Tudo indica que quase quarenta anos depois da profecia de Peter Tosh, o país mais associado ao consumo de maconha irá legalizar a ganja em seu território. Diz o Guardian:

“Debate could start this month in the country where the drug, known popularly as “ganja”, has long been culturally entrenched but illegal.

The bill would establish a cannabis licensing authority to deal with the regulations needed to cultivate, sell and distribute the herb for medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes. “We need to position ourselves to take advantage of the significant economic opportunities offered by this emerging industry,” he said.

It would make possession of 2 ounces (56g) or less an offence that would not result in a criminal record. Cultivation of five or fewer plants on any premises would be permitted. Rastafarians, who use marijuana as a sacrament, could also legally use it for religious purposes for the first time in Jamaica, where the spiritual movement was founded in the 1930s.

E lá vão quase 40 anos que Peter Tosh cantava:

Puf!

C&C Music Factory – “Take A Toke”
Criolo – “Vasilhame”
Gabriel O Pensador + Lulu Santos – “Cachimbo da Paz”
Z’África Brasil – “Sapo na Banca”
Kid Cudi – “Marijuana”
Purple Ribbon All-Stars – “Kryptonite (I’m On It)”
Sublime – “Smoke Two Joints”
Musical Youth “Pass the Dutchie”
Bob Marley – “Kaya”
Peter Tosh – “Legalize It”
Beatles – “Got To Get You Into My Life”
Steve Miller Band – “The Joker”
Nei Lisboa – “Síndrome de Abstinência”
John Prine – “Illegal smile”
Go to Blazes – “Billy Bardo”
Little Feat – “Don’t Bogart That Joint”
Muddy Waters – “Champagne & Reefer”
Cab Calloway – “Reefer Man”
Bezerra da Silva – “A Semente”
Golden Boys – “Fumacê”
Erasmo Carlos – “Maria Joana”
Chico Buarque – “Carioca”
MC Joana Dark – “Funk do Mujica”
Afroman – “Because I Get High”
Dr. Dre + Snoop Dogg – “The Next Episode”
De Menos Crime – “Fogo na Bomba”
Planet Hemp – “Queimando Tudo”
Black Sabbath – “Sweet Leaf”
John Hartford – “Two Hits and the Joint Turned Brown”
New Riders of the Purple Sage – “Panama Red”
Neil Young – “Roll Another Number (For The Road)”
Bob Dylan – “Rainy Day Woman #12 & #35”

Vamos?

Você sabe que essa foi a primeira música que o Bob Marley gravou com os Wailers – que, na época, 1964, contavam com Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Smith e Beverley Kelso, além de Marley, Bunny Wailer e Peter Tosh. O grupo foi acompanhado pelos Skatalites e essa faixa era um recado para as gangues de Kingston segurarem a onda – a porradaria andava comendo solta. “Simmer Down” foi sucesso em fevereiro de 1964, na Jamaica, o mesmo mês que os americanos viram os Beatles pela primeira vez na TV.