Harry J Anslinger was Commissioner of Narcotics
in the US for over 30 years and spread outrageous lies about drugs to get
prohibition laws enacted. Reefer Madness, the claim that marijuana caused
insanity, was Anslinger's greatest propaganda success and his greatest lie.
Anslinger lies about marijuana:
| "How many murders,
suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries, and deeds
of maniacal insanity it (marijuana) causes each year, especially among
the young, can only be conjectured." |
The numbers could only be conjectured because
they never happened! Not one of the
"Gore Stories" Anslinger told
Congressmen and the public has ever been verified.
| "If the hideous
monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marijuana he
would drop dead of fright."
"But here we have drug that is not
like opium. Opium has all of the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil
of Mr. Hyde. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful
effect of which cannot be measured."
"Some people will fly into a
delirious rage, and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit
violent crimes. Other people will laugh uncontrollably. It is
impossible to say what the effect will be on any individual."
|
___________________________
SENATOR DAVIS: How many cigarettes would you have
to smoke before you got this vicious mental attitude toward your neighbor?
MR. ANSLINGER: I believe in some cases one
[marijuana] cigarette might develop a homicidal mania, probably to kill his
brother. It depends on the physical characteristics of the individual. Every
individual reacts differently to the drug. It stimulates some and others it
depresses. It is impossible to say just what the action of the drug will be on a
given individual, of the amount. Probably some people could smoke five before it
would take that effect, but all the experts agree that the continued use leads
to insanity. There are many cases of insanity. (1937 Sworn Congressional
testimony)
MR. DINGELL: I am just wondering whether the
marihuana addict graduates into a heroin, an opium, or a cocaine user.
MR. ANSLINGER: No, sir; I have not heard of a
case of that kind. I think it is an entirely different class. The marihuana
addict does not go in that direction. (1937 Sworn Congressional testimony)
When Anslinger's Reefer Madness claims were
discredited, he changed his tune and invented the "steppingstone
theory" claiming that marihuana did indeed lead to HEROIN addiction.
Congressional testimony for Boggs Act 1951
Mr. Boggs: From just what little I saw in that
demonstration, I have forgotten the figure Dr. Isbell gave, but my recollection
is that only a small percentage of those marijuana cases was anything more than
a temporary degree of exhilaration ....
Mr. Anslinger: The danger is this: Over 50
percent of those young addicts started on marijuana smoking. They started there
and graduated to heroin; they took the needle when the thrill of marijuana was
gone.
Over 50,000,000 US citizens have tried marijuana,
so if there was a shred of truth to the "gateway theory" we'd have 30
or 40 million heroin addicts instead of the 1.5 million we actually have.
Obviously Anslinger was not one to concern
himself about correlation and causality because as the testimony indicates very
few marijuana users went on to anything else. Anslinger misleads by noting the
number of addicts who tried marijuana and omitting the fact that less than one
in a hundred marijuana users ever tried heroin, let alone became addicts.
Anslinger didn't mind perjury and dissembling whenever it suited his purpose and
drug czar Barry McCaffrey repeats the same lies about marijuana and heroin to
this very day.
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