A brief history of pot hysteria

RACISM and FEAR

A brief history of marijuana use and the laws against it

For thousands of years, humans have smoked dried portions of the cannabis plant - known only in the last century as marijuana - in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. Nobody knows the exact point in history when the plant's psychoactive effects were first discovered, but it was likely before the year 2000 B.C.. Cultures throughout history used marijuana, including the ancient Chinese and the ancient Egyptians, the latter of whom smoked pot as a medicinal remedy for eye ailments(1). Also taking part, in time, were the ancient Greek, Mediterranean and Indian peoples. It is worth noting that, until very recently in history, cannabis made no great mark on history. Its fibers were used to make a wide array of products, some people smoked it for relaxation, and that was about it. Then, unlike now, those in power considered the plant to pose no great harm. In contrast, the struggles of ancient Asian and Middle Eastern cultures with drugs like opium are well-documented.

Following the colonization of what is now the United States, the cannabis plant enjoyed an extremely positive all over North America. The first ever marijuana law enacted in the United States was in the colony of Jamestown, in the 1600s. It made the farming of hemp (the fibrous material from the stalks of cannabis plants) not illegal, but MANDATORY(2). Colonists in those days realized, as is still widely accepted, that hemp was a superior crop for rope and paper production, as well as other uses. Today, the farming of hemp is banned in the U.S. under all circumstances, although hemp itself has no psychoactive properties. Pot's good reputation continued through the period of the Revolutionary War. George Washington, forefather and American hero, grew an annual hemp crop and likely smoked cannabis recreationally; his personal diary and correspondence described separating male and female plants to minimize seed production, and alluded to a substance that was likely crude hashish(3). Benjamin Franklin grew hemp as well(4).


It was not until the U.S. experienced struggles associated with rapid population growth that marijuana was first eyed with widespread suspicion. Before and immediately after the turn of the century, the population of American urban centers exploded, bringing to light unique challenges and a unique brand of urban crime. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of those living in the worst parts of American cities were immigrants(5). In addition to traditional anti-immigrant sentiments, affluent Caucasians began to develop a particular weariness of Blacks and Mexicans. This pattern of bigotry and prejudice was more concentrated in the South than elsewhere in the country. Again, not surprising, as this was the region in which most African and Mexican-Americans lived at this time in history(6).

Although marijuana was available commercially and in various medicinal formulas well into the 1900s, it never "took off" as a drug of choice. To a large extent, marijuana was a pastime of minorities only, associated with the Mexican population of the American Southwest, and the Black population further east(7). Its popular image became linked inextricably with these minorities, yet until the 1930s, marijuana was totally legal. Smoking marijuana, however, was beginning to be widely discouraged in mainstream society. It was during these years - before pot was outlawed but after public hysteria had begun to emerge - that some of the most outrageous anti-pot propaganda appeared in American cities.


Marijuana's opponents used such propaganda to convince those in the upper class that marijuana addiction was an incurable and steadily-growing disease. This campaign gathered support for the passage of state laws against marijuana usage, starting in 1915. Professor Charles Whitebread of USC Law School explained it well in a 1995 speech to the California Judge's Associaton:

"The first group of states to have marijuana laws in that part of the century were Rocky Mountain and southwestern states. By that, I mean Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana. You didn't have to go anywhere but to the legislative records to find out what had motivated those marijuana laws. The only thing you need to know to understand the early marijuana laws in the southwest and Rocky Mountain areas of this country is to know, that in the period just after 1914, into all of those areas was a substantial migration of Mexicans. They had come across the border in search of better economic conditions, they worked heavily as rural laborers, beet field workers, cotton pickers, things of that sort. And with them, they had brought marijuana."(8)

By 1937 - the year the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, making the drug legal across the nation - 27 states had enacted laws against its possession. The Marijuana Tax Act itself was a tricky piece of legislation; it decreed that marijuana could not be traded or possessed without a government-issued tax stamp. The government never made any stamps, then effectively making possession a crime. The Act was pushed on congress by a man now recognized as the "father of the Drug War": Henry J. Anslinger. A precursor to modern-day "drug czars", Anslinger was appointed as head of the newly-created U.S. Bureau of Narcotics by President Hoover in 1930. In the turmoil of the Great Depression, Anslinger painted marijuana as the horrendous drug at the root of many of society's ills.


Here are several quotes given by Anslinger, either during hearings before Congress or in public (dis)information campaigns:

- "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."

- "In medical schools, the physician-to-be is taught that without opium he would be like a one-armed man. That is true, because you cannot get along without opium. But here we have drug that is not like opium. Opium has all of the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured."

- "As a rule the addict passes into a dreamy state in which judgment is lost and imagination runs riot. Fantasies arise which are limitless and extravagant. Scenes pass before the mind's eye in kaleidoscopic confusion and there is no sense of the passing of time."

- "[Marijuana is] the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."

- "Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death."

Anslinger's presentations before Congress were persuasive, but not perfect. A few times, he ended up denying certain "consequences" of marijuana that the government relies on today. Observe the man considered the "father" of marijuana prohibition denying the "Gateway Effect", before congress:

- "MR. DINGELL: I am just wondering whether the marihuana addict graduates into a heroin, an opium, or a cocaine user.

MR. ANSLINGER: No, sir; I have not heard of a case of that kind. I think it is an entirely different class. The marihuana addict does not go in that direction."(10)



Regardless of the logical flaws, gross exaggerations and the fact that not a single congressman at the time had admittedly smoked marijuana, the Act passed. The Supreme Court invalidated the Act decades later, but marijuana was quickly included in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a Schedule I (totally banned) drug. Today, anyone with a brain can recognize the ridiculousness of the statements given by Anslinger. Yet, they were the reasons legislators felt it fit to outlaw the drug. In a matter of 15 years, a plant with a benign history thousands of years old was cast as a deadly villain. Marijuana - and hemp farming for that matter - have never been legal in the United States since, except in a few cases where largely-symbolic legislation has been passed by states or municipalities. The reason is simple: people in this country are educated from birth to believe marijuana is terrible. They hear it in school, they hear in on the radio and in popular culture, and usually they hear it from their families. Thus legalization movements fail to gain steam, and we maintain status quo. The REASON we're still taught to fear marijuana is also relatively clear. Heavy-handed political interests, including but not limited to the tobacco, pharmaceutical and alcohol industries, as well as the religious right, fear they will lose economically if marijuana is legalized. Therefore they allocate donations based on a politicians' willingness to continue suppressing the facts about marijuana, and we get organizations like Freevibe and AboveTheInfluence dot-coms. It's a cycle. And as long as big-government interests have the monopoly on public information regarding marijuana, the cycle will continue.

(from www.sinsebility.com)

same thing with cocaine. a black man high on cocaine would rape a white woman. sigmund froyd(spelling) observed the characteristics cocaine played on the sex drive.

one more thing. it seems the tactics used today to "inform" the pubic haven't changed much since the days of aslinger.

nice thread, very good info there. It would be interesting to get a debate going, although on this site I don't think there would be much of one! I will post this pic however, to further illustrate the fact that this REALLY happened and isn't just some bullshit conspiracy, THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE! think about it people this was only 70 years ago!

When will people wake up and realize that the errors of our fathers should not continue to propagate to the children of the future!?

U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics public service announcement used in the late 1930s and 1940s.

another!