WHY MARIJUANA WAS CRIMINALIZED

To the Editor:

Thank you for publishing Robert Sharpe's outstanding letter (Feb. 25).

I'd like to add that in any open discussion of this subject, we
should review how and why marijuana was first made a prohibited
substance. In 1937 the then Commissioner of the U. S. Bureau of
Narcotics, Harry Anslinger, testified before the U. S. Congress
urging the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Mr. Anslinger
testified: "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 usage. This
marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes,
entertainers and any others."

Mr. Anslinger's testimony is the main reason the Marijuana Tax Act of
1937 was passed by Congress, which subsequently resulted in the
prohibition of marijuana. Before marijuana was prohibited, less than
1/10th of 1 percent of the U. S. population used marijuana. Today the
U. S. Government estimates that 94 million Americans have used it.

From a marketing standpoint, Madison Avenue must envy the success of
marijuana prohibition.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, AZ