GUEST: Well, this is from the 1960, mid-'60s. I was director of the U.C.L.A. Drug Abuse Training Center at the time. And we had this mission to train people who worked with drug abusers all over the Western region. And Tom, um, really liked our work. And he came and visited us, and he's one of the principals of, of NORML at that time. And he and I talked a little bit, and he said, "Would you like a poster from me?" I said, "I would love one." And so he gave me one.

APPRAISER: Yeah, we should point out that NORML is the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

GUEST: Yes, yes, exactly.

APPRAISER: And you say you got this poster in the 1960s.

GUEST: Yes, uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Um, and the 1960s were kind of a wild time...

GUEST: Oh, yes. (laughs) Well, I have this joke because I'm from the '60s: "If you remember the '60s, you weren't there."

APPRAISER: (chuckles)

GUEST: And so I am a product. I'm lucky I have some synapses left in my, in my own head. So yes.

APPRAISER: That's fantastic. And I'm going to actually give you a living example of that right now, because I'm very familiar with this artist, Thomas W. Benton.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: And the poster was actually designed in 1970.

GUEST: Ah, really?

APPRAISER: Really.

GUEST: So...

APPRAISER: So you were so out of it, you got the date completely wrong.

GUEST: Exactly, exactly.

APPRAISER: So Benton fought in the Korean War, and afterwards, I think in 1963, he relocated to Aspen, Colorado.

GUEST: Huh.

APPRAISER: Where he lived for the rest of his life.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: He was very friendly and worked for many decades with Hunter S. Thompson.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And in fact, Benton helped Thompson when Thompson was running for sheriff of Aspen County in 1970.

GUEST: Amazing.

APPRAISER: And they organized the Freak Power Party. It just, it was an incredible time. Benton did incredible art. But it wasn't just for this narrow group of people. Benton also designed posters for national politicians like George McGovern, for Gary Hart.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: And here in California, for Willie Brown. So he was a very established artist. And it's wonderful, too, if you read the sentiment by Spinoza, the great philosopher: "He who seeks to regulate everything by law is more likely to arouse vices than to reform them." It's a fabulous sentiment.

GUEST: Yeah, yes, yes.

APPRAISER: It's signed by the artist, and it's inscribed to you.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Which is very personal and nice. His work has come up at auction with some regularity, not that frequently. And his work generally sells in the $700 to $1,000 range.

GUEST: Ah, okay.

APPRAISER: But it's my belief that because this is such an exciting topic, because it's such a timely issue...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Because it's an issue that really reflects and reverberates so well with so many people, I would think that at auction, an estimate for this piece would be between $2,000 and $3,000.

GUEST: Wow, that's, that's nice, very nice. Wonderful, thank you.

APPRAISER: It's also so great to see, like, the marijuana leaf here with all the star jasmine plants.

GUEST: Yes, exactly.

APPRAISER: It's, like, natural. I feel like taking off all my clothes and dancing.

GUEST: Just don't breathe too deeply, and you'll be fine.