cannabisnews.com: The Roots of Reefer Madness





The Roots of Reefer Madness
Posted by CN Staff on November 03, 2002 at 22:11:57 PT
By Mitch Earleywine
Source: Chicago Tribune 
The American people: tough on crime, tough on drugs, and loosening marijuana laws. How can this be? Nine states have passed the medical cannabis laws that surveys suggest most Americans support. At least eight states have decriminalized possession for personal use. More will vote on comparable measures soon. Arizona, Ohio and Michigan have initiatives on the ballot designed to reduce penalties for possession. Seattle citizens will vote next year to make busting people for personal possession the lowest priority of law enforcement.
Nevada is floating innovative attempts to take command of the marijuana market to keep the drug away from children.Marijuana control pits the federal government and states' rights. Some states have laws that openly defy the federal policies. But before we get lost in constitutional gymnastics, we might consider the history of the law that first made marijuana illegal.This law was not the work of the Founding Fathers, not part of the 1st Amendment. It was not the result of a national vote of all the citizens, either. Its story is much more convoluted.Imagine that you're a federal employee hired to enforce the laws against alcohol in the 1930s. Alcohol poisoning is rampant. Bootleggers sell high-proof, adulterated liquor that's easier to hide than bulkier beer. It seems that you'll be plenty busy until retirement.Then citizens exclaim that prohibition is not worth the price. The 18th Amendment is repealed. You might take a drink in celebration. But before you reach the bottom of your glass, you might wonder whether you're about to join the lengthening unemployment lines.Alcohol will no longer pay your salary, but if the public feared some other substance, perhaps you could keep your job.There were no federal laws against cannabis at the time.Pharmacists had provided this medicine since the U.S. was a British colony, often as a tincture created from marijuana soaked in alcohol. Drug companies recommended it for many ailments.Even Queen Victoria used the drug for menstrual cramps.Hashish, a concentrated form of cannabis, was eaten for thrills by a few members of the upper class who considered themselves part of the temperance movement. Women of Manhattan's high society allegedly preferred the drug to alcohol. Louisa May Alcott's story "Perilous Play" provides a superb depiction of the wealthy and bored eating hashish as entertainment.Unlike today, when a third of Americans have tried marijuana, few people at that time had heard of the recreational drug. It was rare and only for the elite, like cocaine in Hollywood in the 1970s.Upper-class entertainmentBut marijuana for smoking arrived with immigrants from Mexico and the Caribbean. The use of the drug among the lower classes aroused suspicion. Apparently, people believed that an upper-class entertainment might prove dangerous for common laborers.In much the same way that opium prohibition had targeted Asian immigrants, local marijuana laws selectively applied to workers from Mexico. El Paso was one of the first cities to outlaw "loco weed." In a move that Yale University medical historian David Musto called "racist," the entire state of Texas began its own form of marijuana prohibition.Tales of marijuana-induced mayhem suddenly appeared.Cannabis purportedly created violent ax murders and dramatic, interracial rapes.These exaggerations spread far and wide in numerous reports and propaganda films (remember "Reefer Madness"?). State after state passed legislation against marijuana.Harry Anslinger, who had led the enforcement of alcohol prohibition, took these tales to congressional hearings and presented them as facts. The American Medical Association urged the government to keep medical marijuana safe and legal, as many physicians continue to do today, but Anslinger's crew presented marijuana to a congressional committee as "deadly."This misinformation led Congress to pass the first federal cannabis law.That law was the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This tax regulation required a fee for the transfer of marijuana. Possession of the drug without the appropriate tax stamps was a federal crime. Enforcing this law was left to Anslinger and his cronies left over from alcohol prohibition. Suddenly, their fear of unemployment must have dissipated.So this is the root of the law that more and more states have decided to defy.But the debate stretches beyond the question of states' rights versus federal powers.Legal predicamentDespite the loud arguments, marijuana continues to ease pain, discomfort and nausea for people struggling with many diseases and conditions. Some patients get no relief from any other medication. But the legal predicament makes criminals of sick people who search for the exact medication that was common before prohibition.Each election day could bring more states into the ranks of those defying federal authorities, heightening the conflict between an old bureaucracy's struggle for survival and a persistent call for an enlightened approach to marijuana law.Mitch Earleywine is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California. He wrote, "Understanding Marijuana," published this year.Note: As more states defy Washington on marijuana, the history behind the law -- which includes Queen Victoria's use -- gets lost in the wrangling.Newshawk: Ethan Russo M.D.Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)Author: Mitch EarleywinePublished: November 3, 2002Copyright: 2002 Chicago Tribune CompanyContact: ctc-TribLetter Tribune.comWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/Related Articles:Local View: Reefer Madness Strikes Again http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14624.shtml The Smoke That Terrifies, Satisfies & Mystifies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13484.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on November 04, 2002 at 07:54:54 PT
Nevada has the sanest approach to the maddness
Vote.
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Comment #5 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on November 04, 2002 at 06:00:52 PT
Great article!
It omits much of the industrial hemp angle, but it's as much truth as could be made to fit in the space. I approve!Has anyone seen this week's Time Magazine yet? I'm hoping there will be some good letters to the editor re: last week's cover story... 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 03, 2002 at 23:18:45 PT
The C-I-R-C-L-E 
Thanks! Yes I'm up late but I'm finished now. This week is going to be the busiest week ever I think. Talk to you again soon. 
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Comment #3 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on November 03, 2002 at 23:03:32 PT
You're up late again, FoM!
I'm signing off, g'night. Keep an eye on canaman and mrherbalwarrior for the rest of us...I think the movement is beginning to reach critical mass...thanks to you!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 03, 2002 at 22:45:00 PT
I Agree Very Good Article
The facts in this article are superb. There is just a small error and I'm sure the author wasn't aware that Michigan didn't make it this year and Ohio has already decriminalized. Ohio has a drug treatment Initiative ( Issue 1) but it isn't about Cannabis just drug treatment in general. Maybe next year. 
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Comment #1 posted by The C-I-R-C-L-E on November 03, 2002 at 22:30:41 PT
Thanks, Dr. Ethan "Newshawk" Russo
Danged fine article if I don't say so m'self.Some of these articles are so tasty you just wanna roll 'em up and smoke 'em...or is it just me?
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