DRUG PROHIBITION'S RACISM

Before accepting the notion that drug prohibitionists are rational
people, we should remember that these are the individuals who have
been throwing people in prison for decades because of laws based on
racist fictions.

In 1934 Hearst newspapers nationwide wrote that "marihuana influences
Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's
shadows and look at a white woman twice."

In 1937, politician Harry Anslinger convinced Congress to make
marijuana illegal, saying, "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 can cause white women to seek sexual
relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others." Federal Bureau
of Narcotics Director Harry J. Anslinger issued a slew of racist
condemnations of marijuana in the 1920s and 1930s. He said that "the
primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate
races," and "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

There is nothing reasonable and nothing honorable about enforcing a
policy based on racial lies. -

Ralph Givens

Former Waukegan resident