Lunatic Drug Warriors

The marijuana hysteria among “Santa Barbara Fighting Back,” as expressed in the Don’t Cannabis Our Kids Campaign [“Fighting Back Comes Out Swinging”] calls to mind the racist reefer-madness terror instilled in parents by lying drug crusading in the 1930s:

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana can cause white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. . . the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”—Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Harry J. Anslinger, 1930

For decades, people were told that smoking a marijuana cigarette would result in mass murder, serial rape, and complete moral breakdown. Now we know these to be lies. Nevertheless, these willful people are more than ready to sacrifice their own children to law enforcement priorities that only serve to put more money into police salaries.

The greatest danger of marijuana does not come from the drug itself, but from lunatic drug warrior policies used to uphold laws based on racist fictions.—Ralph Givens, Daly City, California