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The
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CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD—APPENDIX (Vol. 81 page 1440)
The
Marihuana Taxing Bill
EXTENSION
OF REMARKS of HON. FRANK H. BUCK
OF
CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday,
June 11, 1937
Mr.
BUCK. Mr. Speaker, just a month ago
today the Committee on Ways and Means reported favorably H. R. 6906, a bill to
impose an occupational excise tax on certain dealers in marihuana, to Impose a
transfer tax on certain dealings In marihuana, and to safeguard the revenue
therefrom by registry and recording. Late
yesterday afternoon, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee [Mr. DOUGHTON]
endeavored to secure unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of the
bill to the enactment of which I am sure there can be no serious or well-founded
opposition. In view of the lateness
of the hour and In view of the fact that some of the Members then present on the
floor were apparently not informed as to the necessity for this legislation,
Chairman DOUGHTON did not press his request.
The bill, however, will be called up, if not on Monday next, at the
earliest practicable opportunity.
In
the hope of saving time in its consideration and in order that Members of the
House may be familiarized with Just what the bill proposes to do, I am taking
this opportunity, Mr. Speaker, of setting forth as briefly as possible the
reasons which have impelled the Committee on Ways and Means to report this
proposed legislation, and to briefly explain the bill itself.
Marihuana
is a dangerous narcotic drug found in the flowering tops, leaves, and seeds of
the hemp plant---Cannibas sativa L. The plant has a number of industrial uses,
but the drug is used by the medical profession only to a negligible extent.
The industrial uses include the extraction of oil from the seeds, which
is used in the manufacture of paint and varnish; and the production of hemp
fiber from the mature stalks, which is manufactured into twine.
Cattle feed and fertilizer are also manufactured from the residue of the
seed, and the seed Itself is mixed with other seeds, as birdseed.
The bill protects all of these legitimate uses of the plant, the word
"marihuana" being defined in section 1 of the bill so as to cover
solely the illegitimate use of the plant as a narcotic.
Illicitly,
marihuana is used principally by smoking it in the form of cigarettes, which are
now readily obtainable throughout the country at a comparatively cheap price.
The toxic effects of these cigarettes are self-satisfaction, merriment,
often uncontrollable laughter, leading to a state where ideas are lacking in
continuity and control of thought and power of directing it are lost.
Large doses produce a tendency to willful damage and violence, and
the testimony produced before the Ways and Means Committee showed that many
violent crimes have been committed by persons under the influence of this drug.
Inhibitions are released generally, and in
particular a rapid flow of ideas of sexual nature takes place, ending with
complete loss of Judgment and restraint.
Marihuana
is used by criminals to fortify themselves for the commission of crime.
The saddest and most pitiful aspect of the marihuana trade, however, is
the fact that it is being placed in the bands of high-school children in the
form of these cigarettes sold by itinerant peddlers.
These children are thus started on the road to becoming drug addicts, and
testimony before our committee showed that they have in many cases been driven
to crime and to insanity. Insanity
and impotency are often the results of its continued uses.
The
growth of the traffic in this drug during recent years has been phenomenal.
About 10 years ago there was little traffic in marihuana, except in parts
of the Southwest. The weed now grows
wild in almost every State in the Union. In
spite of State laws directed against the traffic in marihuana for improper
purposes, it is easily obtainable and has come to be widely misused in many
States. In 1936, in 28 States and
the District of Columbia, State and municipal enforcement officers made 338
seizures of marihuana. In the course
of these seizures 181,000 pounds of marihuana In the form of growing plants,
besides 11,000 plants themselves, nearly 6,000 cigarettes, and approximately 5
tons of bulk marihuana were taken and destroyed.
This represents only the figures reported by enforcement officers.
It by no means represents the extent of the illicit traffic since not
many of the States have begun real enforcement against marihuana, lacking
special enforcement facilities and requiring the further education of their
enforcement officers in the detection of the drug.
The
purpose of H. R. 6906 is to develop a plan of taxation that will raise revenue
and at the same time render extremely difficult the acquisition of marihuana by
persons who desire it for illicit uses, and, secondly, the publicizing of
dealings in marihuana in order to tax and control the traffic effectively.
The bill represents a combination of the Harrison Narcotic Act and the
National Firearms Act, both of which were designed to accomplish the same
purposes---the first with respect to opium and coca leaves and the second with
respect to firearms. It is not
believed feasible to amend the Harrison Act by the inclusion of marihuana, for
the reason that its control presents a problem different from that of opium and
coca leaves, neither of which are grown in the United States.
But marihuana is, and a portion of each plant may be used legitimately.
Hence, it seems necessary to provide a separate bill to cover legitimate
dealings in marihuana as well as to control and prevent, if possible, illicit
dealings. Under this bill, an
occupational tax will be levied upon persons who deal in marihuana, and such
persons are required to register with the collector of internal revenue.
It is made unlawful for any person who is required to register and pay a
special tax to engage in any dealing in marihuana without such registry and
payment. Shipment of marihuana in
interstate commerce without such registry and payment is made illegal.
It
is further made illegal to transfer marihuana except in pursuance of a written
order from the transferee on a form to be issued by the Secretary of the
Treasury, and upon all such transfers is levied a tax at the rate of $1 per
ounce, or fraction thereof, on transfers to persons registered under the act,
and at the rate of $100 per ounce, or fraction thereof, on transfers to persons
not registered under the act. It is
made illegal for a transferee to acquire marihuana without payment of the
transfer tax. Certain exceptions are
made with reference to medical practitioners, transfers
by druggists on prescriptions, export shipments and transfers of the seed
to manufacturers of birdseed, seed oil, seed cakes, and similar products.
The
remaining sections of the bill provide for the forfeiture to the United States
of contraband marihuana, provide the administrative regulations and the
penalties for violation of the act.
No
one who has heard the testimony before the Ways and Means Committee, or who has
read the hearings which are in printed form, can remain long in doubt as to the
advisability, and even the necessity, of Federal action along the lines of this
bill. Nearly every State has
legislated against the traffic, but State legislation is not uniform and
requires to be supplemented by Federal aid.
I am happy to say that my own State of California has taken a lead in
this matter. For many years past in
California marihuana has been a prohibited drug.
Some years ago, in addition to its sale, its transportation was
forbidden, and at the session of our State legislature, just adjourned, a bill
was passed to prohibit the growing, cultivation, or even possession of the
marihuana plant. Yet with all the
precautions that we have taken, there still remains the need of Federal aid and
assistance to control and suppress the traffic.
In some other States the definition of marihuana is too narrow, and in
other States it is felt that the Bureau of Narcotics is needed as a coordinating
agency in the enforcement of the State law.
When
this bill was under consideration by our committee I received a letter from
Capt. E. J. Cox, then retiring after
25 years of service as head of the narcotic detail of the police department of
the city of Sacramento, which discussed the evils of marihuana from the point of
view of an expert, and which concluded:
I
want to thank you and your committee in Congress for making that noble fight
against the scourge of marihuana, and I say, "God bless you."
It
is not my Intention to shock the sensibilities of those who review this in the
RECORD by quoting some of the horrible and fiendish examples of depravity that
have been cited as resulting from the use of this drug.
The evidence is spread upon the hearings for those who care to see.
I only want to say that in helping to enact this bill into law next week,
each Member of the House can feel he has done something to eliminate one of the
most devilish causes of human wreckage that exists uncontrolled today.
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