Research Question: Why was cannabis made illegal despite objections from the American Medical Association?
Why: The purchase, sale, consumption, and possession of cannabis was made illegal in the 1930s despite objections from the American Medical Association. The AMA was advocating for the drug’s benefits on and its medicinal use so why did it ever become illegal? Like many of our country’s laws at the time was making cannabis illegal rooted in racism, sexism, or classism? This is a topic that I’m genuinely interested in because there are far more harmful things like alcohol or cigarettes that aren’t illegal so what prompted our government to ban it?
Introduction:
Marijuana had been used in America dating back as early as the 1800s. Americans used it for seizures, stomach aches, vomiting, and for pain relief. The drug that can now put someone in jail for several years was once used in America as an over the counter pain relief medication. During this time Americans never even thought twice about the drug, and viewed it only as kind of medicine. However, all of that changed after the Mexican Revolution. In Mexico marijuana was a big part of their culture. Mexicans used it for spiritual and relaxing benefits. After the Mexican revolution there was a large influx of Mexican Immigrants into the United States. When they came into the United States Americans were introduced into a new way of consuming the drug and for different reasons. Instead of appreciating the culture or rather just letting them be, American politicians used it to further their own anti-immigration, xenophobic agenda. This decision fueled by hatred is something we are still reaping the consequences of to this day. Without the medicinal benefits of marijuana there have been countless people who have suffered unnecessarily, simply because they live in a country where everything is related back to the color of your skin. Not only has it caused unnecessary physical pain for people it has furthered racism and built it into our judicial system even more than it already was. By making marijuana illegal America stripped away a very vital piece of Mexican culture from Mexican immigrants. Today the criminalization of marijuana has been used as a way to lock up and even kill African Americans and other minorities. When an African American is caught with marijuana by the law, statistically they are punished harsher than any other race or ethnicity. America uses it as a way to put young black boys behind bars or in a casket. For this reason, many people have been fighting for the legalization of marijuana both recreationally and medicinally. And while it has been working slowly it is still something that is very controversial today.
Source 1:
Burnnet, Malik, and Amanda Reiman. “How Did Marijuana Become Illegal in the First Place?” Drug Policy Alliance, 8 Oct. 2014, drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place.
This article written by Dr. Malik Burnnet and Amanda Reiman who work for The Drug Policy Alliance discusses the history of marijuana use in America while simultaneously explaining why it is was made illegal. The Drug Policy Alliance is a non-profit organization based out of New York City that works to fight for the end on the war on drugs. In this article Dr. Burnnet and Amanda Reiman explain how marijuana got into the states and why politicians were so against its consumption. The history on how and why it became illegal begins when the Mexican Revolution ended in the early 1900s. During this time there was a large wave of immigrants coming into the United States from Mexico. Like with most immigration they brung with them their culture, including the healing plant marijuana. Before people knew what the plant was they didn’t know they were actually consuming it themselves. Since the 1800s marijuana was used as an over the counter pain relieving medication in America. They weren’t aware that the plant they had been consuming for years was the same plant that they looked at so negatively simply because it was being used by Mexicans in their own culture. As a result, politicians made it their mission to criminalize marijuana, so that they can force Mexican immigrants to assimilate more into American culture. While politicians were shifting the public opinion to support their own agenda they were completely disregarding the opposition of the American Medical Association. In this article, Dr. Burnnet and Reiman were exploring the racial bias that prompted them to want to make marijuana, a significant part of Mexican culture illegal. They talk about how politicians used the Mexican’s consumption of marijuana as a way to make them seem “disruptive” and as trouble makers. This source helps me answer the question of why marijuana was made illegal in the first place. Evidence shows that it was not for the safety or wellbeing of the American people but it was actually because of the extreme racism and xenophobia that was in America at the time. Dr. Burnnet and Amanda Reiman claim that protests pushing for marijuana’s legality have been taking place since the 1970s due to the fact that the only reason it was ever made illegal was because of racism and xenophobia. By criminalizing marijuana Americans set back the clock on progression in solving racism in this country. Something that is still being fought to over come today.
Source 2:
Little, Becky. “Why the US Made Marijuana Illegal.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Aug. 2017, www.history.com/news/why-the-u-s-made-marijuana-illegal.
This article written by Becky Little discusses the history of marijuana and its legality in the United States. Becky Little is a well known journalist from D.C. She has written articles for people like history.com, NPR, The Washington Post, The Smithsonian, and more. In this article she talks about marijuana’s benefits. She then proceeds to explain how the drug was largely used for its healing and pain relieving effects. However, when they saw Mexicans using it for spiritual and calming purposes they tried to demonize the drug, eventually making it classified as one of the most dangerous drugs on the list of federally controlled substances, meaning drugs that are illegal under federal law. Furthermore, Little also tells her theory about marijuana’s future in the United States. Her belief is that with continuing efforts on shaping society’s views on the drug it will eventually become legalized. I agree with Little. During the 1970s protesting for the legality of the drug became very popular. With more and more people using and advocating for the drug it helped shed light onto the real reason it became illegal in the first place. Since then states have one by one been legalizing the consumption of marijuana both medicinally and recreationally. Many people are viewing this as progress however it ties back to Becky Little’s claim that the legalization of marijuana has been becoming legalized because the consequences of being caught with marijuana was effecting more and more white Americans. I agree with this claim as well because when the recreational consumption of marijuana started gaining traction in the 1970s more and more white people were using it. This because known as hippie culture. When hippie culture became more and more popular people started to see the benefits of marijuana and didn’t want to see their people suffering the consequences that come as a result of the criminalization of the drug. With that being said, the legalization of marijuana was rooted from the same reasons it was made illegal in the first place, racism. Once white people saw their people facing the consequences that people of color were facing it made them realize that marijuana shouldn’t be illegal in the first place.
Source 3:
Tikkanen, Amy. “Why Is Marijuana Illegal in the U.S.?” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us.
Amy Tikkanen, the author of this article is the General Corrections Manager of Britannica. In this article Tikkanen is telling the history of how marijuana became a federally controlled substance and why it had remained a federally controlled substance for so long. Tikkanen’s claim in this article is that marijuana was illegal and remained illegal for so long because of racism. I agree with Tikkanen because after extensive research on the history of the plant’s legality and benefits my opinion is that the criminalization of marijuana was nothing but a tactic to keep white Americans on a pedestal while trying to demonize minorities and people of color. Tikkanen also explores the theory that the criminalization of marijuana wasn’t actually rooted in racism but rather that it was just a way for the head of the brand new Federal Bureau of Narcotics to gain popularity and public support. However, this theory can be quickly debunked once one notices all of the mean and racist things that was said about Mexicans, simply for engaging in their culture. This theory can also be disproven when one takes into account that the drug had been being used by Americans since the early 1800s as an over the counter pain relieving medication. The hatred for the drug had only started when Mexicans brought it over when they immigrated along with their other parts of their culture, which were just too much for Americans. This article further answers the initial question of why America made marijuana illegal in the first place. With the answer to the question being racism. The criminalization of marijuana started off as a way to keep Mexicans from bringing their culture into the United States and force them to either assimilate to American culture or to just show them their culture is not actually welcome then. This article supports my claim and the author’s claim that the only reason America ever made the sale, consumption, and possession of marijuana illegal was because of racism. It also supports the claim that the reason it continued to be illegal despite research showing the consumption of marijuana was stemmed from racism as well.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the question of why marijuana was ever made illegal in the first place has only one answer, racism. It has never been a secret that America has a racist past, however many people don’t know exactly how racist and how deep the racism went. The criminalization of marijuana was a prime example of that. Despite the fact that marijuana was already being consumed by the American people for its medicinal benefits, everyone was completely against its consumption when they saw Mexican immigrants consuming it. Mexicans introduced it into the states under a different name however, it was known that it was the same drug. When advocating for the criminalization of marijuana, politicians tried to justify it by claiming that marijuana was making Mexicans disruptive and rowdy. Politicians also told the public that consuming marijuana was going to make teenagers addicted and making bad decisions like hanging out in jazz clubs. Jazz clubs were mainly used by African Americans and hispanics. White Americans did not want to associate their children with Mexicans and African Americans because they did not like them for no other reason other than they were Mexican and black. However, the United States’ racist history with marijuana does not stop there. Since the 1900s, marijuana has been used as an excuse to lock up black men and women. Before marijuana was so heavily restricted the punishment for when you’re caught with it was so much harsher, with years behind prison. Cops took this as a way to lock up young black men and keep them off the streets. To this day that is still true, with millions of black men behind bars for marijuana possession when the only reason it was even illegal was to keep them locked up behind bars. As a result, the reason that marijuana was ever made illegal in the first place was not for the safety of the American people, not even for economic reasons, but rather because of nothing other than the ignorance, racism, and xenophobia that embodied Americans and still continues to embody some Americans today.
