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Cannabis was believed to be a narcotic having practically the same effect as morphine and cocaine, and state restrictions began sprouting like weeds.
Some western states seem to have restricted it out of hostility to Mexican immigrants; a Chicago Tribune article from 1919 called cannabis "a weed of the Mexican desert." During the debate on Texas' first marijuana law, noted Charles Whitebread, a professor at the University of Southern California Law School, one legislator in the Texas Senate declared in session that "all Mexicans are crazy and this stuff is what makes them crazy."
That was not an isolated sentiment. In a letter to the Bureau of Narcotics, Floyd Baskette, then the city editor of The Alamosa Daily Courier in Colorado, complained in 1936 about felons arrested while under the influence of marijuana.
"I wish I could show you what a small marijuana cigarette can do to one of our degenerate Spanish-speaking residents," he wrote. "That's why our problem is so great; the greatest percentage of our population is composed of Spanish-speaking persons, most of who are low mentally, because of social and racial conditions..."
Other states and cities -- including New York City in 1914 -- outlawed pot for fear it was, or would become, a gateway drug leading to the use of opium or cocaine.
The Legal War Over the Weed
One year after the filming of "Reefer Madness," Congress enacted a law restricting the use of marijuana, cannabis or hemp. While it was a tax bill that did not officially ban pot, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first step toward a complete federal prohibition. (note: "Marihuana" was the spelling used in 1937)
The net effect of this Prohibition-era provision was to deter -- and stigmatize --recreational use of these substances for more than the next couple of generations. The Marihuana Tax Act is perhaps most remembered for the controversial testimony supporting its passage.
One of its chief proponents, Harry J. Anslinger, then the Commissioner of Narcotics for the Treasury Department, offered testimony depicting marijuana in stark terms.
"Some individuals have a complete loss of sense of time or a sense of value," Anslinger said. "They lose their sense of place. They have an increased feeling of physical strength and power. Some people will fly into a delirious rage and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes... It is dangerous to the mind and body, and particularly dangerous to the criminal type, because it releases all of the inhibitions."
At the time, there were more than two dozen medicinal products on the market which contained marijuana. In the new political climate, replete with warnings from the federal government, they didn't last long.
Some western states seem to have restricted it out of hostility to Mexican immigrants; a Chicago Tribune article from 1919 called cannabis "a weed of the Mexican desert." During the debate on Texas' first marijuana law, noted Charles Whitebread, a professor at the University of Southern California Law School, one legislator in the Texas Senate declared in session that "all Mexicans are crazy and this stuff is what makes them crazy."
That was not an isolated sentiment. In a letter to the Bureau of Narcotics, Floyd Baskette, then the city editor of The Alamosa Daily Courier in Colorado, complained in 1936 about felons arrested while under the influence of marijuana.
"I wish I could show you what a small marijuana cigarette can do to one of our degenerate Spanish-speaking residents," he wrote. "That's why our problem is so great; the greatest percentage of our population is composed of Spanish-speaking persons, most of who are low mentally, because of social and racial conditions..."
Other states and cities -- including New York City in 1914 -- outlawed pot for fear it was, or would become, a gateway drug leading to the use of opium or cocaine.
The Legal War Over the Weed
One year after the filming of "Reefer Madness," Congress enacted a law restricting the use of marijuana, cannabis or hemp. While it was a tax bill that did not officially ban pot, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first step toward a complete federal prohibition. (note: "Marihuana" was the spelling used in 1937)
The net effect of this Prohibition-era provision was to deter -- and stigmatize --recreational use of these substances for more than the next couple of generations. The Marihuana Tax Act is perhaps most remembered for the controversial testimony supporting its passage.
One of its chief proponents, Harry J. Anslinger, then the Commissioner of Narcotics for the Treasury Department, offered testimony depicting marijuana in stark terms.
"Some individuals have a complete loss of sense of time or a sense of value," Anslinger said. "They lose their sense of place. They have an increased feeling of physical strength and power. Some people will fly into a delirious rage and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes... It is dangerous to the mind and body, and particularly dangerous to the criminal type, because it releases all of the inhibitions."
At the time, there were more than two dozen medicinal products on the market which contained marijuana. In the new political climate, replete with warnings from the federal government, they didn't last long.
