Antigone for Pot

Antigone for Pot!

Throughout history many activists have broken unjust laws. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." In the Greek tragedy Antigone written by Sophocles, Antigone breaks an unjust law saying not to bury her dead brother's body, enforced by King Creon. Antigone felt compelled to break the law because she believed every human being deserved to have a proper burial. For breaking the law Antigone was locked up in a prison till death. Like Antigone, Marc Emery, a marijuana activist, also fought unjust laws against marijuana. Emery fought for the complete legalization of marijuana in Canada. For his protests and defiance of the law, Emery was imprisoned for five years starting in 2010. Both Antigone and Emery fought against unjust laws like improper burial and illegalization of marijuana but were punished for their actions.

Antigone is a tragedy written by Sophocles in 442 B.C that illustrates how unjust laws are broken to have true justice in the society. In the play, Antigone buries her brother Polyneices defying King Creon's law of leaving him unburied to rot and be eaten by animals, because Polyneices fought against the city of Thebes in order to conquer it. King Creon believed his law is justified in order to keep peace and defend Thebes against traitors. Creon is a king who is dedicated to his city more than his family thus as the play progresses Creon ignores his family relations to serve the laws of his city. Antigone believes that every human being deserves a proper burial when they are dead, no matter what they did when they were alive. Antigone is portrayed as a caring character but overly stubborn. Even before Antigone buried Polyneices's body she was warned and was aware of the risks of her actions. Creon's law warned that if anyone tried to bury Polyneices's body they will be executed but by defying this law, Antigone showed how one person who speaks out against unjust laws can make a difference. Although Antigone protests against an unjust law, she is punished by being buried alive in a tomb with little food, but Antigone chose to kill herself rather than die from starvation, like Creon intended her to.

Marc Emery is a Canadian marijuana activist and a former cannabis seed seller who believes in full legalization of marijuana in USA and Canada. He has sold millions of marijuana seeds through his websites like Cannabis Culture and his pot stores in Canada. Emery believes that marijuana is wrongly interpreted as a drug and it has more medical use than believed by the government. Emery's biggest problem in selling marijuana is the US government, which considers marijuana as an illegal drug. He protested against this discrimination through peaceful rallies and demonstrations. He gave demonstrations in major countries like Canada, United States, New Zealand, Australia,