plantandjoin-blog

[plantandjoin-blog]

My hair is not a culture! It’s not a religion!

People with dreadlocks have had stereotypes about them for many years. Flores (2013) gave eleven steretypes that he knows of, based on his own personal experiences. One which he mentions was that, people with dreadlocks are said to stink because their hair stinks and that they rarely bath or wash their hair. Another one which he mentions, is that people always think that he has weed in his possession or that he smokes all day and even he sells it. A stereotype which Flores mentions, and is also particularly important for this specific post is that people often assume that because he has dreadlocks, he is Rastafarian. He says that people have this mindset that only Rastafarian people have dreads because the religion requires one to grow them. 

Why are people so ignorant? How can a person have an entire opinion without knowing the facts, without reading! If you are going to have an opinion about a subject as sensitive as religion, at least have some correct information on it, do your research!

What is Rastafarianism?

Payrhuber (1998) states that: “Because of special social and ideological developments, the followers and disciples of Rastafarianism have developed a unique form of religion and culture”. Just like many other cultures and religions, Rastafarianism deserves the same level of respect given to any other existing cultures and religions. The Oxford dictionary continues to descibe Rastafarianism “relating to a religious movement of Jamaican origin believing that Haile Selassie (the former Emperor of Euthopia) was the Messiah and that black people are the chosen people. This religious movement has its’ own distinctive codes of behaviour and dresscode namely: growing dreadlocks, smoking weed and following  a specific diet. As society and ideologies continue to develop and change, some of these codes change too and especially when followers of the religion discover their own personal identities but still consider themselves to be of the Rastafarian culture. Myers (2014) argues that there is a lot to learn about the Rasafarian beliefs. “Many people are attracted to the idea of being a Rastafari because it means they have a religious excuse to smoke ganja. Some of them may be surprised then that smoking ganja is not only optional for Rastafarians but isn’t really all that central to their faith. Some Rastafari simply choose not to smoke weed at all.” 

It’s part of my religion! Even Nuns do it! 

The smoking of weed as a religious practice has become a culture that some celebrities like Snoop Dogg, are said to be memebers of. Myers (2014) continues to mention that: “Snoop Dog decided to change his name to “Snoop Lion” to show his adherence to Rastafari after he spent some time in Jamaica. However, many Rastafari have raised an outcry claiming that they see little actual faith in his behavior and think it is only an excuse for Snoop’s love of weed.” Being a public figure, his influece grew large, especially because of way he would display his practices on media platforms. 

Bob Marley set the trend! Let’s not argue!

“Bob Marley (1945-1981) was a Jamaican who helped popularize Rastafarianism during the 1970s...Marley, a heavy pot-smoker, was a militant follower and advocate of Rastafarianism. Students of this movement suggest that Marley became a symbol of “Rasta values and beliefs.” (Jackson, 2017). Bob Marley had become famous for this music, creating music through a genre called Reggae. It can be assumed that music also played part in speeding the popularity of the Marley’s practices: smoking weed and growing dreadlocks. His music increasingly became powerful and popular world wide. People who listened to Reggae, grew dreadlocks and smoked weed, were ultimately labelled as Rasta. 

Homaik’s (1999) study reveals that within the Rastafarian community, is a popular term Jah, which carries a deep and intense meaning within the Rastafarian religion/culture. It is a term that Rastafarians use, often in their own personal identities. This is why the stereotypes which assume that people with dreadlocks belong to the Rastafarian culture can be viewed as extremely problematic. The religious connotations associated with the term, according to the Rastafarian community are extremely delicate. Therefore, it is not a term that should be thrown around or attached to a person with dreadlocks. 

Please understand this: Just because I choose to keep and grow my natural hair, does not mean I am Rastafarian. Do not call me Jah lady/man. My hair is not a religion, my hair is not a culture. Please respect other people’s religions by educating yourself more about them.

As society develops, people’s idenitities evolve as well. Black women are starting to embrace their nautral hair more, by wearing it in different stylish ways and even making it a part of their identity. Dreadlocks are another example of how people choose to grow their hair, and they are also constantly developing ways of making them look nice and trendy. Therefore, it may considered extremely offensive to a person growing dreadlocks for personal reasons (outside religious ones), to be called Rastafarian or associated with the smoking of weed. 

References 

Flores, J., 2013. What are some stereotypes about people with dreadlocks? Online Retrieved: 1 November 2017: https://www.quora.com/what-are-some-stereotypes-about-people-with-dreadlocks. 

Homiak, J., 1999. Movements of Jah people: From sound scapes to mediascapes. Religion, disapora, and cultural idenitity: A reader in the Anglophone Caribbean, pp.87-123. 

Jackson, W., 2017. What is Rastafarianism? Who was Bob Marley? Online Retrieved: 31 October 2017: https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/868-what-is-rastafarianism-who-was-bob-marley.

Myers, G., 2014. 10 Things to know about Rastafarian beliefs. 

Payrhuber, M., 1998. Rastafarianism and pan-Africanism in the Caribbean. 

[plantandjoin-blog]

Legalizing it.

What  the stats say about the plant.

Swift (2013), states that in Washington DC, “Document1 Public support for legalization more than doubled in the 1970s, growing to 28%. It then plateaued during the 1980s and 1990s before inching steadily higher since 2000, reaching 50% in 2011. A sizable percentage of Americans (38%) this year admitted to having tried the drug, which may be a contributing factor to greater acceptance.” It is important to look at these stats and carefully consider the increasing numbers of support for its legalization, as this could serve as a reflection that not only has cannabis become a fashionable practice amongst young people, but has also become something that is used for more than just recreational purposes. 

Another common use for cannabis/weed, is for medicinal purposes. According to an article by Harding (2013), pain is one of the most common reasons why patients ask for medicinal marijuana prescription from their doctors, usually in states where medical marijuana is legal. It is said that doctors may prescribe medicinal marijuana for: “Muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain, seizure disorders and Crohn's disease”. It is said that patients who are in need for it can get it only from authorised sellers called a dispensary. These are highly monitored for the reason that the drug is known to contain properities that may cause a patient to be fully dependent on it and possibly lead to addiction. In the South African context, “Since 2014, the legality of marijuana for medicinal uses has been a hot topic of discussion amongst policy makers, medical professionals and patients in need” (Jake,2017). He continues to add that: “In June 2016, the South African Central Drug Authority (CDA) issued a definitive statement indicating a shift in their position through a call for the decriminalization of marijuana.” This caused a lot of excitement, especially amongst people who used it most for recreational purposes. 

The statement issued by the South African central drug authority (CDA) did not seem to be clear to many people, (using the above tweet as an example) as people thought that it was just being decriminalized and being made legal so that they could publicly use the drug as they wish, purchase it anywhere and casually smoke it in the very same way cigarettes would be smoked. However Jake (2017) continues to explain that: “What exactly does decriminalization mean and what was the CDA’s reasoning behind this policy shift? Decriminalization is not the same as legalization: in the case of the former, marijuana would still be considered an illegal substance but those that use it would not be prosecuted as criminals.” Surrounding the days from and after the release of the statement made by the South African central Drug authority, debates on social media came to rise:

The South African Central Drug Authority probably does not know that people will still smoke and sell weed regardless of the strict laws they put in place, and regardless of the little statements they release. People having BEEN growing these plants in their own backyards for years!  

There may be a serious need to legalize Cannabis in South Africa, and understandibly so - for medical purposes. Hence, there should be regulations in place that will help control how this drug moves from one person to the next. Just like any other drug, the addiction to weed may cause potential harm, not only to the user but to other people as well. Therefore the use of social media could be important tool used in monitoring the casualities of the drug being at an easy reach for everyone and anyone to use. Uldam (2016) mentions that: “online media platforms not only render political and corporate actors visible, but also civil society actors such as activists - the visibility on which exposures of corporate misconduct often rely. In doing so, online media platforms provide new opportunities for companies to monitor civii society actors’ activities so as to regain control of their own visibility.” This could be the a strategy that the CDA implements in their fight for decriminalizing weed to assist people who are trying to make its easily accessible for patients with chronic illnesses, and would need medicinal cannabis for pain and other aliments, by taking note of how people speak about using the drug, possibly getting information about where they get it and how it is made a causual practice through social media standards.   

References                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Harding, A., 2013. Medicinal marijuana. Online, Retrieved: 31 October 2017: https://www.webMD.com/pain-management/features/medicinal-marijuana-uses.

Jake, D., 2017. Is weed legal in South Africa? Online, Retrieved:1 November 2017: https://btl.co.za/is-weed-legal-in-south-africa/.

Swift, A., 2013. For first time, Americans favor legalizing marijuana: GALLUP Politics. Online, Retrieved: 31 October 2017: https://muskokapharma.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/GALLUP-POLL-58-percent-of-Americans-Want-legalization.pdf. 

Uldam, J., 2016. ‘Corporate management of visibility and the fantasy of the psot-political: Social media and surveillance. New media & society 18. pp.201-219. 

[plantandjoin-blog]

Experiencing the ‘Munchies’

The Urban dictionary defines the munchies to be a feeling that one gets when they get hungry after smoking weed. Usually these people will eat a lot of junk food. Let’s explore the use and effect of weed further...

“In terms of drug discourse in general and marijuana representation in particular, all those interconnected issues - of individual rights, of social control, of the possibilies of utopia - carry heavy ideological, aesthetic, and performative implications for how we understand ourselves as consumers of media and commodities and as members of various communities” (Lavoie, 2011). Across various digital spaces, marijuana is hardly ever viewed a lethal drug because of the heavy connotations associated with the term ‘Drug’, which firstly gives the idea that it is an illegal substance, which contains the potential of cause damage to ones body and may possibly lead one to being arrested. According to (Lavoie, 2011), cannabis in the UK is mostly used for recreational purposes, regardless of what the law says. Social media has made the use of weed even more causual, by showing public figures, usually in the music/rap industry, like Snoop Dogg, openly using weed in their music videos and some even use the term in the lyrics of their songs/rap.  

What makes the culture of weed, (especially amongst young people) even more popular is the people who influence it and make aesthetically appealing. It potentially ends up being a trend that young people want to become a part of. Musicians/rappers do not only display the use of weed in their videos but also on their social media platforms by taking selfies and posting videos of how they also use cannabis in real life. Being public figures often means that they have a large number of people following their lives on various social media platforms. Iqani (2015:408) mentions that: “The aesthetic properties of celebrity selfies by black African stars have been theorized as a form of globalized self-commodification...Although this growing body of work is encouraging, there are still many research opportunites that arise from the growing popularity and cultural significance of the selfies as both commodity and practice”.  One can definitely agree with this arguement for the reason that, celebrities are often open about the use of cannabis, this is made evident, as mentioned above, in their music videos and in the selfies that they take and put up on social media. This constant display of casual use of the Cannabis ultimately becomes a common practice usually amongst people who follow these celebrities, or the music that they listen to. 

Why are ‘munchies’ something to pay attention to?

The munchies are medically known to be caused by a number of physiological events. (Surmataitis, 2016) says that ‘munchies’ is “a common term familiar to both casual and chronic marijuana users that amusingly describes the appetite-stimulating effect of cannabinoids.”  The use of selfies has highly commodified this physiological feeling that the smoking of weed brings. But How? People who follow the practice of weed, and often display the experience on social media, have also made the consumption of junk food a kind of trend, one that makes it seem like a contemporary thing to have all of these different kind of unhealthy foods at your reach, also making it seem like a kind of benefit to having had smoked Cannabis. It creates an image that speaks: “if you smoke this, you can eat all of this without even getting sick”. This practice continues to be powerful and influential, also infusing curiousity, especially towards those who follow this type of music genres and have never experience the assumed tranquil after-effect that weed brings after having smoked. Iqani (2015:410) continues to mention that: “Selfies, of course, often serve to claim, “I’m here!”- at a hip restaurant, a recognizable tourist attraction, some dangerous place, or just in the bathroom mirror”. This definitely also applies to the practice of weed consumption and the trend of having the ‘munchies’, a trend those that follow may often want to experience, so that they may also have an opinion when it comes to this kind of feeling. 

There are various discourses surrounding selfies taken while a person/group of people where experiencing the munchies. Aside from the fact that a lot of young people are known go for fast foods and unhealthy snacks. A large consumption of junk food may create the idea that you are financially capable of affording these various types of “good food” and that you are well aware of this famous feeling of extreme hunger, (which is often considered cool amongst people who smoke weed). Therefore you may never be at a position where you feel left out, firstly because you have smoked weed and secondly you know what the munchies are. “Selfies arguably show how individual agency has been shaped by the power of consumerist mediation...selfies serve as evidence of a willing buy-in, indeed celebration of, consumer culture and consumption” (Borgerson, 2013) in Iqani (2015). This also displays the power that public figures have to create a culture of consumption that people will want to follow and also enhance their own. 

References

Borgerson, Janet L. 2013. “The Flickering consumer: New Materialities and consumer research.” Research in consumer behaviour 15:125-144.

Iqani, M. & Schroeder, J.E., 2016. #selfie:digital self-portraits as commodity form and consumption practice’. Consumption markets `& culture 19.5, pp. 405 -415. 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=munchies.

Lavoie, D. 2011. Marijuanatopia?-placing pot media in the US social imaginary: Surveillance, consumption & pleasure. 

Surmaitis, R., 2016. Cannabinoid hyperemesis  syndrome: The anti-munchies.  Online, Retrieved 01 November 2017: URL: http://www.emresident.org/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome-the-anti-munchies/. 

[plantandjoin-blog]

therapeutic.