Looking Back on the 80th Anniversary of Cannabis Criminalization
On August 2, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a federal ban on cannabis. With the presidential approval of House Bill 6385, the Marihuana Tax Act became law and imposed strict consequences for the possession, production and sale of cannabis. This event occurred 80 years ago today.
HB-6385 began a countrywide federal prohibition on the substance, and the remnants of that act are still in effect today. According to NORML, there were only two hearings that allowed congress to discuss the bill. One was from Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Hary Anslinger who stated under oath that “this drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured.” Although the American Medical Association opposed the ban, the House and Senate still voted to approve the bill. Later that year on October 1, the bill took effect.
NORML’s Political Director, Justin Strekal, released a statement today on the anniversary of federal prohibition. “Today, as was the case 80 years ago, the enforcement of cannabis prohibition is failed policy that financially burdens taxpayers, encroaches upon civil liberties, engenders disrespect for the law, impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties, and disproportionately impacts communities of color,” Strekal stated.
Prior to the ban, cannabis use (specifically the cultivation of hemp) was widespread. There are documents that prove that the country’s earliest presidential leaders cultivated hemp, not to mention the historical records that show how far back the use of cannabis goes.
But a lot has changed in 80 years. Although the federal prohibition of cannabis still persists, countless citizens of the United States have fought for decades and continue to fight in order to make cannabis legal once again. “It is time for federal lawmakers to acknowledge this reality and the error of their ways,” Strekal continued. “It is time to stop ceding control of the marijuana market to untaxed criminal enterprises and for lawmakers to implement common-sense regulations governing cannabis’ personal use by adults and licensing its production.”
Progress in the cannabis community has taken decades, but it has especially gained speed during the last 10 years. Still, only through persistence will cannabis truly be free from federal prohibition. “In 2017, we are experiencing the death rattle of marijuana prohibition, with eight states and the District of Columbia having legalized the adult use of cannabis and 30 states permitting physician authorized access to medical marijuana,” Strekal concluded. “Yet until we achieve reform at the federal level, patients and others still remain unduly at risk.”
