the later outlawing of marijuana nationally. Obviously, it was considered to be asubstance outside of Euro-American culture and therefore, was most likely thought of as bad.On the national level, however, there was little interest in outlawing marijuana until the1930s. Short on tax revenue because of the Great Depression, Congress was trimming all fatfrom some already thin federal agencies, and the Bureau of Narcotics was no exception. In orderto counter this threat to the bureau’s existence, its Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger decided hehad to create an issue that would convince Congress not to cut the bureau’s budget. If he couldprove to the American public that there was a new drug menacing the country, then Congresswould not cut short the bureau’s resources attempting to eradicate the “marijuana threat.”Mustering all the resources at his disposal, Anslinger initiated a media campaign that played upatrocities committed by people who were allegedly under the influence of marijuana. Thiscampaign depicted criminals being stoned and under some sort of “reefer madness” committingheinous crimes, when in fact, marijuana is known to calm and relax muscles. Anslinger also triedto pressure Congress into adopting national marijuana legislation by persuading the League ofNations to adopt international regulations against the use of marijuana. If the United Statessigned such an international agreement, Anslinger knew that Congress would not very easily beable to refuse to adopt similar national legislation. The ploy at the League of Nations, however,did not work, so Anslinger had to devise other means of instituting such a law. Not saying thatmarijuana is totally harmless, but this obviously shows the kinds of politician’s alternativemotives that can exist in big government bureaucracies. This is a perfect example of politiciansnot necessarily looking out for the best interests of the country, but ...
