Senator Daniel: “When did you first smoke marijuana?”
Lila Leeds: “Well, as I say, I was more or less on my own, and I took a job as a sales clerk there and made friends with another girl my age in the store, and we went out together in the evening time, and around, more or less to dances together; and we liked music very much, and we stayed out late one night at a place called Tune Town Ballroom in St. Louis. We stayed over to have something to eat with the musicians from Stan Kenton’s band, and they asked us up to have a drink at their hotel room, and we did. There was a girl singer along so we didn’t think anything about it, and that is where I was introduced to what they call a stick of tea.
Senator Daniel: “Stick of tea?”
Miss Leeds: “Yes, that is what the nickname is, I would say, for marijuana.”
Senator Daniel: “T-e-a?”
Miss Leeds: “Yes, tea, like you drink.”
Senator Daniel: “Was this the first marijuana you have seen?”
Miss Leeds: “Yes, sir.”
Senator Daniels: “Just tell us, were some of the men smoking?”
Miss Leeds: “They were all smoking, and I guess that is why I didn’t question it and didn’t see any harm in it. I mean, it seemed to be quite a laughing matter.”
Senator Daniel: “Did your girlfriend use it?”
Miss Leeds: “She took a couple of puffs like myself. We both claimed we didn’t feel anything and they asked up to get up and walk around the chair or something, which we did automatically, and then they said, ‘Oh, well, you’re high’ or something like that. I did feel a slight—something, I couldn’t say quite what it was like.”
Chicago – 11/21/55