Marijuana, pot, weed, THC and cannabis — these are some of the many names for the same drug, as well as many controversies surrounding this product that has been around since colonial times. In 1619, Colonial Virginia passed a law requiring hemp to be grown on every farm, and it was accepted as currency in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
So, what changed? Well, marijuana did not lose its value. The upper class saw the opportunity to use the drug to manipulate the system. They began to utilize weed to target minority groups. In the 1910s, weed became popular in the western United States as a result of Mexican refugees fleeing from the Mexican Revolution.
Even the term marijuana comes from the Mexican community, who referred to it as “marihuana.” Americans were used to the term cannabis and were unaware that they were already using it in medical settings. In an effort to detain and deport Mexicans in Texas, Texas became the first state to ban the drug in 1923.
Meanwhile in the east, not 20 years later, the Black, jazz community became associated with weed as well. As the head of the original DEA, Harry J. Anslinger said, “Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, jazz musicians, and entertainers. Their satanic music is driven by marijuana, and marijuana smoking by white women makes them want to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and others.”
Despite doctors in the Civil War using hemp plants in their own medical treatment, and the use in the medical field growing, the lies around marijuana began to emerge when propaganda commercials and films claimed weed causes violent tendencies and eventual insanity. This led the justice system to deem it a Schedule 1 drug, and as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “Only slightly less awful than heroin.”
Looking directly at history, you can see the correlation of fear and racism to the criminalization of weed. Fast forward to today, weed usage amongst both the white and Black communities is virtually the same. Yet, the arrest ratio is 4:1 — the Black community is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for possession.
If the correlation is so apparent, why isn’t anyone doing anything to change it? The white man’s history and portrayal of the War on Drugs did do some obvious good for many communities, making it harder for kids to find access to drugs. However, it specifically targeted the two largest minorities in the United States. The motive behind the creation of this so-called “war” is one deeply embedded in racism.
This is just one example of the systematic racism that has such a hold on every aspect of our country. I encourage you to look deeper into the history lessons that we learned in high school. So much of history has been filtered through the perspective of the white upper class — it’s important to remember there are other perspectives that deserve to be heard. Those voices have been silenced for 300 years, and it’s time they are heard.