There are many conflicts in this world. Iraq, Chechnya, Somalia, Israel, Sudan; the list goes on. But there are few that rage quite as hard, or are as visceral, as that between suits and stoners. On Sept 7 Steve Hager, an Illinois native, discovered the hippie movement at an early age and immediately fell in love. He is a self-proclaimed “Rainbow Child,” and is the founder of the annual “Cannabis Cup,” a month long marijuana festival,  held each November in Amsterdam.
His introduction, and later speeches, revolved around five main points: marijuana is good medicine, hemp is good for the environment, use is a victimless crime and is overcrowding the prison system, marijuana funds corruption, and, as he proclaimed quite emotionally, it’s part of his culture and “religion”.
Stutman, on the other hand, was raised in a middle class household, and was later a top DEA agent for a span of about 17 years, at one point director for the New York City branch. He believes that there are a number of consequences associated with recreational marijuana use, namely an increase in the number of accidents, the risk of dependence, the inability to think clearly, stunted development, and the increased risk of cancer.
Studies have in fact shown marijuana to be useful in fighting several diseases, namely in Glaucoma and cancer patients. A 2007 study by Harvard even showed that marijuana has anti-cancer properties. Even Stutman is all for the medical use of marijuana; he simply believes that the plant should remain illegal to use. Instead, extracts should be used to provide medicinal benefits.
Hager’s rebutted guilelessly; “he’s right, don’t smoke. Vaporize it, put it in tea, or eat it in brownies.”
Hager asks the pertinent question: why, if cigarettes and alcohol are legal, is marijuana still illegal? Stutman argues that cigarettes and alcohol are culturally “acceptable”, while marijuana use still has a certain stigma attached to it. He also equates more pot with more users of pot.
Culturally and religiously, Hager claims that ganja takes the role of a sacrament in his, and many others, religion.
“God,” he claims “made it,” while Stutman tartly replies “Who makes Arsenic? God [does].”
Surprisingly, these two old friends are in agreement on many issues. Stutman is not anti-hemp, nor does he think users should be put in jail. What he does believe in is the American system; he says that while doctors, scientists, the courts, and the majority of Americans say “no” he will be compelled to agree with them.
In light of the upcoming Prop 19 in California, many presumably found it their duty to know the facts and witness this colloquial battle of “Head vs Fed.” Stutman believes that Americans simply want “their own intoxicant” made legal, and Hager’s siren song is “release the people locked in cages for marijuana.”
