HOW MARIJUANA BECAME ILLEGAL

Editor:

For our fine men and women in law enforcement, lawmakers, and those
who wish to drink from the intoxicating cup of American propaganda,
I would like to remind them of how the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act came
about. I don't expect law enforcement to be educated as to why laws
were passed; their job is simply to enforce those laws. I do wonder,
however, if they question the laws they are sworn to enforce.

While alcohol, a more addictive and harmful drug than Marijuana
(http://www.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/), continues to
destroy families everyday across this country, local police are
cracking down on marijuana possession and use. The CS-T reported on
March 19, a Colorado woman was arrested for possessing less
than one once of medical marijuana. To be fair, Colorado laws do
not apply in Wyoming (we do things different out here!), but the
egregious crime of possessing less than a once of a substance that
has a positive medicinal use, must be examined further.

The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act ("Marijuana" was the label used for
hemp/cannabis) was a bill introduced that led to the criminalization
of hemp or cannabis. The act itself was to tax those who were
involved commercially in the production of hemp.

Harry Anslinger, U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics, started an
anti-Marijuana campaign leading up to the Marihuana Tax Act that
would eventually criminalize marijuana. Anslinger used racial claims
to support his campaign, saying, "Colored students at the
University of Minnesota partying with white female
students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy
with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy."

Anslinger was also quoted as saying from police reports, "... the
primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate
races." With the help of yellow journalism maestro and publisher
William Randolph Hearst, he used sensationalism and scare tactics,
stating, "You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your
brother."(http://newslanc.com/2009/12/07/a-short-history-of-marijuana-prohibition)

Marijuana was criminalized because Anslinger created a
government-supported propaganda campaign with the help of Hearst,
who had a financial interest in blocking the competing hemp
industry. This is another example of good old-fashioned political
and corporate greed.

TRAVIS GLASGOW, Casper