International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 130

A Brief Genealogy of Cannabis Policy in the United States
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. 4
Cannabis in the United States: hundreds of articles—or perhaps even thousands—have
been published on this matter, across all types of media.
In this article, I have chosen to prioritize studying the official discourse
on drug policy of politicians who have occupied positions of authority,
influence, and decision making within the U.S. government. As a criminologist, I
will explore the elements of the state process that criminalized the use of certain
drugs, but above all the use of cannabis, 5 during the twentieth century.
A Legacy of Alcohol Prohibition
In the eighteenth century, medical journals in the United States recommended
the use of cannabis in different forms for various diseases. This trend was given
extra weight by the activities of Irish physician William O’Shaughnessy, who
built on his links with the British East India Company to popularize the medical
use of this plant in England and the United States. This situation continued until
almost the end of the nineteenth century. 6
However, on August 12, 1897, The Sun, a New York newspaper, published
an article that described the dangerous effects of the “Mexican drug.” 7 This newspaper
drew on an article from The Mexican Herald, which was published in Mexico
City and, as a publication aimed at the thousands of U.S. entrepreneurs based
in the city, therefore influenced the opinions of the U.S. economic elite. 8
On July 15, 1899, the Arizonan newspaper The Oasis focused on another
article from the Mexican Herald. This one told the story of a man armed with a
knife who burst into a registry office while declaring that he was on a mission to
exterminate new-born children. According to the article, the man had been smoking
cannabis. 9
Mexico had just restored its diplomatic relations with the United States that
year by establishing an embassy in Washington. When one reads the report that
President Porfirio Díaz presented to the Mexican Congress, one realizes the influence
and the power that the United States had acquired there. 10
4 https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/key-issues/marijuana/.
5 I use the word drugs here to refer to narcotics, psychotropics, and all substances included in the lists
of The International Drug Control Conventions.
6 http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931247,00.html.
7 https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/marihuana.html#links.
8 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0016549201063005002.
9 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0016549201063005002.
10 http://lanic.utexas.edu/larrp/pm/sample2/mexican/history/2/6601416.html.
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