Can anyone tell me why exactly the government made marijuana illegal in the first place?
Let’s go back to 1930 when Harry J.Anslinger was hired as the leader of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. At this time, opiates and cocaine were the major drugs the Bureau sought to regulate. But the Bureau needed to build an agency on more than two substances; Anslinger quickly became the voice of marijuana propaganda. He linked marijuana with these hard drugs and created a reputation for weed that made it sound worse than shooting up. Anslinger claimed that “marijuana makes darkies believe they’re as good as white men, the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on degenerate races”.
Let that sink in. Could you imagine anything being deemed illegal today based on blatantly racist terms? Anslinger wouldnt even recieve a jury duty summons, nevermind lead the Bureau of Narcotics.
Anslinger had additional help in stirring up the public’s fear of marijuana from William Randolph Hearst, a master of yellow journalism. Many articles were published (such as the one below) claiming that weed was a “killer drug” and drove its “victims” to commit acts of crime, rape and murder. Not a single one of these claims were supported by doctors, scientific evidence or police reports.
Let’s
fast forward to present day. There is a significant amount of scientific
evidence which has the government singing, or rather humming, a very different
tune about marijuana. In 2013, the government signed a patent stating that “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and
neuroprotectants”. Turns out weed isn’t the killer drug the government made
it out to be.
Guess what Harry J! There still have not been
any marijuana related murders, reports of insanity or rape. In fact, the CDC
does not even have a category for marijuana related deaths.
The larger problem lies in the fact that the government was able to flat out lie about how marijuana affects the health of the American people. It is the governments’ job to present accurate information about any substance and allow people to make conscious decisions about what they put into their body.
The larger problem lies in the fact that the government was able to flat out lie about how marijuana affects the health of the American people. It is the governments’ job to present accurate information about any substance and allow people to make conscious decisions about what they put into their body.
It only makes me wonder what other information they may be fabricating.
http://bit.ly/1xHup7p
ReplyDeletetl;dr -- The government made marijuana illegal in the first place so that the people enforcing Prohibition would continue to have jobs and be influential. They were supported by various business interests who had a commercial interest in destroying hemp as an agricultural crop.
That is absolutely true but it is not the sole reason for marijuana being outlawed. Like jazz, marijuana was assosiated with African American culture and was banned on racial grounds.
ReplyDeleteAre you denying that Anslinger made these racist claims? Or the publications of marijuana propaganda and Hearst's yellow journalism?
I'm not denying anything. Some of the links further down the page talk about Hearst's journalism. I'm responding to your opening question by implying that there is no "exact" answer, no simple answer, to why the government and society treat drugs they way they do.
DeleteAnd I didn't provide a sole reason, I provided two -- "jobs for bureaucrats" and "money for commercial special interests".