Marijuana In Your Supermarket

In October 2018, Canada stunned the world by legalizing recreational marijuana. The move was controversial to say the least, but in some quarters, people wonder what took so long. Meanwhile, the controversy continues to rage in the United States and is far from being ironed out. The day when one will be able to buy commercially produced marijuana packaged and sold in everyday retail stores like tobacco is still presumably a long way away, but almost five decades ago, a stodgy grocery industry trade magazine contemplated that very possibility – and the marketing opportunities that would come with pot legalization.

The January 1970 issue of Supermarketing (page 86), in a piece attached to an article about tobacco sales, suggested that legalization “no longer seems so remote as it once was.” It pointed out that the Nixon Administration had moved to differentiate the penalties between dealing and mere possession, as well as the penalties between marijuana offences and those of “harder” drugs. 

The “underground” press, Supermarketing reported, was claiming that “major tobacco companies already have acreages laid out and marketing plans on tap against the time when ‘grass’ becomes legal. But at least one marketing executive snorted, ‘That’s the biggest damn lie I ever heard.’”

Still, a tobacco magnate who chose to remain anonymous admitted, “Let’s face it – marijuana is already an American phenomenon spearheaded by youth and the middle classes. It’s growing day by day. I think that once we get away from the emotionalism that surrounds the subject now, the Government will in time realize it’s missing a good tax bet.” 

An ad agency creative exec (think Mad Men), who also chose to remain anonymous, speculated, “In the absence of any conclusive scientific evidence one way or the other as to whether ‘pot’ is harmful, I think it’ll eventually become legal. Prohibition demonstrated that you’re not going to make something disappear by making it illegal – and that’s part of the problem. Drugs today are what alcohol was in the 1920s, namely sin. And what legislator wants to go on record as being in favor of sin? But if everyone does it, it becomes less sinful.”

The ad exec went on to speculate, “Even with legalization, there’s every probability of an advertising ban – which would make ‘grass’ the first ‘new’ product with mass-market potential to emerge unaccompanied by advertising. Which will be very interesting to watch.”

The 1970 Supermarketing article concluded, “All of this may be so much conjectural blue haze. The opposition to marijuana remains strong among legislators, educators and parents. Its delights and dangers are still largely uncharted and it may indeed, in some cases, lead to an urge for stronger and more harmful drugs. Nevertheless, it may one day be sold across supermarket counters.”

If one were to travel back in time to 1970, and tell the people from then about "the future," would they really believe that the United States some fifty years later is still battling over the issue of marijuana legalization?

Facts About Fallout

With recent talk about nations expanding nuclear capabilities and a renewed arms race, we take a look at a booklet issued by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, issued in 1957 and directed at average Americans, called "Facts About Fallout."

Going back to 1945 with the end of the Second World War via the atomic bomb, there was always a looming threat that another nation with more sinister intent might turn the tables back on the United States.

The Soviet Union, although a U.S. ally during the war, soon figured out how to make its own atomic bomb, threatening the United States and democracies around the world, thus triggering what came to be known as the Cold War. With the Soviet threat, and U.S. troops battling communists in Korea in the early 1950s, there was serious worry that the Cold War could turn red hot and that U.S. cities could be the target of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. With the lives of millions of U.S. civilians at risk, legislation creating the Federal Civil Defense Administration was signed by President Harry S. Truman and enacted on January 12, 1951.

The government wanted Americans, who had lived through two world wars without ever seeing a direct attack on the homeland, to know that this threat was damn serious. Air and missile bases would be likely targets of an atomic bomb, as would major cities. The blast, heat and radiation would kill millions of Americans at or near ground zero of such an attack. Millions more would be injured or killed by radioactive dust — fallout — kicked up by the blast and blown to all parts of the land by wind, so no one was safe. A plan needed to be put in place, and a citizenry needed to be informed on how to handle such a dire situation.

Through the Civil Defense Administration, regional offices were set up, civil defense directors were appointed in communities across the land, informational booklets and posters were published, films were produced, and civil defense experts appeared on radio and television programs, to let John Q. Public, his wife and his children know how serious the threat was and what they can do to protect themselves.

 

"Facts About Fallout" (1957) describes what fallout is and how citizens can protect themselves, in layman's terms. Click the images to enlarge.

 

 

"Oddities in the News"--from 1910

This column of tidbits appeared in the February 24, 1910 edition of the Minneapolis Journal evening newspaper, kind of similar to the "News of the Weird" and similar newspaper columns that appear today. One might think everything that happened in 1910 would be an oddity by today's standards, but these were particularly noteworthy to the editor more than a century ago.

Doctors Couldn't Fix His Eye; It Was Glass.
   Joseph Cunningham had trouble with a peddler in Hudson street, New York, and his left eye was cracked. He went with it in his hand to St. Vincent's hospital, but the doctors couldn't help him for it was glass, and couldn't even be glued together.

Train Ran Over Him but He Was Not Hurt.
   While on his way to school at Columbus, Ohio, Dewey Sims tried to cross the tracks in front of a train and fell. Before he could arise, the train was upon him, but he had fallen such a way he did not receive a scratch as it passed over him.

Died as She Played "Home, Sweet Home."
   Literally carried away by her own music, Miss Katherine Beason died playing "Home, Sweet Home," at Attica, Ind. She had a weak heart and doctors said being transported by her own music caused it to give way.

Cured by Dream, Man Throws Away Crutches.
   After suffering long from rhumatism, H. M. Post of Owosea, Mich. dreamed he took a new treatment for the malady. When he awoke he found himself completely cured and threw away his crutches.

Woman Has Spent Much of 102 Years in Sleep.
    During most of her 102 years, Mrs. Susan Hurlbut of Wilkes-Barre has slept from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. She is in good health and attributes her longevity to plenty of sleep, and regular habits.

Kills 216 Rats With "Bite-Proof" Gloves.
   Arthur Crawford, foreman of E. C. Converce's home near Greenwich, Conn., killed 216 rats in half an hour. There is a rat plague at the henneries. Crawford covers his hands with "bite-proof" gloves, pulls the rats out of holes and breaks their necks.

Convict's Invention Wins Him a Pardon.
   William Howard is to be released from the state prison of Nebraska, where he has been serving a sentence for burglary. The cause is a self-balancing aeroplane he has invented, said to be better than all machines so far. He has been promised financial backing.

Lodges in New Henhouse Since Home Burned.
   In a few years fire has destroyed four fine homes of Mrs. Evelyn W. Murray, and she now lives in a chicken house near the site of her last house, near Somerville, N. J. She is wealthy, but prefers the chicken house to a hotel, partly, it is said, because she will not intrust animals on the place to servants.

Needs Wife and Job to Get That $20,000.
   John E. Mason, a young Englishman in Boston, will have to get married and a job to claim a $20,000 legacy left by his father. He has only a year, and at present has neither the prospect of a job or a wife.

Postoffice Closed; Nobody Wants Job.
   Because the government is unable to get any one to serve as postmaster the office at Dry Brook, Ulster county, is abolished. Nobody wants the job because it pays through the cancellation of stamps only about $1 a week.