alse reports of crime connected to drug use, which would gain him political benefits. Even though Ansliger admitted that marijuana wasn’t addictive, he categorized it with heroin. He said it was “ about as hellish as heroin”. The Harrison Act had been under review five times since it was passed, and was published as a failure in the St. Louis Post. In 1937, a new bill was introduced that would impose a transfer and occupational excise tax on dealers. In August of 1937, President Roosevelt signed the bill, which would ban marijuana, and it took affect on October 1, 1937 (1). A dollar transfer tax was charged for registered users, and a one hundred tax for those not registered. Naturally, no illegal dealer would register with the government. Violations were punishable by a $2,000.00 fine, 5 years imprisonment, or both (1). World War II interrupted the normal patterns of international drug distribution, which created a “starving time” for addict’s (1). In 1942, Anslinger was convinced that Japan had started the war on western civilization ten years earlier by using narcotics as weapons (1). He then realized the political advantages of identifying global spots of international distribution. In October 1938, the New York Academy of Medicine established a special committee to conduct a citywide investigation in the effects of marijuana. The report was released revealing that marijuana had no irregular or criminal effects of human beings, nor was it related to crime and juvenile delinquency. Next came the enactment of the Boggs Act, which further stiffened penalties for drug offenders. The Boggs Act enforced a two-year minimum sentence for first time offenders, and five to ten years with no chance for probation for second time offenders. Third time offenders really felt the impact of this act by getting a mandatory twenty years with no chance for probation. Opposers of the bill argued that the wording of the...
