The press -- obsessed with Victor Licata's axe -- cheered them on. In a panic that gripped America, marijuana was banned. The U.
Many countries said it was a dumb idea, and refused to do it. For example, Mexico decided their drug policy should be run by doctors. Their medical advice was that cannabis didn't cause these problems, and they refused to ban it. Anslinger ordered them to fall into line. The Mexicans held out -- until, in the end, the U. People started to die in agony in their hospitals.
So with regret, Mexico sacked the doctor -- and launched its own drug war. Alcohol kills 40, people every year in the U. Cannabis kills nobody. But at home, questions were being asked. He explained he had used cannabis as a medical student, and it had only made him sleepy. Maybe cannabis does drive a small number of people crazy, he said -- but we need to fund some scientific studies to find out. Anslinger wrote back firmly.
Then, or ever. For years, doctors kept approaching him with evidence he was wrong, and he began to snap, telling them they were "treading on dangerous ground" and should watch their mouths. Today, most of the world is still living with the ban on cannabis that Harry Anslinger introduced, in the nation-wide panic that followed Victor Licata's killing spree. But here's the catch. Years later, somebody went and looked at the psychiatric files for Victor Licata.
He had a lot of mental illness in his family. They had been told a year before he needed to be institutionalized -- but they refused. Today, 29 states and Washington, D. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. Views of drugs changed in the mids, with increasing reports about a new type of marijuana smoker: college students.
The pronounced expansion of marijuana use among youth in the s had no single cause. In the sweet-smelling haze, observers have seen mutiny against the values of the previous generation and the War in Vietnam , an admiration for the free-spirited Beats, and the freedom born from an excess of material wealth and time.
For many youth, smoking pot seemed harmless fun, perhaps just a little more fun because it was against the law. The mild pleasures of the drug itself seemed to refute the logic of the laws against it. By the s, even Anslinger conceded the criminal penalties then in force for youthful marijuana use were too severe.
In , not only hippie activists but the solidly mainstream voices of Life , Newsweek , and Look magazines questioned why the plant was illegal at all. Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Stanton Foundation. Skip to main content. The Ohio State University. Department of History. Home Topics Africa.
Middle East. North America. International Relations Religion Education Sports. Search form Search. Connecting History. Hot off the Press. History Talk. Editor's Note : The speed with which Americans are now considering legalizing marijuana has taken everyone by surprise. The Kids Are Alright? Marijuana Comes to Campus Views of drugs changed in the mids, with increasing reports about a new type of marijuana smoker: college students.
Cannabis was placed in the most restrictive category, Schedule I, supposedly as a place holder while then President Nixon commissioned a report to give a final recommendation.
The Schafer Commission, as it was called, declared that marijuana should not be in Schedule I and even doubted its designation as an illicit substance. However, Nixon discounted the recommendations of the commission, and marijuana remains a Schedule I substance.
In , California became the first state to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, ending its 59 year reign as an illicit substance with no medical value.
Prior to , cannabis had enjoyed a year history as a therapeutic agent across many cultures. In this context, its blip as an illicit and dangerous drug was dwarfed by its role as a medicine. Opponents of medical marijuana regulations claim that there is not enough research to warrant medicinal use, but supporters of medical marijuana point to the years of history where cannabis was widely used as evidence for its medical efficacy. Now that 23 states, plus Washington, DC, have passed medical marijuana laws, the public is questioning the utility of keeping marijuana under lock and key, especially in light of the racist and propagandized basis for making it illegal in the first place.
In just a few weeks, Florida, Oregon, Alaska and Washington DC voters will have the opportunity to put an additional nail in the coffin of prohibition by voting to legalize medical access in Florida and adult access in Oregon, Alaska and Washington DC.
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