r bothered the surrounding community. Marijuana was not considered a threat during this time (Monfreddi 22). To understand how marijuana went from an acceptable social practice, to a national concern we need to go back to the 1920’s and 1930’s when a large number of Mexican immigrants began coming into the United States. They were generally viewed with prejudice and hatred due to nationalistic viewpoints. Many of them smoked marijuana on a regular basis. So when they would go out and do something violent it was natural for the people to blame it on the marijuana, it was somewhat of an escape goat for the people, a way to generalize all Mexicans together. And since most white Americans during this period hated the Mexican immigrants, they began to look down on marijuana through association with the violent Mexicans. The people of the time did not need a large amount of objective data to base their decisions. So in a largely unchallenged vote 32 states had outlawed marijuana by 1932, by 1936 the rest of the states had followed (Zimmer 120).So why is it that in our modern society were prejudice is fought against so hard that we are still clinging to a law that was created out of a basically prejudice view of Mexicans? It may be the simple fact that taught behavior is so hard to deviate from. If your parents taught you when you were growing up that the moon was made of cheese you would believe them until some sort of evidence presented itself and proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they were not right. Just as with religion and homosexuality, views and opinions are usually based on a moral standing or belief. Unlike a simple fact or ...
