Sacramento based indie/punk rock band American High just dropped their latest politically charged anti-prohibition song titled “Cheye Calvo.” The song takes a stance against questionable government-sanctioned drug raids that have taken place in the U.S. such as the Cheye Calvo incident in July of 2008.
The Cheye Calvo case took place when a large package of cannabis was intercepted in a warehouse, addressed to the then Berwyn Heights mayor, Cheye Calvo’s residence. Instead of intercepting the package in transit, the police allowed the package to be delivered to the residence. Once the package arrived at the mayor’s residence, a SWAT team raided and held the mayor and his mother-in-law at gunpoint, and shot and killed his two dogs, one while it attempted to run away. The event gained national and international attention on the media. In addition, the Calvos were relieved of any wrongdoing, and the police were accused by the Calvos and civil rights groups of lacking a proper search warrant, showing excessive force, and failing to conduct a proper background investigation of the raided home.
The music video below sadly depicts this and other cannabis raids that have gone down in the U.S. and compares them to that of the liquor raids and seizures of the 1920’s and early 30’s alcohol prohibition. The video and message behind it beg us to ask the question of why were these substances ever illegal in the first place? As history would teach us, the prohibition of drugs like alcohol and cannabis have been daunting and shown few results, aside from putting more American citizens in jail, creating a general unease between the people and authorities, and resulting in an increase of gang and mob-related crime in the U.S.
Watch American High’s Mew Video For “Cheye Calvo” Below:
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