Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
If you look for the roots of America's ban on cannabis, you'll find nearly all roads lead to a man named Harry Anslinger. He was the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which laid the ground work for the modern-day DEA, and the first architect of the war on drugs.
Anslinger was appointed in 1930, just as the prohibition of alcohol was beginning to crumble (it was finally repealed in 1933), and remained in power for 32 years. Early on, he was on record essentially saying cannabis use was no big deal. He called the idea that it made people mad or violent an "absurd fallacy."
But when Anslinger was put in charge of the FBN, he changed his position entirely.
Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, poses for a photo on September 24, 1930.
"From the moment he took charge of the bureau, Harry was aware of the weakness of his new position. A war on narcotics alone - cocaine and heroin, outlawed in 1914 - wasn't enough," author Johann Hari wrote in his book, "Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs." "They were used only by a tiny minority, and you couldn't keep an entire department alive on such small crumbs. He needed more."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Man Behind The Marijuana Ban
Author: CBS News
Contact: (423) 785-1200
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: WDEF
Anslinger was appointed in 1930, just as the prohibition of alcohol was beginning to crumble (it was finally repealed in 1933), and remained in power for 32 years. Early on, he was on record essentially saying cannabis use was no big deal. He called the idea that it made people mad or violent an "absurd fallacy."
But when Anslinger was put in charge of the FBN, he changed his position entirely.
Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, poses for a photo on September 24, 1930.
"From the moment he took charge of the bureau, Harry was aware of the weakness of his new position. A war on narcotics alone - cocaine and heroin, outlawed in 1914 - wasn't enough," author Johann Hari wrote in his book, "Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs." "They were used only by a tiny minority, and you couldn't keep an entire department alive on such small crumbs. He needed more."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Man Behind The Marijuana Ban
Author: CBS News
Contact: (423) 785-1200
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: WDEF
