Why is Marijuana Illegal? Reefer Madness!: Harry J. Anslinger Essay. Harry J. Anslinger headed the Federal Bureau of Narcotics for 31 years. His biggest contribution to the so-called "reefer madness" propaganda movement was the 1937 Marijuana Transfer Tax Act, which imposed strictures on the growing and use of the plant which rendered hemp effectively worthless by taxing it out of existence. Anslinger passed this bill through rather dubious means. His testimony in favor of the Act, for example, consisted largely of selections from Hearst newspaper articles read aloud into the Congressional record. Even at the time, reputable experts had already deemed much of this propaganda inaccurate. Also, Anslinger took pains to ensure that any groups and/or individuals that might have resisted the passing of the Act were either informed late (or not at all) that the hearings were even taking place.
The most effective illustration of Harry J. This document may be reproduced whole or in part for "Reefer Madness" promotional purposes. Hemp Around Their Necks by Harry Anslinger. From The Murderers By HARRY J. ANSLINGER U. S. Commissioner of Narcotics and WILL OURSLER In 1930 there was no federal law against smoking marijuana, and the average American citizen in an average community had probably never heard of "reefers" or "tea" or other words in the argot of marijuana users.
Seizures by state officers in these two years, however, had increased a hundred percent and by hundreds of pounds. Marijuana was something new and adventuresome. One adolescent gave a picture to an agent of a typical "smoker" in an apartment or "pad": "The room was crowded. Made from the hemp plant known as Cannabis sativa americana, marijuana is almost a twin brother to Cannabis sativa indica, otherwise called hashish. The hemp weed grows best in warm climates but has also been found along roadsides north of Boston.
Elaborate technical processes have been developed for the manufacture of Cannabis cigarettes from the resin in the plants. Origins of hemp weed are ancient. Harry Anslinger Vault. Father of the Drug War.