High Times Magazine publisher Peter Gorman argued passionately about the case for drug legalization. He recounted his quarter-century quest to understand tribal cultures, medicinal plants, and the complex web of ecological and societal change. Gorman reflected on the legacy of the counterculture-- championing civil rights, women's rights, anti-war protests, and the legalization movement-- emphasizing that without their activism, the freedoms many enjoy today would not exist. He asserted that the use of cannabis has historically been a unifying thread.
Gorman outlined the failures of the drug war, highlighting absurdities like life sentences for trivial amounts or possession, exposing systemic corruption, racial disparities, and the profound economic waste of policies rooted more in politics than in justice. "What we're doing doesn't work at all," he stated. Illegal substances had become cheaper and more accessible, which he said hinted at deeper conspiracies and systemic corruption involving governments, international agencies, and criminal enterprises benefiting from the status quo, fueling cycles of violence and addiction.
His account of witnessing local healers using traditional medicine revealed a worldview that respects natural knowledge and wisdom. He worried that we have already lost cures locked within endangered species of plants, and mentioned the significance of plant-based psychedelics like ayahuasca, describing how these natural compounds can serve as gateways to self-awareness and spiritual insight. The last hour featured news and Open Lines.