International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 151

International Journal on Criminology
paign for the complete legalization of cannabis in the United States, Anslinger
served the interests of DuPont in particular, which at the time had invented nylon
and needed opportunities for this new product. 101 In 1928, the chemical company
opened a research laboratory to develop artificial materials, having decided that
basic research was the right path for its future—an uncommon course for a business
to pursue at the time. 102
This argument by these associations in favor of legalization may well have a
certain feel of a “conspiracy theory” about it, but in certain ways, politics is about
conspiracies.
When Anslinger helped to bring about approval of the Marijuana Tax Act in
1937, he put forward arguments that were simply speculation and conjecture, and
he had no scientific argument to justify his assertions. Eighty years later, science
continually refutes his claims. We learn from Raphaël Hitier’s 2017 documentary
film Cannabis sur ordonnance (Cannabis on Prescription) that:
The therapeutic merits of cannabis have experienced an amazing
ascent in the medical world. Multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn’s
disease, chronic pain, brain cancer: the list of diseases that it may
cure is getting longer. But what of the merits that are attributed to
it? Used since time immemorial for its psychotropic and therapeutic
effects, cannabis only became outlawed in the twentieth century,
when its use became considered a gateway to harder drugs. Yet today,
more than thirty countries have allowed it to be used for medical
purposes, and scientific research focused on cannabis is experiencing
a renaissance. In addition to its healing qualities for certain
conditions, it may also reduce the side effects of chemotherapy or
triple therapy. According to recent scientific research, the potential
of the molecules produced by this plant may be enormous. 103
But the scientific evidence is still insufficient, because although cannabis
has proved effective, even in treating seriously ill children, in reality nobody knows
why cannabis works to relieve sick people who had tried to no avail virtually all of
the solutions that the pharmaceutical industry may propose. 104 As a result of the
purported prohibition of it in the United States, laboratory experiments have not
been able to keep up with public appetites in the United States—because of a lack
of cannabis. 105
101 https://www.massroots.com/learn/the-man-responsible-for-marijuana-prohibition/.
102 https://www.thoughtco.com/wallace-carothers-history-of-nylon-1992197.
103 Cannabis sur ordonnance, directed by Raphaël Hitier, France, 2017, documentary film, introductory
text.
104 https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/140814/legaliser-le-cannabis-37-mamie-devraitelle-fumer-des-joints.
105 https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/140814/legaliser-le-cannabis-37-mamie-devrait-
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