Snoop Lion’s Lessons in Reefer Reform
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Snoop Lion performs at the Hoxton in Toronto.
Snoop Lion, formerly known as Snoop Dogg, wants to teach kids about weed.
In a GQ profile, Snoop said he would like to show his children how to use marijuana “the right way” so they learn to smoke safely. He also said he’d like to read a book to his youth football team about parents teaching their daughter about the drug. Media outlets have commented with eye-rolling and indignation, but some argue Snoop’s honesty may be the harbinger for a reasonable and necessary approach to marijuana education.
“If there’s one person you shouldn’t lie to it’s your child, about who you are and what you believe,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, the marijuana law reform organization. “Snoop is in a very unique position to do this.”
The growth of progressive legislation at the state level indicates the need for drug education reform. Marijuana is legal in 18 states and Washington, D.C. for medical use, decriminalized in 15 states, and legal in two states for recreational use. Statistics from NORML put public support of legalizing and taxing marijuana like alcohol at 52 percent.
Safety, rather than prohibition, now seems a priority. Programs such as D.A.R.E. would be more effective if they hired Snoop to speak in a public service announcement against driving while impaired, St. Pierre told Campus Progress.
“If the DEA really wanted children to stop and take pause, could there be a more influential person?” said St. Pierre. “People would believe him. He’s totally genuine.”
Snoop is among the most famous marijuana users in the U.S., along with Willie Nelson and Tommy Chong, and the only one still in prime parenting years. He’s also the founder of the Snoop Youth Football League for inner-city kids, which teaches “integrity, discipline, and team work” and brings “Black, Brown, and all other communities together through a common interest in sports.”
It’s worth noting people under 18 make up 25 percent of marijuana possession arrests, and people of color are disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition.
Through his community and artistic work, Snoop has embraced his position as both a suburban family man and a recognizable face of weed. He recently toked up while speaking on a panel before the Grammy Awards with the same forthrightness he said he wants for his children.
“Believe it or not,” Snoop said to GQ, “they need to know.”
Molly Savard is a reporter for Campus Progress. You can follow her on Twitter @mollicules.
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