Ep. 44 - Buzz Kill: The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act

In order to understand how we ended up in the schizophrenic United States of Cannabis, we have to travel back in time to when cannabis was part of the American experience.  For nearly 150 years after the first colony was established in Jamestown, Virginia, cannabis was utilized for spiritual rituals, rope, fibers, textiles, bird seed, oils and medicine, both for humans and pets. Until one day, a bunch of men in business suits decided that they needed a lot of money to start a war on drugs. 

In this episode of Cannabis Nurse Truths, we take a look at the very mixed-up and unfair hijinks used by the Federal government agencies that would later also benefit from its prohibition.  It is all too apparent that our federal government is seriously flawed and even worse, those government entities who created this national psychosis are still benefiting from the effects of prohibition over 80 years later.

 

EPISODE RESOURCES

Adams, E. S. (2024). Just don’t do it: Why cannabis regulations are the reason cannabis businesses are failing. Nevada Law Journal, 24(349). https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1935&context=nlj0 

Galliher, J. F., & Walker, A. (1977). The puzzle of the social origins of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Social Problems, 24(3), 367–376. https://doi.org/10.2307/800089  

Griffith, R. C. (2021). A breath of fresh air: A Constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana through an Article V Convention of the States. University of Massachusetts Law Review, 16(200), Article 2. https://scholarship.law.umassd.edu/umlr/vol16/iss2/2  

LaGuardia, F. (1944). The Laguardia Committee Report New York, USA (1944). https://rodneybarnett.net/PDF/Laguardia%20Report%201944.pdf  

Last Prisoner Project. (n.d.). Exactly how many people are locked up for weed? https://www.lastprisonerproject.org/cannabis-prisoner-scale 

National Conference of State Legislatures. (n.d.). State Medical Cannabis Laws.  https://www.ncsl.org/health/state-medical-cannabis-laws?__cf_chl_tk=jj5C1HNOjfrPgfuAOfFuEtsRvbrl0ufw5tdRo54kBBk-1730819983-1.0.1.1-3WmtBp1aGo4X66bWfielCviKdPcDqEI.k1hG1LmOiH4  

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2024). Alcohol Use in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics.  National Institutes of Health. https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-use-united-states-age-groups-and-demographic-characteristics

Musto, D. F. (1972). The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 101-108. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54b9fbd9e4b0b6737df63e5d/t/627af393d870030771a32aa1/1652224915619/The+1937+Marijuana+Tax+Stamp+Act-Musto-1972.pdf  

Patton, D. V. (n.d.). A history of United States cannabis law. Journal of Law & Health, 34(1). https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1567&context=jlh