As we find ourselves at another crossroads in the quest for marijuana legalization, it’s more important than ever to know how we got here. One of the best resources is Larry “Ratso” Sloman’s 1979 book Reefer Madness: A History of Marijuana. Although it’s a bit dated, Reefer Madness provides a thoughtful and stark look at pot in America through 1978.

The book is roughly divided by two themes. The first theme follows Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger in his crusade to rid America of the accursed cannabis plant. The second theme delves into a people’s history of marijuana use in the United States. Both themes are fascinating.

Anslinger was the head of the Bureau of Narcotics (later to become the DEA) from 1930 to 1962. In order to build a case for criminalizing marijuana, Anslinger provided numerous rationalizations: Marijuana would make your white daughters sleep with black men; it would cause you to rape, murder and lose your mind; and, finally, marijuana was the gateway to hard drugs.

We, of course, know that none of the above is true, though the gateway drug argument remains a powerful obstacle to ending marijuana prohibition. In response to Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that the federal government would not interfere with state medical-marijuana decisions, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said, “Marijuana is a gateway to higher drugs.” Now, I’m not sure what a higher drug is, but I know, after reading Sloman’s book, that this argument is old and entirely manufactured.

Long before email and the Internet, Larry Sloman traveled across the country, hitching rides and taking buses. His legwork really paid off. He interviewed people on both sides of the issue and dug up information that shows the influence alcohol, pharmaceutical, and cotton industries had on prohibition.

As far as the “People’s History” goes, we learn how something that started as a way for Mexican farm workers to relax after a long day working in the fields became a multi-billion dollar industry. The more marijuana was demonized, the more it became a drug used largely for recreation. Before prohibition took hold in 1937, jazz musicians and artists were pot’s main consumers. By the end the late 1970s, marijuana had become big business. It wasn’t musicians, writers and artists reaping the benefits, but dealers, lawyers, paraphernalia makers and magazines (Sloman was editor of High Times as well).

This quote from Sloman’s interview with Allen Ginsburg demonstrates how marijuana can be used for a higher purpose:

“I would consciously get high and go to the museum, to look at specific paintings, so actually our original use was for aesthetic study… Grass should be used with mindful attentiveness, rather than just for kicks.”

Luckily for us, times have changed, and more and more people are beginning to recognize the undisputed positive effects of marijuana. The medipot movement has re-opened a door long ago closed by Harry Anslinger. But that door will quickly shut again if we let stale arguments take the day.

Read Reefer Madness. Be informed. Argue back. With facts, not myths.

Blog by Hal B. Klein

Hal is an actor who hosts This Man’s Kitchen. He’s appeared in Bottle Shock, Killer Movie and Nobel Son.



Also see:

More Blogs by Hal B. Klein

More CelebStoner Blogs