The US Federal Government has been waging war against us for over seventy years. Since the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937, marijuana has been considered an enemy of society. In 1969, President Nixon declared war on this enemy. Like all wars, the enemy has been demonized with such success that the original reasons have long been forgotten. Yet the war goes on.

When marijuana was first outlawed, the government used propaganda to convince non-marijuana smokers that the plant made people violent. When this claim was finally understood to be patently false, the justification for marijuana prohibition turned to a belief that God disapproves of marijuana. More recently, most Americans have moved away from justifying prohibition with religious dogma and have instead adopted a paternalistic view of State power. According to this view, today the war against marijuana is said to be fought on behalf of our health.

But the venom spewed by prohibitionists is much more extreme than would be warranted by a concern for the health choices of the marijuana user. It is a hatred that is so explosive that it must be based on something deeper than a heartfelt concern for our well-being. Afterall, there is no similar reaction to those who smoke cigarettes, drink martinis, or overeat to the point of morbid obesity. While marijuana activists publicly argue the effects of cannabis on our health, we should also be asking the question, “Why do they hate us?”

The answer is quite simple. They hate our freedom.

They hate the fact that we choose to ignore their demands on how we treat out own bodies. While they fear the consequences of contradicting Taliban-like laws that restrict personal choices, we embrace the same belief in personal liberty that made men like Patrick Henry and John Hancock famous. And they hate us for it.

They hate the fact that we do not respect the government’s right to decide how we may use the plants we grow. As the prohibitionists cringe at the thought of disobedience, marijuana users challenge the restrictions imposed on us from above. We identify with men like John Hancock, who saw his ship “Liberty” seized by his government when he was charged with smuggling in 1768. Back then, the forbidden substance was the tea leaf. While the Boston Tea Party may have ignited the flames of freedom in a single night, the less-violent Marijuana rebellion has taken decades. But, like the freedom fighters who contested the Divine Right of Kings, we will not surrender our personal liberty simply because the government demands it. The prohibitionists want us all to be loyal subjects. Like Patrick Henry, we demand our freedom. And they hate us for it.

They hate the fact that we believe in our hearts that we are the true owners of our bodies. The prohibitionists believe that the government has the God-given right to shackle the people with whatever rules it deems good for them. They continually demand new reasons why we should be free of their chains, and dismiss any reason offered with “you just want to get high.” They have turned their bodies over to the State willingly and are offended that we have not. Marijuana users have retained ownership of our bodies against the will of the State. And they hate us for it.

Marijuana prohibitionists hate that we have chosen to remain free. Like the loyalists who dared not question the authority of the King during the American revolution, they value obedience over liberty. They have barely noticed that the man chosen to rule over this area of American life is even titled “Czar.”

So while some marijuana activists spend their time and energy trying to convince the Czar to grant us our liberty, the rest of us should continue to challenge the legitimacy of having a Czar in the first place. We own our bodies. They are not the property of the Czar. And although we are not violent or confrontational the way the freedom fighters of the Boston Tea Party were, we value our liberty every bit as much.

That is why the government has declared war on its own citizens. It is not a war to protect us; it is a war to control us. And we will not surrender. If the prohibitionists choose to hate us for that, let them hate. Because, although they may attempt to spin their hatred into a concern for our best interests, it is clear that what they are really angry about is their lack of liberty. And they resent us for not joining them in bondage.