any false claims regarding the illegal drug. Two serious problems came into effect in the 50’s for the pro-marijuana population. Leon Felkins states the 1952 Boggs Act which was looked upon as unfair. “In 1952 the Boggs Act was passed which, for the first time, made penalties for violation of the marijuana laws the same as those for narcotic drugs. The act also introduced, at the federal level, the concept of minimum mandatory jail sentences for drug law offenders and in general increased the penalties” (Leon Felkins). Harry J. Anslinger, who was Commissioner of Narcotics in the US at the time, enforced the Boggs Act. Anslinger spread the same lies about marijuana heard in the 1930’s. He claimed that marijuana would cause people to become psychotic, sex-crazed lunatics. However, with these lies Ansliger was able to get the Boggs Act passed and upset the population of marijuana users. Also, in 1956 the Narcotics Control Act put harsh penalties on first time offenders of marijuana possession and put a heavier punishment on marijuana traffickers. These two laws were seen as unfair because they were based upon untrue accusations. Marijuana users became upset and irritated from the false allegations marijuana had been charged with from Ansligner. When the sixties came about, the drug became extremely popular among white middle class citizens. Many thought marijuana’s popularity was to be blamed on the type of music that was being heard. Bands from Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Pink Floyd commercialized marijuana and other drugs through their music. In fact, the use of marijuana became so overwhelming that Congress appealed the 1952 Boggs Act and 1956 Narcotics Control Act because these two laws seemed to have no effect on the population of marijuana users. Marijuana’s popularity lasted from the sixties into the seventies. It wasn’t until 1976 that parental gro...
