Michael Vitiello V. Reform Case Study

Michael Vitiello, Proposition 215: De Facto Legalization of Pot and the Shortcomings of Direct Democracy, 31 U. Mich. J. L. Reform 707, 749–51 (1998) (“In 1937, Harry J. Anslinger was serving as the United States Commissioner of Narcotics. He had served in the Treasury Department where he aggressively enforced the Harrison Act and headed the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in the Treasury Department. Anslinger's appeal to racism and hysteria was unabashed. He and other proponents of the Marijuana Tax Act argued that marijuana caused criminal and violent behavior . . . Anslinger stated that, ‘[m]arihuana [was] an addictive drug which produce[d] in its users’ insanity, criminality, and death’”). See generally Provine, supra note 17 at 70 -71; Carcieri, supra note at 10 at 325. …show more content…
Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act, ch. 1, 38 Stat. 785 (1914) (requiring registration and special tax to produce or dispense opium or coca leaves or their derivatives but gives no mention about similar procedures for marijuana); see also Lisa N. Sacco & Kristin Finklea, Cong. Research Serv., R43164, State Marijuana Legalization Initiatives: Implications For Federal Law Enforcement 3 (2013), available at https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43164.pdf (“Until 1937, the growth and use of marijuana was legal under federal law. The federal government unofficially banned marijuana under the Marihuana Tax Act of