporizers include such products as Storz & Bickel Crafty and G Pen Pro Vaporizer.
The Attitude Towards Cannabis In The Modern Music Community
Rock music and drugs happen to have a strong historical connection. Many musicians of our time work to shatter both that image and the factual tendency, dragging the abuse into the spotlight and speaking out against addiction in their songs, social media posts, and interviews. The situation with cannabis, however, is dramatically different. Such influential figures in the music world as Sting, Madonna, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and Carlos Santana spoke out in favor of legalizing marijuana. The issue is still highly controversial, but one thing that can be seen clearly: marijuana is not leaving the music industry any time soon.
About the author: Christina Matthews is a journalist who studies the latest news in the health industry including the effects of smoking and vaping on health and the reasons for its popularity.
