So now we learn that a film showing singer Bob Marley amid swirling clouds of cannabis smoke is suitable for 12-year-olds, while poor old Mary Poppins – once a “U” feature film that all the world could watch – has now become “Parental Guidance”, thanks to a racial reference that virtually no one under 90 will get.
Well, that’s taking a bad thing seriously, while treating a serious issue too lightly. Every time someone tells me that marijuana is just a mild drug and nothing to worry about, I think of the most sinister and miserable part of a great London prison that I visited one day.
This is the place where mentally ill prisoners are held. This twilight corridor is the dismal destination of many who have been seduced into thinking that drugs are only a trivial quest, just for fun. He is completely void of any hope. People here are so sick that they should be hospitalized, but there are no beds available, so they are incarcerated.
The Bob Marley biopic One Love treats cannabis use as more or less normal.
I was shown this miserable corner once in a large London prison. Inmates were given powerful antipsychotics to keep them quiet. In one of their cells, I noticed that the occupant had stuck on his wall a large poster of Bob Marley, adorned with the symbol of the drug he did so much to popularize, the unmistakable spiky silhouette of the marijuana plant.
I remember how angry that made me. It was a prison to punish crimes, and possession of cannabis is a serious crime. And a lot of the mental illness that we’re seeing in this country right now is affecting long-term users of the drug.
It’s not just a theory. Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King’s College Hospital in London, concluded after a major study: “It is now well known that cannabis use increases the risk of psychosis.”
His research suggests that “we could prevent almost a quarter of psychosis cases if no one smoked high-potency cannabis.” This could save young patients a lot of suffering and save the NHS a lot of money.
Mary Poppins – once a “U” show that everyone could watch – has now moved to “Parental Advice”, thanks to a racial reference that virtually no one under 90 will understand.
It’s a phenomenon well known to millions of people who live on streets where the smell of weed has become an integral part of life. And yet it is not well known among the cultural elite who decide so much of how we live.
Perhaps someone could inform Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, whose years as a newsreader, followed by a successful appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, were capped in 2022 with admission to the ranks of the greats and well, and by his appointment to the presidency of the British Board. Film Classification Board (BBFC).
For it is in this role that she has just revealed that a cinematic biography of Bob Marley has benefited from a more relaxed treatment than it once would have been. In the past, the film One Love would have been rated “15”, and anyone under the age of 15 would not have been allowed to watch it. But thanks to a supposed softening of public opinion on the issue, he got a much more commercially relaxed “12A.”
Ms Kaplinsky explained: “The public told us that there was a relaxation, that there was a greater tolerance towards drugs and that the message of One Love was very much about peace. Marijuana is totally essential to the Rastafarian religion, so it was important to give it a “12A” rather than a “15”.
She explained that: “There is a slight decrease in anxiety related to drug, weed and solvent abuse in younger age groups as well.” His claim was based on research carried out by the BBFC, which reportedly shows people are now “slightly more tolerant of cannabis abuse at ’12A/12′”, provided it is not detailed, glamorous or frequent .
I haven’t been able to figure out what “slightly” means. But it’s another triumph for the marijuana legalization campaign, which will welcome the special treatment given to its drug of choice.
For 60 years they have tried to pretend that marijuana is somehow mild and harmless. By saying it will “maintain its current standards on other medicines” the BBFC will be helping to propagate this lie.
But is society really more relaxed about marijuana, especially since the culprits in so many violent criminal cases turn out to be longtime users?
Certainly, Marley’s film considers its use more or less normal. And of course, such a film cannot avoid glorifying Marley himself, the great, well-voiced Jamaican national hero who died tragically young after venturing into radical politics.
As for the film’s drug content, even the liberal Guardian newspaper notes “the clouds of ganja smoke that constantly fill the frame.”
The Times agreed, saying it contains “many depictions of cannabis use”, although like most critics it dismissed the film itself, saying it was about a “particularly uninspired and deferential work around the life and legacy of the Jamaican reggae star”.
I’m not really sure how this matches the description of its rating on the BBFC website. It says in a movie “12A”: “Abuse of drugs or other substances will generally be infrequent. There should be no glorification or educational details.
While in a production “15” it is stated that “drug and substance abuse may be shown, but should not be promoted or encouraged by the content as a whole.”
There are good reasons for that. In the long battle to discourage young people from smoking tobacco, many efforts have been made to explain to adults that children copy what they see.