Andrew Axelrod
Mrs. Scheinmann
The War On Marijuana
Cannabis is a plant used to produce hemp and a psychotropic drug. Cannabis has been around since the beginning of time. At one point the plant grew wild along highways and in natural forests. As time went on stigmas developed around the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. This stigma in America stemmed from anti-marijuana sentiment peddled by alcohol companies, pharmaceutical companies and big paper producers. The congressmen in the early 1900’s had little to no knowledge of the cannabis truly was. Believing that the drug could be “injected”. The stigma on cannabis was created by false ideals instituted by Anslinger’s original war on drugs, the Nixon administration’s harsh classification of cannabis, and the Reagan administration’s creation of blatant …show more content…
Long before Anslinger’s rise to power in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics there were already laws regarding the use and possession of narcotics that did not include cannabis. In 1914 the Harrison Act was passed which controlled narcotics in relation to opium and cocaine. When asked by anti cannabis activists if he would intervene in the Harrison Act Anslinger said, “The plant grows like dandelions in every roadside ditch. You might as well try to stamp out crickets.” Sixteen years after this statement Anslinger was put in charge of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. During the Great Depression the Federal Bureau of Narcotics feared that due to lack of necessity and money that their department would be shut down. In response to the possibility of losing his department and job Anslinger created the war on marijuana. This war started with the newspapers. In New Orleans the district attorney began to blame their high crime rate on marijuana. He made the people
Mrs. Scheinmann
The War On Marijuana
Cannabis is a plant used to produce hemp and a psychotropic drug. Cannabis has been around since the beginning of time. At one point the plant grew wild along highways and in natural forests. As time went on stigmas developed around the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. This stigma in America stemmed from anti-marijuana sentiment peddled by alcohol companies, pharmaceutical companies and big paper producers. The congressmen in the early 1900’s had little to no knowledge of the cannabis truly was. Believing that the drug could be “injected”. The stigma on cannabis was created by false ideals instituted by Anslinger’s original war on drugs, the Nixon administration’s harsh classification of cannabis, and the Reagan administration’s creation of blatant …show more content…
Long before Anslinger’s rise to power in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics there were already laws regarding the use and possession of narcotics that did not include cannabis. In 1914 the Harrison Act was passed which controlled narcotics in relation to opium and cocaine. When asked by anti cannabis activists if he would intervene in the Harrison Act Anslinger said, “The plant grows like dandelions in every roadside ditch. You might as well try to stamp out crickets.” Sixteen years after this statement Anslinger was put in charge of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. During the Great Depression the Federal Bureau of Narcotics feared that due to lack of necessity and money that their department would be shut down. In response to the possibility of losing his department and job Anslinger created the war on marijuana. This war started with the newspapers. In New Orleans the district attorney began to blame their high crime rate on marijuana. He made the people