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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bloodstone Press" data-source="post: 1708682" data-attributes="member: 12468">I’ve been wondering how long it would take this thread to turn from When to Why.  It is true (at least to my education on the matter) that racism is related to drug prohibition in America in several instances. One of the argument politicians and preachers made against Marijuana was that it was associated with the “dirty” Mexicans who brought it up from the South. It was also something the black jazz musicians were known to use. I’ve seen quotes from various people of the era saying things like “Pot will make your daughters like jazz music and hang out with blacks! Vote Yes on Proposition 94 to outlaw marijuana!”  However, I’ve also read about pot being made illegal during the middle-ages. I believe it was a Sultan of the middle east who declared that anyone caught smoking pot would have all their teeth pulled out—don’t know if that’s true or not.  I’ve also heard the story about Opium and the Chinese. We should remember that the xenophobia was rampant, world wide in the 1930s. Crude science had suggested that there were certain people who were genetically superior to others and people were taking that to heart. These ideas reached a boiling point during the 1940s. Also, there was a show on the History Channel about the history of drugs, which basically made the point that drugs became illegal when science started creating “super drugs” such as cocaine and heroine, which have extremely addictive qualities.  Also, a good way to find out why drugs are illegal is to look at which companies lobby the government for prohibition. I’ve never seen an official list of these companies, but I’ve head it contains:1. Du Pont (for industrial reasons)2. Anheuser Bush (for recreational reasons) We should also remember that prohibition of all sorts in America has a strong religious component. Puritans, who have always believed that drugs of any sort are tools of the devil, founded America. In fact, I think it is this factor, perhaps more than any other, that causes the striking difference in drug laws in America as opposed to other countries, such as B.C. Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, and even England.  After all, the main reason given for prohibition is that “it ruins your life.” That’s puritanical code for “I am here to save you from yourself.” They also like to say, “it contributes to crime.” Perhaps that’s because its illegal?? (note, I’m not an expert on these things, this is all hearsay and opinion)</blockquote>

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