”Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” (Martin Luther King)
The history of the illegalization of marijuana is an interesting one. Despite the overwhelming evidence that marijuana is not nearly as dangerous for the individual or society as legal and illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and even caffeine, marijuana has been labeled a dangerous substance. Like any substance, marijuana can be abused and like many behaviors, marijuana can be addictive. Marijuana can cause lethargy and lack of motivation and short-term memory loss, but unlike alcohol it does not cause death, violence, or organ damage. Marijuana has been linked to health problems, but not to the same extent of legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.
So then how did marijuana become illegal and receive such a bad reputation? The truth is that it stems from racism, fear, ignorance, and political greed more than anything else. For most of human history, marijuana was completely legal. It wasn’t made illegal until the early 20th century. In fact, America valued hemp as a consumer good useful for many products. In the late 19th century there were thousands of hemp plantations throughout the country.
It wasn’t until the early 1900s when the western states began dealing with the rapid influx of Mexicans that marijuana became a tool to deal with the immigration problem. The perceived popularity of marijuana of the Mexican people was exploited as a difference between whites and Mexicans. California outlawed hemp as a means of culturally undermining the Mexican population. Other states quickly followed. In the eastern states the use of marijuana was connected to a combination of Latinos and black jazz musicians. There were many who believed marijuana was a significant aspect of the Latino community and music scene, but it wasn’t considered a problem until tensions were growing between these groups and white Americans.
During this same era in American history, prohibition was a hot topic across the country. Alcohol was a visible debate while the drug laws were mostly unnoticed. The difference being that it was assumed that white people preferred alcohol while minorities’ drug of choice was often marijuana. So it is obvious why alcohol remained at the front of debates. Tax penalties and constitutional amendments were used to control alcohol and drugs through legislation such as the Harrison Act of 1914. In 1930, a new division in the Treasury Department was established, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics with Harry J. Anslinger named as director. More dangerous drugs were beginning to go under the control of the government, but Anslinger realized that he would need a popular drug to be controlled if he was going to make his mark of the department. He drew upon the themes of racism and violence to campaign for the illegalization of marijuana. Anslinger said of marijuana,
There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. (Harry J. Anslinger, 1st U.S. Drug Czar- 1932)
At this point it may appear that it is my desire to see marijuana legalized and that I feel suppressed by the government. I am actually pretty lame and have never had marijuana and am not sure if I have ever even seen it. Whether it should be legalized or not, I am just not sure. There are plenty of good reasons for it to remain illegal. There is sufficient evidence that the potency of THC, or tetradrocannabinol, is significantly higher in today’s engineered marijuana than in the marijuana as late as the 1960s. And the newer versions of marijuana also contain chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems. But rather, I am concerned with how the illegalization of marijuana and the subsequent attitudes toward the substance illustrate how modern Christianity has developed reliance of what is or is not legal to determine what is and is not right and subsequently, how often modern Christianity relies on laws to make something right or wrong.
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