The history of marijuana propaganda follows an interesting trajectory,\nfrom moral outrage to a seemingly objective and measured scientific\ncensure. In the arguments, certain themes and tropes appear again and\nagain, as the narrative has built on its own stories, refined its\napproach and responded to criticisms.
\nReefer Madness
\nThis 1936 film depicts\nthe anti-marijuana propaganda movement in its first frenzied iteration.\nThe narrative follows the plight of a young man who smokes the \"vicious\nweed\" and finds himself plunged in short order into a nightmare of\nviolence and murder that culminates in suicide and insanity. In the\n1930s, cannabis and hemp, which had been grown for hundreds of years in\nthe US, even by the founding fathers, began being referred to as\n\"marijuana,\" perhaps to associate it more closely with Mexican\nimmigrants, who were accused of taking American jobs during the\nDepression.
\nMarijuana, Assassin of Youth
\nThis 1937 screed was\npenned by H.F. Anslinger, U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics, together with\nCourtney Ryley Cooper. Published in the American Magazine, the article\ncould easily be a synopsis of \"Reefer Madness,\" suggesting that the\nNarcotics Czar didn't look too far for his inspiration. Its notable\ntheme is marijuana's unpredictable quality, presumably responding to\npeople who had tried the plant and discovered it to be quite benign. One\nnever knew how the brain would react, and \"whether he will become a\nphilosopher, a joyous reveler, a mad insensate or a murderer.\" This work\ncontained a potent theme that would appear again and again in the annals\nof drug prohibition literature: of young people, completely detached\nfrom material reality, flinging themselves from windows to their death.
\nMarihuana -- The Evil Weed
\nPublished in Detective World in 1947 and written by Judge Carl F.\nDieffenbach, Jr, this\narticle built on the\nassassin theme and began to associate the plant with everything foreign\nand strange to the American mind. The notable use of the Anglicized\nspelling variation -- with \"h\" replacing \"j\" -- was very likely a\ndeliberate choice to make the plant sound more unAmerican and menacing.\nHinting that \"hashish\" is related to the Arabic word \"assassin,\" the\narticle depicts the plant as a snake that originated in the Orient and\ntraveled through Mexico, then wound itself in a serpentine fashion\nthrough the social world of American life, determined to destroy not\njust the mind but also our collective culture. The article goes on to\nindulge in blatantly racist insinuations, associating \"reefers\" with\n\"jazz\" halls and \"juke joints.\" In this reprehensible but masterly\nexample of period propaganda, even the poet Homer is evoked to denounce\nthe deadly plant, which had apparently invested the ancient Persians\nwith their devilish power.
\nDare Smokes a Reefer
\nPublished in 1953, Dare\nMagazine\nconcocted a scary composite picture of drug users turned into criminals\nand murderers from smoking \"reefers.\" Beyond these cautionary tales, the\nreader was told that nearly all heroin and cocaine users started with\nmarijuana, and only graduated to harder drugs when the thrill wore off,\nestablishing marijuana as a \"gateway\" drug to harder stuff. One\nconsequence of marijuana depicted in these case studies is tied back to\nits very illegality. This circular reasoning -- marijuana users suffer\nwhen they get arrested for possessing it -- became very popular in\nfuture messaging.
\nThe Surgeon General's Warning on Marijuana
\nBy 1982, the\nstory had\nchanged quite a bit. Marijuana was linked to \"amotivational syndrome,\"\ncharacterized by low energy, diminished performance and lack of drive --\nalmost exactly the opposite of the manic, super-human claims of the\nprevious decades. Along with these effects, the literature warned of low\nsperm count, cancer and an impaired immune system.
\nMarijuana -- National Drug Threat Assessment
\nThis official\nreport,\npublished as recently as 2003, positioned marijuana as the leading drug\nthreat to the country. It focused heavily on crime reports in framing\nthe argument, which was heavily skewed to the perceptions of law\nenforcement agencies. Again, this problem arises from the fact that\nmarijuana is illegal. It suggested that marijuana might be physically\naddictive and posited that decriminalization would increase usage.
\nToday, marijuana still tops the federal list of dangerous and addictive\ndrugs. Since 1970, cannabis has been classified as a schedule I\nprohibited substance, the most restrictive category. However, there are\nsignals coming from the DEA that changes may be coming soon. Maybe it's\ntime to hear the other side of the story.
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