International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 138

A Brief Genealogy of Cannabis Policy in the United States
vision, since the word prohibition does not appear in the convention’s final text, it
did consolidate its policy of eliminating the three plants that were at the center of
its war: cannabis, the coca leaf, and the opium poppy. Through this convention,
the United States gained ground in its power struggle with the Soviet Union and
Communist China.
On May 20, 1962, Anslinger retired, having been pushed out by President
Kennedy. However, he was able to issue an opinion on his successor: Henry L.
Giordano. 49 Kennedy nevertheless kept him on as a member of the U.S.’ representation
at the United Nations. At the White House on September 27, 1962, Kennedy
formally expressed the U.S.’ gratitude to him for his contribution in the fight
against the illegal trafficking of drugs. 50
Johnson Confirms the War on Drugs
On July 15, 1965, at the initiative of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Lyndon B. Johnson created the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control, which fell
under the responsibility of the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare. This creation was the result of the new laws that imposed strong regulations
on the manufacture, distribution, delivery, and possession of synthesized
chemical drugs. These drugs included barbiturates, amphetamines, and other psychotoxics,
because of their respective “depressive or stimulating” effects on the
central nervous system, or because of their hallucinogenic effects. These new laws
did not apply to narcotic drugs, including cannabis, opium, and its derivatives,
because these were already controlled by the Treasury Department, and by other
legislation. 51 Therefore, from this date onwards, there coexisted two organizations
that had the same objective—fighting the war on drugs—but that targeted different
substances.
Henry L. Giordano had received a warning from Anslinger: the young people
of the Western world in general and of the United States in particular belonged
to a “generation like no other”: 52 the baby boomers. “They were born and grew up
under a lucky star. Four stars, in fact: peace, prosperity, full employment, and a
belief in progress. This is not a cliché but reality,” 53 François Sirinelli explains.
49 https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/
anslinger-harry-jacob-and-us-drug-policy.
50 https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHP/1962/Month%2009/Day%2027/
JFKWHP-1962-09-27-A.
51 https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&
article=5420&context=jclc.
52 Jean François Sirinelli, Génération sans pareille: Les baby-boomers de 1945 à nos jours (Paris: Electre,
2016).
53 https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/les-baby-boomers-une-generation-de-chanceux_1301151.
html.
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