Cannabis wasn’t always illegal or stigmatized. In fact, throughout the 19th century, the plant was an essential part of everyday life. There were no federal restrictions, no widespread fear, and no political controversy.
Then everything changed. A once-common crop and medicinal tool was rebranded as a threat to society. So how did an ordinary plant become public enemy number one?
Let’s continue the story of cannabis regulation in the United States.
If you haven’t already, read Before the Ban: Cannabis in Early U.S. History to learn how cannabis was once widely used and accepted in early America.
The First Seeds of Stigmatization
In the early 1900s, the U.S. experienced rapid immigration, industrialization, and a growing push to define “American” identity. As cultural tension rose, immigrants—particularly those from Mexico and the Caribbean—were viewed as threats to that identity. Cannabis, which many of these communities used both recreationally and medicinally, became an easy target.
Public sentiment didn’t shift because of any new discovery about the plant. It shifted because cannabis became a symbol of the “other.” Black Americans were also caught in the crosshairs, especially as cannabis use became associated with jazz, nightlife, and creative culture. The stigma wasn’t about the plant—it was about the people using it [1].
As resentment toward these communities grew, so did a political appetite to criminalize something tied to them. Cannabis became the scapegoat.
The Role of Racism and Media
Newspapers took that growing resentment and ran with it. Hungry for attention-grabbing headlines, media outlets pushed false and sensational claims that cannabis caused violence, madness, and moral collapse. Science was ignored in favor of fear.
To further distance the plant from its legitimate history, the term “marihuana” was adopted in headlines—deliberately spelled in a way that tied it to Mexican immigrants [1]. The press painted Mexicans and Black Americans as dangerous users of a drug that could unravel society.
These headlines didn’t just shift public perception—they laid the foundation for policy. Fueled by fear, the panic grew. And in 1936, the film Reefer Madness was released—a government-funded propaganda piece that portrayed cannabis users as unstable, violent, and doomed. It cemented the idea that cannabis wasn’t just a plant—it was a public menace.
The Damage of Harry Anslinger
No one shaped the criminalization of cannabis more than Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. When alcohol prohibition ended in 1933, his agency lost its primary focus. Cannabis became the replacement.
Though Anslinger had previously downplayed cannabis as a minor issue, he soon reversed course—seizing on rising fears to expand the power of his bureau. He launched a full-scale anti-cannabis campaign, spreading misinformation through radio, newspapers, and public forums. He claimed cannabis caused insanity, crime, and social decay—often relying on racially charged anecdotes and unverified police reports[2].
When medical professionals and researchers pushed back, Anslinger ignored them. The American Medical Association and several doctors submitted evidence contradicting his claims, but both he and Congress chose to dismiss it.
Anslinger was successfully shaping public opinion, but he wanted more. He wanted to shape federal law.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
In 1937, under Anslinger’s direction, Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act—the first federal law to heavily regulate cannabis.
While it didn’t ban the plant outright, it made growing, selling, or possessing cannabis so difficult and expensive that legal use became nearly impossible. High taxes, strict paperwork, and harsh penalties discouraged doctors from prescribing it and punished even minor violations[2].
Caught in the middle was industrial hemp, the non-psychoactive variety of cannabis. Despite its long-standing role in American agriculture, hemp was lumped in with marijuana and regulated the same way—crippling the industry [1].
The Marihuana Tax Act marked the U.S. government’s first major step toward cannabis prohibition, and it wouldn’t be the last.
The Foundation for the War on Drugs
The policies and propaganda of the early 1900s didn’t technically ban cannabis, but they made it nearly impossible to access legally. More importantly, they reshaped public opinion. Fueled by fear, racism, and misinformation, these early laws laid the groundwork for stricter enforcement, harsher penalties, and a rising stigma that would only grow in the decades that followed.
It was the beginning of something bigger—and far more damaging: the War on Drugs.
Footnotes:
