The sixties and seventies were decades of great change in youth culture. It was a radical and turbulent era, and young people were rebelling against parents, teachers, civic leaders and other adults in a new attempt to claim a freedom that they believed had not only been missing, but taken from their lives. However, those decades were also very controversial, among other reasons, for the consumption of illegal drugs was on the rise. Earlier generations had been known for their consumption of alcohol, but this seemed different due to the fact that alcohol was (except from some periods of prohibition in some countries) a legalized drug substance, and cannabis, L.S.D, cocaine and so on, were not.
"Playpower," by Richard Neville, is one of the texts to be discussed in the seminars of the course, and the aim of this essay will be to discuss and analyse Neville's arguments about the legalisation and consumption of marijuana, in the section of the book which is dedicated to discuss those topics. But more importantly, the aim will be showing that cannabis does have side effects, contrary to what Neville states. First, I will argue why I agree with the opinion that marijuana should be legalised, and then I will explain why I believe that his arguments are not the right ones, and that his book is excessively opinionated and subjective. Furthermore, I will discuss some of the statements he makes and that according to the World Health Organization are simply not true.
When reading "Playpower," it is observable that Neville is angry at society, and he does not make the effort in hiding so. In some of his statements, for instance "Also, when one discovers that cannabis is harmless, exposing society's lie." (p. 111), his feelings toward society are patent. Nevertheless, he has contradictory opinions. For instance, he criticizes society by saying that if marijuana was to be legalised, the results would not be positive, as it would mean that big companies would exploit the market, and joints would be expensive.
