"hey Chong just cool it"- Prohibition, Mana and the Left.
Guest Post- Olivier Jutel, DJ Radio One Dunedin.
Dear Comrades,
I wanted to offer my thoughts on the politics of the
recent successful push to ban synthetic cannabis. My consternation
about the Internet Party and the libertarianization of the Left will
have to wait for another post. Let me begin by saying that I have not
been neck deep in some of the internal dialogue of the Mana Party at
either the AGM, social media or at party meetings, so maybe I’ve missed
something. I Just want to offer my humble opinion as someone who cares
deeply for the Left and the cause of emancipation and equality in NZ and
globally.
I present a politics radio show on Radio One in
Dunedin called ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ and co-host the
program with Abe Gray of Aoteroa Legalize Cannabis Party. Its fair to
say the brother is pretty passionate about
decriminalization/legalization as it is up at the top of his list of
political priorities. As a Marxist I would be happy to see Marijuana and
drug reform as a lower priority to the class struggle, gender, racial
and sexual equality, however this has become a central issue to our
national politics and will be key in the upcoming election. Therefore it
is incredibly important for us to formulate a position on the
Psychoactive Substances Bill (PSB), drug reform and the prison
industrial complex that reflects our deep commitment to workers
emancipation, community empowerment and the health and well-being of our
peeps. Sadly I don’t see how the Mana Party’s current prohibitionist
politics align with these goals of the Left. The Green Party is also
disappointing in this regard as well. It may well be that Mana’s
position is not being properly reflected in a mainstream media onslaught
that is full of populist fervor in favor banning Synths.
Let me begin by stating that it is clear that
synthetic cannabis is having a damaging effect in communities across New
Zealand. But if Peter Dunne and John Campbell wanted to hang outside a
bottle shop in Dunedin or cruise through the Octagon at 1am on a Sunday
morning that could just as easily gather some harrowing footage to whip
their viewers into a moral panic. Tobacco, Alcohol, Gambling, Drugs of
various sorts can all fester in the social crisis of exploitation and
alienation that capitalism produces. These are all symptoms of the beast
we call capitalism that we’ve vowed to fight. Synthetic Cannabis is
clearly bad shit anecdotally my friends say its gross and there is
obviously nowhere near the amount research that has been done on
Marijuana which is by all accounts safer than alcohol (this was the
basis for legalization in the US state of Colorado http://archive.saferchoice.
While it is clear that some corporates and some
petite bourgeois shop keepers are exploiting people’s misery, I do not
believe that prohibitionist politics helps us in the broader class
struggle, in fact it does the opposite. First anyone who does not
believe that decriminalizing marijuana at a minimum would destroy the
synth market instantly is not being intellectually honest. Bad
legalisation policy might risk that marijuana becomes controlled by the
weed equivalent of Lion-Nathan but for now we can say that weed has
decentralized production. We would also be striking a blow against the
criminal economy and the prison-industrial complex, two things that
should be priorities for us. Thus if we want to ban synths its
imperative that we push for decriminalization at a minimum and address
the problems of abuse as a social public health issue.
Okay so the common refrain might be to say “hey
Chong just cool it, weed is not a big issue”. Well, right now New
Zealand is in full populist backlash mode against synths but I believe
that the politics of this backlash are extremely retrograde, demonizes
the poor and working class Michael Laws-style. The media have been
making synth a drug of the poor and working class with portraits of
teenage mums, the unemployed etc… And we all know that the drug laws
that the state enforces are about criminalizing communities the
bourgeois don’t like. That is why whether it is intentional or not the
Mana Party writing press releases about some of the horrifying stories
of abuse (children selling themselves) fits into a predominate narrative
of drug abuse and the poor that the Tories trot out like the “culture
of poverty and dependency”. Perhaps this is bad media strategy or the
media ignoring broader points the Mana Party is making but I frankly see
these prohibitionist politics as very harmful. It is the kind of
politics that creates a wedge in the working class by demonizing the
poor. This is the way that Shane Jones can “represent” the working
class, if by working class we’re talking about angry reactionaires that
hate “dole bludgers” and “pointy-headed academic types” (me). I know
very well that is not Mana’s intention but to repeat myself this is how
there position will be used if decriminalization is not part of policy
plank. I see this as the biggest problem the Left and Mana face, the
populist backlash within the ranks of the working class. All this to say
nothing of the problems with prohibitionist policies. If we do not
articulate a proper position on marijuana, then drugs and the
culturalization of poverty will continue to be a weapon the ruling class
wield against us.
I want to conclude by expressing a certain
acknowledgement of where I think the prohibitionist streak in Mana comes
from. I understand the notion of militant revolutionary discipline and
those that see intoxicants as obstacles to a clear eyed militancy.
Malcolm X is an inspirational figure to us all and an important example
of a personal and political transformation through kicking intoxicants
and inspiring a movement of the lumpen proletariat. And of course
Malcolm articulated the role intoxicants play in keeping the people in a
stupor:
Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle, that's a
Government seal that you're breaking!
For
those who make that choice, cool but I don’t think that is the basis
for formulate broad social policy on drugs. By all means lets fund
whatever treatment and empowerment programmes that work, but lets not
give the ruling class the ability to criminalize and demonize. Mana
should not be trying to steal the thunder of National’s PSB revamp, its a
politics that can only help the right. Tell me where my analysis is
wrong comrades, have I missed something?
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