Hemp and the Racist US Government
Back in the 1920s, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics began telling lies about cannabis. This man by the name of Harry Anslinger reported weed would cause those who smoked it to go into a violent rage.
He condemned pot as a dangerous substance even though 29 scientists he interviewed on the subject disagreed with him. So the US then issued the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937, making cannabis and hemp illegal.
This legal decree held some racist consequences. Its enactment allowed for authorities to target people of color who use weed. This change in law could be one of the many reasons for the prison industrial complex today.
Conspiracy? Maybe. But perhaps it’s the cloud hanging over the US keeping the nation in the dark ages of marijuana.
