Anslinger began a dishonest campaign against cannabis that would last over the next eighty years. Conservatives accepted his false claims and continued to spread propaganda that highlighted the dangers of marijuana use and its users. However, although some conservatives may have been motivated by greed and racism, others believed that they were doing the right thing according to their system of moral beliefs. In Moral Politics, George Lakoff explores “two different models of ideal family life [that] motivates corresponding sets of metaphorical priorities, each of which constitutes a distinct moral system” (65). The Strict Father model describes a conservative moral system and provides explanations for conservative behavior, as Lakoff writes,
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Marijuana users were considered evil because they partook in deviant behavior and strayed from acceptable, conservative ways. Their unacceptable actions put others at risk, as Lakoff writes, “Thus, the actions of people who are ‘deviant’ have effects far beyond themselves. Their acts call into question traditional moral values and traditional ways of leading a moral life, and they may make the ‘deviant’ way seem safe, normal, and attractive” (85). Demonizing marijuana users through news reports and propaganda ads, which depicted them as monsters or devils, is how conservatives condemned their behavior and made sure others did not succumb to similar temptation. Lakoff explains the conservative thinking, “If someone smokes marijuana, has no ill effects, and leads a happier, less stressed life, then he has forged a path that others who know him will feel safe going on” (85). People that deviate from the traditional moral path threaten the identities of those who follow a strict moral code, and are seen as threats to the community. As a result, the deviants are turned into outcasts and removed from society. Over the decades, millions of marijuana users, especially minorities, have been taken out of society and imprisoned for their
Marijuana users were considered evil because they partook in deviant behavior and strayed from acceptable, conservative ways. Their unacceptable actions put others at risk, as Lakoff writes, “Thus, the actions of people who are ‘deviant’ have effects far beyond themselves. Their acts call into question traditional moral values and traditional ways of leading a moral life, and they may make the ‘deviant’ way seem safe, normal, and attractive” (85). Demonizing marijuana users through news reports and propaganda ads, which depicted them as monsters or devils, is how conservatives condemned their behavior and made sure others did not succumb to similar temptation. Lakoff explains the conservative thinking, “If someone smokes marijuana, has no ill effects, and leads a happier, less stressed life, then he has forged a path that others who know him will feel safe going on” (85). People that deviate from the traditional moral path threaten the identities of those who follow a strict moral code, and are seen as threats to the community. As a result, the deviants are turned into outcasts and removed from society. Over the decades, millions of marijuana users, especially minorities, have been taken out of society and imprisoned for their