Depending on who you ask, marijuana is either a natural medicine or a dangerously addictive substance that can and will ruin your life. The wide gap in public thinking has been generated by the hypocritical misinformation from our government and their reefer madness techniques. As marijuana becomes mainstream, we have discovered that the laws put in place around marijuana and its actual value in society have been increasingly ignored, thwarted and swept under the rug. You may not know that marijuana has been illegal for only a small portion of its lifespan, we now know that marijuana has been used for over 5,000 years, medicinally and recreationally but has been deemed illegal only for the past seventy years. We know that the US government holds patents for the medicinal use of marijuana and we also know that many of our former (and current) presidents have used marijuana at some point in their lifetime. If it’s good enough for our president, and good enough to hold patents on, why has the government kept marijuana illegal? Has prohibition failed us and more importantly, are we on the brink of marijuana legalization? Many people assume that marijuana was outlawed based on scientific research and studies when in reality it was a racially fueled attacked on Latin Americans and the black jazz musician community from Harry Anslinger himself. Marijuana was demonized and eventually outlawed on the basis that it “influenced Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.” The lies told by Anslinger and perpetuated with Reefer Madness sentiment are appalling to read today, but the same sentiments are what keep the laws already cooked, in place. Anslinger stated: “Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.” “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.” “…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” “Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing” “You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.” “Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.” All these statements from Anslinger were draped in racism and meant to terrify the populace away from marijuana. We now know the plant was outlawed on the basis of race. We also know now that race and a preference for jazz music does not dictate the effects of marijuana on a person. Harry J Anslinger was not running for a political office spouting bogus ideas about drugs, he was the Director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for all of America. Anslinger’s racially charged decisions have affected millions of lives since going in to effect, but as the information about marijuana increases, we are beginning to see that marijuana is not the demon we have been led to believe it is. The government has kept marijuana illegal for reasons that remain difficult to understand. Some say that it was in direct correlation with the Vietnam war. When protestors for peace were caught using marijuana, an idea was born. To be able to arrest (and thusly stop all protests against an unjust war) the government began turning an all too common recreational activity into a crime and arresting those people with strong feelings against the governments decisions. Reagan, speaking out against marijuana made a statement saying that marijuana causes people to sit around, read books and talk. This was apparently a dangerous activity for the government, when its people turn to educating themselves. Reagan went on to say in 1974 “marijuana leads to homosexuality and therefore, to aids” the scare tactics of his presidency and war against drugs are comical now, but at the time his words were taken as truth, a very scary leap from cause to effect. Mainstream media has picked up on the hypocritical nature of these laws and has exploited the deceivers behind them for what they are, liars and racists. What was once a dangerous substance has become a common medication to treat ailments from everyday depression to cancer and aids. Science is finally starting to catch up to the millions of marijuana users who have found relief from the plant and now we are closer to full legalization than ever. According to the United States DEA chief administrative law judge in a ruling issued on September 6th 1988, “Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” Despite his ruling, and his urging that marijuana be moved from a Schedule 1 to a schedule 2 substance on the basis of a 69 page scientific report, the government has ignored this declaration by their own judge, again for reasons unknown. Now, President Barack Obama has been urged to recognize marijuana for its medicinal uses and reschedule the drug more appropriately, but little has been done to right the wrongs of a failed war on drugs. The fear, generated by the movement to make marijuana illegal, realizes that once the government accepts the medicinal use of marijuana for sick people, there is no longer the argument that it is inappropriate for healthy people. Our government has ignored even their own science and needless suffering has been inflicted on millions of Americans who have benefited or could benefit from marijuana.

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