So weed was banned from Afroman’s 4/20 concert in Michigan

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4/20 is prime time for Joseph Edgar Foreman, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and rapper-songwriter known to legions of cannabis enthusiasts as “Afroman”. True to the nature of his decades-long career, Foreman spent the week traveling from Oklahoma to Michigan performing for weed-loving crowds who care about his now classic ode to the things marijuana makes you forget.

(Did we mention that when we saw him live in 2002? [we’re old] he played “Because I Got High” twice on the same set? This man deserves all high holiday gigs.)

Not everything was smooth smoking during the 4/20 week of the legend. The organizers of Afroman’s Tuesday concert in Cass County, Michigan’s M-40 Speedway, were not given permission to allow cannabis use at the event.

Fans left angry Facebook comments, and then organizers were cursed and reluctantly accused of selling illegal drugs by law enforcement agencies.

“These requirements are very basic,” Cass County Attorney Victor Fitz told a local news site. “They are basic things for adults. You need to have a license and make sure you have expressed permission from the community if you want to use marijuana. And if you do, you’ll be fine, and if you don’t, there are potential criminal consequences … Some of the organizers have been active in marijuana advertising for recreational methods … So I think there were some logical conclusions were drawn. That’s why communication is sometimes a good thing. “

“We never wanted to give the wrong impression,” said one of the organizers of the event, Justin Smith. “This is strictly a music concert.”

Even so, according to a highly inappropriate IG contribution by Afroman himself, the show was sold out on the racetrack.

Which only seems right since Foreman, with his own safety, seized a chance when he wrote “Because I’m High”. When he remade the single in 2014, he wrote an essay on the genesis of the song for Vibe Magazine:

“I wanted to write a pro weed song, but I still feel like the police are going to harass me even more. You could exaggerate and say I disturb the peace and disturb a riot. They know like the classic crooked cops on TV who hit your headlights with their night stick and then tell you your head is broken. These types of cops exist. “

This positive remix “Because I Got High” from 2014 further cemented Afroman’s status as a cannabis hero. He released a video in collaboration with NORML’s Smoke the Vote campaign and Weedmaps – mostly switching texts to reflect the positive benefits of cannabis use, from glaucoma relief to tax breaks for state governments:

“They built a school or two / Because I got up / Now the state can fund drug treatment / And I know why,” went the replay.

So it was a relief to get a sign that Foreman’s excitement was barely dampened by the Snafu on the circuit. He posted a photo of himself yesterday, surrounded by women in floor-length white coats, a purple suit with “Mudflap Woman” print and a matching mug. The caption calls this year the “best 4/20 I’ve ever had”.

That says something.