Remembering Counter-Culture Hero Lee Harris
In 1972 Lee opened "Alchemy" London’s first, and most famous headshop.
Back in 2015 when campaigning for London Mayor as the contender for the ‘Cannabis is Safer Than Alcohol’ party, hero of the counter-culture Lee Harris remarked that in the 1960s, “divorce, gay rights, women’s rights, everyone, everything changed except cannabis and we think it’s time that this country gets rid of its archaic laws and becomes part of the 21st century.” Lee was not successful in his campaign but did obtain an impressive amount of votes for an independent candidate. over 88,000 in total.
Lee Harris sadly passed away on Sunday 26th November 2023.
Born in South Africa Lee moved to the UK aged 19 in 1956. Originally an actor and playwright in the height of "swinging sixties" London, Lee was photographed hanging out with prominent counter-culture figures like beat poet Allen Ginsberg whilst attending the 1st Legalise Pot Rally, in Hyde Park.
In 1972 Lee opened "Alchemy" London’s first, and most famous, headshop located on Portobello Road. He also established and edited Europe’s first counter-culture and cannabis magazine, HomeGrown, between 1977- 82.
“Cannabis should be legalised because it’s a herb, a healing plant. I started smoking cannabis at 27. By the "summer of love", I was turned on and my mind was blown.” Lee Harris-2015
The 1967 Summer of Love is widely seen as the point "when pot became political,” leaving. Lee has been described by the New Statesman in 2017 as a “lifelong campaigner in the movement to legalise cannabis. He misses the optimism of the 1960s, and believes that if cannabis were legalised it would help reduce inequality and end the war on drugs.”
In another 2015 interview during the London mayoral drive with Dazeddigital.com, Lee was quoted as saying “I come from South Africa, where many of the laws were very unjust and racist. And so I’m from that tradition of defiance of unjust laws.”
In 2016 he commented that it was frustrating to see how much the world has changed with so many countries now legalising cannabis, especially for medicinal purposes. He saw it as a "revelation" that so many have found its healing qualities and so believed that it was about time that it was made legal for personal use.
The UK government and parliament have been in constant turmoil and chaos since 2016 off the back of Brexit and the COVID pandemic, along with scandal and a string of leadership changes. Unfortunately, this means causes like legalising cannabis have been pushed to the back of the queue. However, maybe by recognising the advocate work of someone like Lee we can remember how far we have come and make e renewed bid for change.
More on this topic from Soft Secrets:
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Liz Filmer
