You are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

2
4

[–] Hektik 2 points 4 points (+6|-2) ago 

Pro: It was only outlawed to disenfranchise Negroes and Hispanics. No one gives a shit about the consumption of personal recreational cannabis unless they get paid to outlaw it.

0
4

[–] dylbobagginses [S] 0 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago 

What do you mean it was outlawed to disenfranchise Negroes and Hispanics? I feel like that could be a story I would like to hear more about.

0
4

[–] let_them_eat_slogans 0 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago 

...Harry Anslinger, the father of the war on weed, fully embraced racism as a tool to demonize marijuana. As the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Anslinger institutionalized his belief that pot's "effect on the degenerate races" made its prohibition a top priority. Here are just a few of his most famous (and most racist) quotes:

"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

“Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/marijuana-prohibition-racist_n_4590190.html

0
2

[–] whisky_cat 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago  (edited ago)

There's a bit more to it than that.

Marijuana was legislated against in the '30s because:

  • Hemp threatened the textile industry, where any marijuana grower could produce their own fabrics with the free plant.

  • Hemp oil threatened the oil industry, where any marijuana grower could produce oil useful for tractors and automobiles with the free plant.

  • Marijuana usage threatened the known conventional medicine industry.

First the US Congress (colluding with industry, and with the media publishing propaganda) reacted by passing the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Later the act would be interpreted as criminal law, shortly followed by the sweeping 1970 Controlled Substance Act which sadly categorized marijuana exclusively with the most dangerous substances.

The Controlled Substance Act - and things like cocaine and crack flooding urban areas - is where your argument of disenfranchising the minorities is better framed. And I'd say "disenfranchising" is a hell of a euphemism.