*** Anslinger , was originally not against the use of marijuana , but to keep his job as head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics , he went against his own beliefs . Then in association with DuPont and Hearst , between them created the lies and mis information we know today ***
Harry Anslinger took the scientifically unsupported idea of marijuana as a violenceinducing drug , connected it to black and Hispanic people , and created a perfect package of terror to sell to the American media and public . By emphasising the Spanish word marihuana instead of cannabis , he created a strong association between the drug and the newly arrived Mexican immigrants who helped popularise it in the States . He also created a narrative around the idea that cannabis made black people forget their place in society . He pushed the idea that jazz was evil music created by people under the influence of marijuana .
But these racist ideas didn ’ t just influence the media ’ s portrayal or the public ’ s perception of the drug , the discrimination they encouraged was evident in real numbers . In the first full year after the Marihuana Tax Act was passed , black people were about three times more likely to be arrested for violating narcotic drug laws than whites . And Mexicans were nearly nine times more likely to be arrested for the same charge .
By 1952 , the Boggs Act was passed . This made sentencing for drug convictions mandatory . A first offence for possession could land you two to five years in prison and a fine up to $ US2,000 . Through the 1960s and 70s , weed smoking took on a new perception through the counterculture movement . Young white people resisted mainstream culture and powerful institutions . This was the era of hippies , beatniks , and flower power . But despite all the peace and love , laws continued to emphasise the severity of the drug . The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 passed under President Nixon .
America ’ s public enemy number one . Then Repealed the Marihuana Tax Act and instead made cannabis a schedule I drug . The most serious class . Schedule I drugs are considered to have a high potential for abuse and addiction . With no medical use . Other examples of Schedule I drugs are heroin , LSD , and ecstasy . Classifying cannabis as a schedule I drug has been highly debated since then . – Marijuana is not a schedule I , any more than a hedgehog is an apex predator .
But to this day , it remains in that category ( with schedule 2 being Cocaine and Heroin ??) and criminalisation still disproportionately affects minority groups in the US . The ACLU reported that in 2010 , black people were four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than white people , even though both groups consume marijuana at about the same rate . Some states have taken action to reduce this type of criminalisation . Nine states and Washington DC have legalised the recreational use of cannabis .