3 ms·

> Marijuana didn't exactly become illegal in the United States because of its effects. It became illegal because of who was using it. Is it really the case? I

> Marijuana didn't exactly become illegal in the United States because of its effects. It became illegal because of who was using it. Is it really the case? I know it comes up in every discussion about cannabis but I'm wondering if it is really the case. Cannabis (and most psychoactive drugs with the exception of alcohol) are banned in most countries in the world and it has nothing to do with harassing minorities.

fit2rule 9y ago
Cannabis was banned throughout the world, because American corporations wanted it banned, and after the US put it on the Schedule I list, efforts were made far and wide for the rest of the world to follow suit. And yes, cannabis was banned because of who was using it - as well as how USEFUL it was in disrupting other industries (such as paper) - not because of its effects. There are countless documentaries which discuss this - a simple Youtube search will yield results.
- knowThySelfx 9y ago
  Agreed that the US govt (read companies) put pressure on the govts. of other countries to get it banned.
digi_owl 9y ago
There is a claim by a former member of the Nixon administration that drug laws where used to target blacks and hippies to disrupt anti-war protests etc. The same administration that pushed hard to get Cannabis classified as schedule 1 in the UN convention on drugs, as claimed by Canadian archive documents.
55555 9y ago
I share your skepticism, generally. But I think other countries face sanctions if their local laws disagree with our drug laws, no? This would explain a lot of the agreement.
int_19h 9y ago
The few countries that banned it early on, usually did so because of its vague association with opium, which was seen (rightly so!) as a serious problem. For those that banned it later, it's usually because they signed one of the global drug control treaties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_... Both have been heavily pushed by US (indeed, it effectively organized the first one), and in both cases US was the one that targeted cannabis specifically. In the Single Convention, US was the one that demanded it to be placed on the most restrictive Schedule available. Here's a good read about all this: https://www.tni.org/en/publication/the-rise-and-decline-of-cannabis-prohibition https://www.tni.org/en/publication/the-rise-and-decline-of-c...
- vorg 9y ago
  Didn't the US start targeting cannabis in the 1930's so the Alcohol Prohibition workers could keep their jobs by doing something else?
  - int_19h 9y ago
    It actually started targeting it domestically on state level in 1920s, because of association with low-wage Mexican immigrants. Late 30s is when it went into high gear, with high-profile federal investigations and reports (including Anslinger's famous "marijuana smoking by white women makes them want to seek sexual relations with Negroes"), and bans on state level pretty much country wide.
marvin 9y ago
Under Napoleon in France, marijuana was banned because it reduced the soldiers' initiative to fight. Alcohol use was tolerated.
- jaclaz 9y ago
  >Under Napoleon in France, marijuana was banned because it reduced the soldiers' initiative to fight. Not really-really. https://pointsadhsblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/the-real-history-of-frances-first-anti-drug-law/ https://pointsadhsblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/the-real-his...

fit2rule 9y ago

Cannabis was banned throughout the world, because American corporations wanted it banned, and after the US put it on the Schedule I list, efforts were made far and wide for the rest of the world to follow suit. And yes, cannabis was banned because of who was using it - as well as how USEFUL it was in disrupting other industries (such as paper) - not because of its effects. There are countless documentaries which discuss this - a simple Youtube search will yield results.

knowThySelfx 9y ago
Agreed that the US govt (read companies) put pressure on the govts. of other countries to get it banned.

digi_owl 9y ago

There is a claim by a former member of the Nixon administration that drug laws where used to target blacks and hippies to disrupt anti-war protests etc. The same administration that pushed hard to get Cannabis classified as schedule 1 in the UN convention on drugs, as claimed by Canadian archive documents.

55555 9y ago

I share your skepticism, generally. But I think other countries face sanctions if their local laws disagree with our drug laws, no? This would explain a lot of the agreement.

int_19h 9y ago

The few countries that banned it early on, usually did so because of its vague association with opium, which was seen (rightly so!) as a serious problem. For those that banned it later, it's usually because they signed one of the global drug control treaties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_... Both have been heavily pushed by US (indeed, it effectively organized the first one), and in both cases US was the one that targeted cannabis specifically. In the Single Convention, US was the one that demanded it to be placed on the most restrictive Schedule available. Here's a good read about all this: https://www.tni.org/en/publication/the-rise-and-decline-of-cannabis-prohibition https://www.tni.org/en/publication/the-rise-and-decline-of-c...

vorg 9y ago
Didn't the US start targeting cannabis in the 1930's so the Alcohol Prohibition workers could keep their jobs by doing something else?
- int_19h 9y ago
  It actually started targeting it domestically on state level in 1920s, because of association with low-wage Mexican immigrants. Late 30s is when it went into high gear, with high-profile federal investigations and reports (including Anslinger's famous "marijuana smoking by white women makes them want to seek sexual relations with Negroes"), and bans on state level pretty much country wide.

marvin 9y ago

Under Napoleon in France, marijuana was banned because it reduced the soldiers' initiative to fight. Alcohol use was tolerated.

jaclaz 9y ago
>Under Napoleon in France, marijuana was banned because it reduced the soldiers' initiative to fight. Not really-really. https://pointsadhsblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/the-real-history-of-frances-first-anti-drug-law/ https://pointsadhsblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/the-real-his...