Film Analysis: Reefer Madness

The movie Reefer Madness was produced in the 1930s as propaganda, in order to make people believe that smoking marijuana would make them go insane or commit violent crimes. There was no proof of the accusations, but it scared enough people to keep them from smoking marijuana. The movie was intended to give marijuana a negative reputation, and it succeeded. In today’s society there is a stigma surrounding the use of marijuana, which I believe the movie helped to create. Over the last hundred years, Americans have trusted the government opinion on marijuana, that it is a dangerous drug with no medicinal values. It is about time that people step out from behind the shadow and cultivate their own belief and opinion on marijuana. With the current technology in the 21st century, we should be able to …show more content…
Most of American society believes marijuana to be a dangerous drug, although it is less harmful and addictive than alcohol and tobacco, it possesses medical benefits for illnesses like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and by not decriminalizing it for medical purposes we would be taking away medication from very sick people and not allowing researchers to study it. The government has tried to hold their stance on marijuana by classifying it as a schedule one drug claiming it is dangerous, addictive, and has no medicinal value. A schedule one classification means that a drug has a high potential for abuse and does not possess any medicinal value, such as heroin and ecstasy. The minimal amount of research that has been completed disproves the claims that marijuana is