The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. L. 75–238, 50 Stat. 551, enacted August 2, 1937, was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Seventy-fifth United States Congress held hearings on April 27, 28, 29th, 30th, and May 4, 1937. Upon the congressional hearings confirmation, the H.R. 6385 act was redrafted as H.R. 6906 and introduced with House Report 792. The Act is referred to, using the modern spelling, as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. It was overturned in 1969 in Leary v. United States, and was repealed by Congress the next year.
Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson, was an Australian author.
Harry Jacob Anslinger was an American government official who served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics during the presidencies of Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. He was a supporter of Prohibition, and of the criminalization of all drugs except for alcohol, - because supporting the prohibition against alcohol means he didn’t support the criminalization of alcohol - and spearheaded anti-drug policy campaigns.
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, with the enumerated powers of pursuing crimes related to the possession, distribution, and trafficking of listed narcotics including cannabis, opium, cocaine, and their derivatives. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the FBN carried out operations and missions around the world. The bureau was in existence from its establishment in 1930 until its dissolution in 1968. FBN is considered a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Reefer Madness is a 1936 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana – upon trying it, they become addicted, eventually leading them to become involved in various crimes such as a hit and run accident, manslaughter, murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted rape. While all this is happening, they suffer hallucinations, descend into insanity, associate with organized crime and commit suicide. The film was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors.
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, also known as Reefer Madness, is a 2005 American made-for-television musical comedy film directed by Andy Fickman, written by Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and produced by the three. It is a film adaptation of the trio's 1998 musical of the same name, itself based on the 1936 exploitation film also of the same title. It premiered on Showtime on April 16, 2005. The film also received a limited theatrical release overseas, and grossed $8,972 in its short run.
Grass: History of Marijuana is a 1999 Canadian documentary film directed by Ron Mann, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, about the history of the United States government's war on marijuana in the 20th century. The film was narrated by actor Woody Harrelson.
She Shoulda Said 'No'! is a 1949 exploitation film that follows in the spirit of morality tales such as the 1936 films Reefer Madness and Marihuana. Directed by Sam Newfield and starring Lila Leeds, it was originally produced to capitalize on the arrest of Leeds and Robert Mitchum on a charge of marijuana conspiracy.
Courtney Ryley Cooper was an American circus performer, publicist and writer. During his career he published over 30 books, many focusing on crime; J. Edgar Hoover considered him at one time "the best informed man on crime in the U. S." He was also an expert on circuses, and was the chief publicist for Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus at the time of his death.
Dorothy Short was an American film actress, mainly in low-budget Westerns and serials in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Cheat is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film of the same name using the same script by Hector Turnbull and Jeanie MacPherson. This version stars Pola Negri and was directed by George Fitzmaurice.
Victor Licata, also known as the Dream Slayer, was an American mass murderer who used an axe to kill his family in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, on October 16, 1933. The killings, which were reported by the media as the work of an "axe-murdering marijuana addict", were adduced as prima facie evidence that there was a link between recreational drugs, such as cannabis, and crime. This led to the killings being used in 1930s anti-drug campaigns against marijuana.
The Tijuana Story is a 1957 American film noir crime film directed by László Kardos. It stars Rodolfo Acosta as Manuel Acosta Mesa, a Mexican journalist who confronts a powerful crime syndicate in Tijuana. The film draws inspiration from the true story of Manuel Acosta Meza, a Tijuana journalist assassinated in 1956 for his efforts to expose organized crime and corruption.
Cannabis in South Korea is illegal for recreational use. In November 2018, the country's Narcotics Control Act was amended and use of medical cannabis became legal, making South Korea the first country in East Asia to legalize medical cannabis.
Alexandra Chasin is an American experimental writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is also an associate professor of literary studies at The Eugene Lang College, The New School for Liberal Arts.
Terms related to cannabis include:
Around 4:00am on August 23, 1987, the bodies of 16-year-old Don Henry and 17-year-old Kevin Ives were hit by a freight train in the town of Alexander, Arkansas, United States, as they were lying on the tracks. The locomotive engineer engaged the brakes while blowing the horn, but the train could not stop in time and rolled over the bodies. A second autopsy revealed that Don Henry had been stabbed in the back and Kevin Ives' skull may have been crushed prior to being run over.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a 2021 American biographical drama film about singer Billie Holiday, based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. Directed by Lee Daniels, the film stars Andra Day in the title role, along with Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, Leslie Jordan, Miss Lawrence, Adriane Lenox, Natasha Lyonne, Rob Morgan, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross, and Tyler James Williams.
