Reefer Madness: The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition

Racism, xenophobia and one man’s all-consuming hatred of jazz kicked off the criminalization of cannabis; America’s illegal, “essential” plant.

“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men. The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”

— Harry Anslinger, Founding Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics

Preface.

Cannabis has been outlawed for nearly a century, and yet if asked the reason why it was made illegal, I suspect most Americans would suggest something related to people’s health or the public’s safety.

The real story is much more interesting than that.

You see, marijuana wasn’t made illegal because a group of scientists sat down and decided smoking weed was bad for you. It didn’t come about because some preening public figures wanted people to think they occupied a moral high ground. It’s not even the result of power-hungry politicians looking to out-posture their opponents.