Pot Plot: Marijuana, Hip Hop and the Scientific Assault on Black America

The Black man loves his weed. Few potheads, however, are aware of the fact that marijuana was covertly weaponized against Black people. Cannabis was one of the earliest drugs investigated by the Central Intelligence Agency as part of its Project MK-ULTRA (1953-1973) which sought to "gain control over human behavior through covert use of chemical and biological materials." Black people were the frequent targets and guinea pigs for this Project. An enhanced form of marijuana was created by the Agency as a psychochemical weapon to be used during covert operations against targeted persons or groups. Much of the marijuana that hit the streets in the 1970s and 1980s was flown into the country from Latin America by CIA assets. It thus came through Agency hands before it fell into potheads' hands. This is the story of the Weaponization of Weed, the Weaponization of Hip Hop and the Scientific Assault on Black America.