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The Online Reefer Madness Teaching Museum
The Traffic In Narcotics
By
H.J. Anslinger and William F. Tompkins
Copyright
1953 - Funk & Wagnalls Co.
From
Chapter 2 pages 18 - 26
MARIHUANA
Delving
back through the centuries, we find references to the hemp plant as early as
three thousand years ago in
China
---about 1200 B.C.---hence its description as a drug of the New and
Old World
is apt. It is probable that central
or southern
Asia
was its original habitat. Today it
is found growing either wild or under cultivation in wide areas of
India
, the Shan States of
Burma
,
Turkey
,
Syria
,
Lebanon
,
Greece
,
Brazil
,
Mexico
, the
United States
, and in
Africa
. In Western European countries only
small quantities are grown.
Because
of its wide-spread distribution, it might be helpful to identify some of the
names by which it is known throughout the world.
The name marihuana, of Mexican-Indian origin, has become the general term
in North and
South America
. In the United States the word
reefer has through popular usage come to mean a marihuana cigarette.
In England, which is experiencing an increase in its illegal use, it is
popularly known as Indian hemp. Then
there is the hashish of the Middle East, which is sometimes used in the United
States. In Morocco and Algeria it is
called kif; in Tunisia, takrouri; in South Africa, dagga, in India, bhang,
charas, and manzoul. It is the
maconha and djamba of Brazil, and the esrar and
manzoul of Turkey.
What
is this substance and whence does it come?
Marihuana,
to use its popular name, belongs to the genus Cannabis, of which there is only a
single species, Cannabis saliva L. Varieties,
grown in different sections are botanically described as Cannabis India (Indian
hemp), Cannabis mexicana, and so forth. Since
the bulk of the resin is contained in the flowering tops, the term marihuana has
been relatively limited to those portions of the plant, while hashish refers to
a special form of recovered resin of the plant.
Commercially the plant, aside from its drug-producing properties, is used
in the production of textiles, cord, and twine; depending on climate and soil
plants in different areas will have a greater or lesser commercial value due to
the relative softness or hardness of the fibers.
Numerous
products are made from the hemp plant that are used by drug addicts.
Bhang is obtained from the leaves, the whole substance of which is
reduced to a powder. The powdered
leaves are frequently mixed with spices, honey, or water.
It is eaten or drunk as well as smoked.
Ganja consists of the flowering tops of the plant and is prepared by
crushing it into a sticky mass. It
is for the most part smoked in pipes or as cigarettes, but on occasion is eaten.
From the resin extracted from the tops is secured the charas of
India
and central
Asia
; the chira, chiras of
Egypt
,
Syria
, and
Greece
; the hashish of
Egypt
,
India
, and
Syria
. The raw resin extracted from the
tops is either kneaded into sticks or reduced to powder.
In
discussing its use, one fact should be emphasized at once.
Whereas the opiates can be a blessing when
properly used, marihuana has no therapeutic value, and its use is therefore
always an abuse and a vice. This
important fact should never be forgotten, and pharmacopoeias throughout the
world have generally expunged it
At
present the consumption of hemp is allowed by law in only three countries,
namely,
India
,
Tunisia
, and
Morocco
. The oral consumption of bhang has
always been permitted in
India
and the smoking of ganja is still permitted in many Indian states, but all
states have now decided to restrict progressively the consumption of Indian
hemp. Only Indian hemp mixed with
tobacco is permitted to be used in
Morocco
. Hemp in the form of takrouri is
legally consumed in
Tunisia
.
Hemp
is either smoked or taken orally depending upon the individual, the place, or
local customs. By absorbing it
through the digestive tract, some experts feel that the effect is stronger.
However, smoking is undoubtedly the most prevalent method of use in the
Americas
and in
England
. Cigarettes are prepared from the
tops and leaves of the plant, and they are typically about the size of an
American king-size cigarette, but somewhat thinner and more loosely packed.
A cheaper grade is also prepared from the leaves and other parts of the
hemp plant which, since the resin content is less, results in a product less
effective for the smoker.
Marihuana
is grown illegally in some States of the
United States
. While the Mexican variety, some of
which is smuggled over the
Texas
border, is preferred by some smokers, there is always a ready market for all
types. It is cheap compared to the
price of heroin and cocaine since the price of a cigarette on the illicit market
averages from fifty cents to one dollar.
The
user of marihuana, unlike the heroin addict, seems to prefer to pursue his vice
in groups or, in the vernacular, at tea parties.
He (and here it might be interjected that men far outnumber women in this
vice) has been well termed by one authority as a "gregarious addict"
Like all narcotic addicts, any reasonable conception of hygiene on the
part of the smoker is sorely lacking. At
gatherings a cigarette is passed from lip to lip.
Cupping the hands to prevent the loss of the fumes, the greatest amount
of smoke possible is deeply inhaled and retained for a maximum length of time. At
times several consecutive short puffs are taken, and on occasion the smoke is
swallowed. And so it goes until
eventually the cigarette is entirely consumed.
As
a result of this habit, the inveterate smoker will have the same tell-tale
stains of any heavy smoker of ordinary cigarettes---the yellow or dark brown
stains accompanied by a hardening of the skin of those portions of the fingers
which have held the cigarette.
EFFECT
ON THE INDIVIDUAL
What
are the physiological and psychological effects of the use of marihuana?
What does it do to the individual? First
of all marihuana does not create physical dependence as do the opiates.
Habituation occurs in the average case, but experts have observed the
development of a special tolerance in instances of prolonged and excessive use.
Collaterally, the danger of progression to the use of and addiction to
the opiates always lurks in the background for the user of marihuana.
A further distinction between the opiates and marihuana has been touched
on before but bears repeating. While
opium can be a blessing or a curse, depending on its use, marihuana is only and
always a scourge which undermines its victims and degrades them mentally,
morally, and physically.
Medical
experts agree on the complete unpredictability of the effect of marihuana on
different individuals. A small dose
taken by one subject may bring about intense intoxication, raving fits, criminal
assaults. Another subject can
consume large amounts without experiencing any reaction except stupefaction.
It is this unpredictable effect which makes of marihuana one of the most
dangerous drugs known. Moreover,
every individual will react in a different degree to the same dosage of this
narcotic, depending on his physiological and emotional constitution.
Certain
physical effects appear to be present in the majority of cases of marihuana
intoxication. The first reactions
appear, an hour or so after consumption, in the form of muscular trembling, increased heartbeat, acceleration of pulse.
This is accompanied by a ringing in the ears, an intense feeling of heat
in the head, dizziness, and sensations of cold in the hands and feet.
Constrictions in the chest, dilation of the pupil of the eye, and
muscular contraction follow. The
physical reactions increase in intensity until either
vomiting or complete stupefaction occurs.
Initially the individual is excited, restless, and boisterous,
over-garrulous and uninhibited. Next
comes a period of dissociation of ideas and exaggeration of emotions.
Judgment and concentration are impaired; the subject shows a marked
inability to judge both time and space; perceptions are distorted; in short,
mental confusion occurs, accompanied by hallucinations.
Marihuana sharpens the sensibilities, and in
this stage the addict is prone to suggestion, violent or otherwise.
The intense overexcitement of the nerves and emotions leads to
uncontrollable irritability and violent and irresponsible acts due to
irresistible impulses of suggestive origin.
The last stage might include hallucinations, varied and often terrifying.
Restless sleep, accompanied by bizarre phantasmagoria, then overcomes the
victim.
In
the earliest stages of intoxication the will power is destroyed and inhibitions
and restraints are released; the moral barricades are broken down and often
debauchery and sexuality results. Where
mental instability is inherent, the behavior is generally violent.
An egotist will enjoy delusions of grandeur, the tumid individual will
suffer anxiety, and the aggressive one often Will resort to acts of violence and
crime. Dormant tendencies are
released and while the subject may know what is happening, he has become
powerless to prevent it. Constant
use produces an incapacity for work and a disorientation of purpose.
The drug has a corroding effect on the body and on the mind, weakening
the entire physical system and often leading to insanity after prolonged use.
BY
WAY OF ILLUSTRATION
The
following are summaries of a few of the many cases recorded in the files of the
U. S. Bureau of Narcotics which illustrate the homicidal tendencies and the
generally debasing effects arising from the use of marihuana:
Oklahoma City
,
Okla.
1943.
While under the influence of marihuana, twenty-seven-year-old Carl
J. M., hotel bellboy, shot and killed elderly J.
S. S., guard in the
Federal
Building
at
Oklahoma City
,
Oklahoma
. He was convicted for the crime and
sentenced to serve 10 years. Another
bellboy, who was arrested in the case, confessed that he and M. had smoked
marihuana in a hotel room before the crime was committed.
M. then left the hotel and walked to the
Federal
Building
. On the street he met three
sailors, one of whom he bit on the neck. He
struck a small boy whom he met on the sidewalk.
M. then went to the
Federal
Building
and took charge of an Army Recruiting Office.
When Mr. S. . . . , the building guard, was called to remove M., a fight
ensued. M. seized a gun from the
guard and shot and killed him instantly. M.
then placed the gun on a chair and walked down the hall singing.
He engaged in another fight, but was finally subdued and placed in jail.
Two days later M. was still unable to think or talk coherently.
He talked about trying to get on the top of an automobile where he could
reach a telephone wire and swing himself to the top of the hotel and from there
he could get to heaven. Later, at a
hearing, M. stated that he had smoked marihuana several times; that he did not
remember leaving the hotel, nor the fights nor the shooting of Mr. S.... ; he
did not remember his arraignment and stated the first he knew about the matter
was after he came out of the stupor when someone told him he had shot and killed
a guard at the Federal Building. M.'s
employers stated he had always been quiet and sober, and had never caused
trouble of any kind.
The
effects he experienced are characteristic, particularly with regard to the
distortion of space and lack of restraint or memory by individuals of their own
actions while under the influence of marihuana.
Clarksburg
, W.
Va.
1937. Lewis H., twenty-six years of
age, arrested for rape of nine-year-old girl while under the influence of
marihuana.
Baltimore
,
Md.
1936.
The chief engineer of a vessel arriving at
Baltimore
complained to the Federal narcotic office that the crew of his vessel were
using some unknown narcotic that was so virulent in its effects on the men that
the officers were obliged to protect themselves by carrying blackjacks to ward
off attacks. The narcotic agent
ascertained that a fireman, aged twenty-two, was a marihuana user, and that two
of the seamen on the ship had purchased a bag of dried marihuana while ashore in
the Canal Zone and smuggled it aboard ship, where it was consumed by members of
the crew. Officers of the steamship
said these men were "under the influence of this narcotic throughout the
trip to
Baltimore
and that their conduct bordered on the mutinous."
Cleveland
,
Ohio
. 1948.
James B., who was arrested by police for the murder of a sixty-year-old
widow, admitted that he and an accomplice had participated in brutal attacks on
sixteen women for the purpose of robbing them of their money.
He said he wanted the money to buy wine and reefers which he consumed at
the same time. Before committing
their atrocious crimes, B. and his accomplice always fortified themselves with
wine and marihuana.
Spokane
,
Washington
. 1940. Joseph M., shortly after
having smoked two marihuana cigarettes, brutally murdered a
seventy-four-year-old retired railroad worker.
According to testimony brought out at his trial for manslaughter, M. had
never before seen his victim and could assign no reason for having murdered him
other than that following the smoking of the marihuana cigarettes be bad become
obsessed with an idea that he was being pursued and upon encountering the aged
man he attacked and killed him. M.
was sentenced in October, 1940, to serve twenty years in the Washington State
Penitentiary.
Del Rio
,
Texas
. 1940.
One Eleutero G. while allegedly under the influence of marihuana, shot to
death two women and then committed suicide by literally slicing himself to bits
about the abdomen, heart, and throat, in a manner which indicated that he was
bereft of all reasoning. Law
enforcement officers believed that G. was under the influence of marihuana at
the time of the double murder and suicide and that he had previously used
marihuana. It was the opinion of the
doctor who saw G. just before he died that no one could so mutilate himself
unless he was unable to feel "shock" and the only thing he knew that
would produce such a condition, to such a degree, is marihuana.
G. had wandered around in the fields for hours after the killing and
after his self-mutilation.
The
following cases were taken from police records of several cities:
Investigating
a disturbance in a cafe in a southern
Ohio
city, police officers saw Anthony E.
pointing a loaded revolver at patrons. E.
resisted arrest, and after a severe struggle the officers subdued him.
Earlier, E., with the use of his revolver, had robbed Abe L., driver for
the W. Bakery Co., of $5.00. At the time of the arrest, the defendant was
completely under the influence of marihuana and a quantity of marihuana was
found in his possession.
On
a Saturday evening in November, 1945, a pretty seventeenmonth-old baby girl was
left in the family car while her parents went in search of a relative.
When they returned to the car less than ten minutes later, the baby had
disappeared. The next afternoon,
scarcely 200 yards away, the body was found in the furrow of a cotton field.
The baby was naked except for one small white shoe and a red-knitted
bonnet. She had been violated.
Teeth marks covered her body. Her
tiny contorted face had been shoved into the mud and particles of dirt in her
lungs showed that she had been alive at the time and suffocated later.
Police
arrested a twenty-five-year-old cotton picker, Paul G., who readily admitted
kidnapping the child and "spanking her a little bit."
G. stated that on the Saturday evening in question he had been drinking
when a friend offered him a reefer which he accepted and smoked.
Further intoxicants followed. Then
G. went to a dance hall, from which he departed because no one would dance with
him in his condition. As he left, he
heard the child crying in a car. Annoyed,
he picked up the infant and spanked her, but remembers nothing further except he
"guesses he just went crazy." His
next recollection was when he came to in his cabin the following morning with
mud and blood on his clothes.
For
what the district attorney described as "the most horrible, the most brutal
crime in the history of the area," Paul G. was sentenced to death.
The final words of his counsel are well worth remembering: The real
criminal in this case is marihuana !"
On
January 10, 194-
, Robert F. assaulted Mrs. Mildred Y., stole a gun, and held up his former
employer. On January 15, he entered
a salesman's car while it was stopped in traffic, and when the sales an didn't
follow directions, shot him in the stomach.
On January 21, he broke into a home, stole some money, and beat a
seventy-eight-year old woman severely. On
January 22, he entered a cleaning shop, attempted to rape the clerk, and stole
$75. An aroused police force tracked
him down, and cornered him. F. shot
one officer and then seeing that he was trapped, shot himself.
Each of these crimes was attributed to marihuana intoxication.
One
summer evening Moses M. bought his first two marihuana cigarettes for
twenty-five cents each. After
smoking them, he said, "I felt just like I was flying." Moses, crazed
with marihuana, went through the window of his hotel room, dropped eighteen feet
to the roof of the garage next door in his bare feet, and then went through the
window of K.'s room crying, "God told me to kill this man."
Seizing K. by the throat, Moses beat him to death with his fists after
which he broke a chair over his victim's head.
Then screening that he was pursued by Hitler, Moses went out through the
window, and dropped his two hundred pound frame to the alley thirty feet below.
In court Moses had no recollection of the killing and asserted, 'I didn't
want to hurt him." Twenty
years," said the Court.
THE
SOCIAL ASPECTS
In
addition to showing a link between the use of marihuana and crime, these cases
emphasize the serious social menace to the community which results when an
individual with criminal tendencies uses this narcotic.
Many times the false courage to commit overt
crime has been supplied by marihuana, and often violence is perpetrated without
the culprit being able to recall anything about it.
Pathetic cases have been reported wherein the offender fancied an
approaching member of his family as an enemy and killed him.
Because the narcotic affects the judgment of speed and distances,
a man under its influence at the wheel of an automobile is capable of leaving a
trail of fatal accidents in his wake.
One can readily see the menace a marihuana-user would present wherever
the safety of others depends upon the proper discharge of his duties.
It takes but little imagination to picture the chaos and injury which
might occur if the user were a locomotive engineer, for example, or the operator
of steam or electrical equipment.
Since
the enactment in 1937 of Federal control legislation, considerable progress has
been made towards a solution of the nation-wide marihuana problem.
In the first five-year period, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics,
cooperating with State and municipal enforcement agencies throughout the
country, conducted a program of eradication in which approximately 60,000 tons
of marihuana were destroyed. In
addition, the Bureau has seized large amounts of marihuana, both bulk and as
cigarettes, in the illicit traffic, and has arrested about 1,000 persons
annually for violations of the Federal marihuana law.
Due to the ease with which it grows, marihuana presents a continuing
problem. Numerous police departments
have educated their personnel to recognize the plant and have initiated local
campaigns to eradicate it from vacant lots and roadsides in localities where it
has been found growing. Many State
and city officers throughout the country have been quick to realize the dangers
of the drug and to assist in its suppression.
The
fact that the price of marihuana cigarettes is not prohibitive like that of
other drugs makes it a definite menace to the youth, who seem to be its chief
victims.
Chapter 9 - pages 213 - 222
NARCOTICS, CRIME, AND PUBLICITY
For
the past several years the general public has been bombarded with stories,
articles, pictures, programs, discussions, and speeches dealing with all phases
of drug addiction. Headlines such as
"Twenty-five Housebreaks are Charged to Drug Addict," "Doped
by Marihuana, Youth 'Goes Crazy in County Jail Cell," "Charge
Husband Killed Wife During Marihuana Brawl," "Teen-Age Drug
Addict Ring Uncovered," "Gang of
Marihuana-Crazed Hoodlums Leaves Bloody Trail," "Accused
Killer Tells of 'Marihuana Fog,'" "Killer
Tells of Smoking Marihuana Before Hold-Up," and "Police
Seize 'Reefers' in Gang Raid," have become commonplace in our daily
press. Radio and television shows
have featured the dope fiend, and publishers of cheap fiction have not hesitated
to use indefensible and lurid stories involving addicts to enhance their sales.
The wrong kind of publicity on narcotics might be divided into three
classes:
1.
Sensational material designed to promote sales;
2.
Misguided use of material;
3.
Inaccurate reporting.
SENSATIONALISM
Morally,
there is no excuse for the existence of the first type, and it exists legally
because of the traditional American distaste for censorship.
Those who publish such material are fully aware of the nature of their
acts but as practical men, know that there are ten weak souls who win devour
such droppings as against one alert citizen who will be sufficiently aroused to
complain. Such promoters know only
too well how valuable from a sales angle an official condemnation can be.
One candidly admitted, "We do anything to
provoke some criticism because that always makes the sales rocket."
In
recent months, a Congressional Committee conducted hearings in connection with
some of these indefensible publications. Among
the sordid collection of books was one which was termed "a manual for
potential drug addicts." Publications
directed to the sensory and bestial characteristics of humanity are
unquestionably degrading, but when they embark on a field of material which can
cause impressionable young people to acquire the most degenerate habit known to
man, it is time to call a halt. If
our lawmakers cannot remedy the situation, a tight embargo by the general public
on the particular company or author will. Fiction
alone has no monopoly in this field, because the purveyors of corruption have
not hesitated for a moment to invade the youngster's
comic books and 'funny' sheets. Furthermore,
sponsors and radio stations who should know better, on occasion have foisted
amazingly disreputable "dope fiend" pictures into the living room.
MISUSE
OF MATERIAL
By
misguided material is meant writings or pictures which are well intended but
which, through inherent flaws or inaccuracies, hinder rather than help the
over-all situation. The bulk of the
material in this class consists of writings intended for education and
educational films and while the sales aspect is generally secondary, it is
undeniably there. If the many good
people who desire to help eradicate the evil would only realize first that this
is a highly specialized problem susceptible to discussion only after thorough
and intense research, they would commence with a far firmer foundation.
This is not a subject where writing flows without careful thought.
It is no field in which to experiment with unproved ideas, fanciful
suggestions, or curbstone opinions. One
of the more unfortunate aspects of the whole situation
has been created by the outpourings from pseudo-experts since the problem
of drug addiction has become widely publicized.
A few normally intelligent educators, who should know better, after a
cursory study, came forward with unbelievable conclusions and suggestions, some
of which were diametrically opposite to the views of life-long students of the
subject. However, the impact of
their views has been very small.
Fortunately
for the welfare of our country, the Motion Picture Producers Association of
America has a provision in their code governing the industry to the effect that
its members cannot produce films showing the narcotic traffic or drug addiction
in any form. Were it not for this
commendable self-imposed restriction by the motion-picture industry, the public
would be continually subjected to the presentation of numerous motion pictures
with a narcotic theme, with a strong potential increase in drug addiction.
From
time to time a few motion pictures on narcotics are made outside the code, but
their showing evokes so much protest from civic-minded individuals and groups
that they are usually withdrawn from circulation before they do much damage.
As
a case in point a highly reputable firm recently produced a film (not approved
by the Motion Picture Producers Association of
America) avowedly aimed at the problem of drug addiction and represented as
propaganda against the use of narcotics. The
film was intended for showing in secondary schools.
It opens with an intended educational approach in that it portrays the
plants opium, coca, and marihuana and explains the derivation of the
narcotic principles. Then a happy
school environment is portrayed while the commentator builds up the menace of
drug addiction. Next is seen
experimentation by groups of young people and
progression from marihuana smoking (including some technique) to
"Mainline" use of heroin. Scenes
follow this phase depicting the necessity of obtaining money to sustain
addiction by displaying the techniques of mugging and assaulting, and
shoplifting, proceeding to the furtive meetings of drug peddler and addict, and
the coercion of the addict into becoming a seller to support his addiction.
Comparatively mild withdrawal symptoms are displayed as the compelling
reason for continuance of the addiction. The
addict 'hero" is pictured as a good boy with a kind, sympathetic mother.
He has strayed into bad company ultimately leading to his downfall,
arrest for shoplifting, and discovery on his person of his "works" and
some capsules of heroin. Arraigned
before the juvenile Court in a tearful scene, he is placed on probation to
undergo a cure. The impression
gained of the cure is that it is pleasant, quick and certain, featuring
desirable occupational therapy, followed by a return to his former environment
where he is shunned by the good boys and girls.
Bearing
in mind that the production of this film was motivated by people of integrity
and with the best of intentions, it is unsuitable for exhibition to either
parents or children. Among the
inherent weaknesses of this approach are the following:
1.
It vividly pictures the appearance of growing marihuana which might lead
some youngsters to experiment.
2.
It portrays addiction as a disease of youth which might accidentally
occur in a normal and healthy environment. This
is inaccurate. It teaches the
technique of mugging, robbing, shoplifting, and the peddling of drugs.
4.
It shows the technique for smoking marihuana.
5.
It depicts the withdrawal of drugs as a mildly uncomfortable affair
rather than in its true, vicious light.
6.
It shows treatment merely as a pleasant occupational therapy.
7.
It conveys the impression that addiction can be cured like the measles
which is wholly incorrect. The
statistics on recidivism alone shatter that conclusion.
A
lot more could be said, but it would be redundant.
However, it seems reasonable to inquire why it is necessary to produce
such a picture. Does a solution to
this terrible problem demand that the general public and our youth be saturated
with knowledge no matter how indiscriminately it is ladled out?
Does this subject necessitate lurid and sensational treatment rather than
the careful and considered discussions attendant on such ills as sex perversion
and syphilis? Certainly no one would
want to drench the American public with illustrations concerning the techniques
of sex perversion. Then why single
out drug addiction? Drug addiction
is sporadic and not widespread in the
United States
. Consequently, an avalanche of
educational material is unnecessary; it too often arouses curiosity and leads to
addiction.
PROBLEMS
OF REPORTING
Inaccurate
reporting generally stems from a definite lack of knowledge concerning
narcotics, incorrect sources of information, or a desire to put color in an
otherwise drab story.
Many
stories have been founded on bad information, which is certainly no news to
anyone. However, in addition to the
usual unintentional misinformation which can befall any reporter, there have
been many cases where an accused or his legal advisor has purposely conveyed the
impression that the culprit was under the influence of dope when the crime
occurred.
In
one absolutely unjustifiable killing of an aged grocer and the wounding of his
wife and a customer in the store during the hold-up, no mention of marihuana use
or influence was made until the defendants retained counsel to defend them
against the State's demand for a death penalty.
Newspapermen, leaping to the bait, immediately began to write positive
stories blaming the crime on marihuana, and within a few days it became an
accepted fact that the root of the crime had been marihuana.
Worse yet, there was even a demand from one civic group that the
defendants be treated as sick people rather than criminals---that they be
hospitalized rather than tried for murder. The
true fact, as admitted later, was that defense counsel saw no way to avert a
conviction, and hence was trying to save his clients from the death penalty by
injecting the alibi that the crime had been committed while they were under the
influence of marihuana and hence were not responsible for their acts.
Ultimately, the alibi collapsed for want of proof and the defendants were
sentenced to death.
This
story is not an isolated example of felons attempting to claim the use of
marihuana as the escape hatch from an extreme penalty, for official files are
replete with them. But it does point
up the need for more diligent investigation on the part of reporters.
City editors who find a speculative mention of marihuana in a reporter's
story would be doing a great public service if they would refuse to use it in
their headlines. One reporter on a Southwestern
newspaper pointed out that there was a suspicion of marihuana use in a
case. Next
day the headlines read, "Gang of Marihuana Crazed Hoodlums Leave Bloody
Trail." Questioned, the
scribe had nothing tangible on the marihuana angle and claimed that the heading
had been composed in the editorial room.
Several
years ago a story appeared in a Midwestern paper
headlined, "Doped by Marihuana, Youth 'Goes Crazy' in County jail Cell."
It sounded interesting in print and quoted the jailor(sic) at length on the
evils of marihuana. When checked the
jailor denied even mentioning marihuana and the reporter stated that he had had
no information regarding marihuana but had simply written the story as a humor
story because the jailor was "quite a character."
The
foregoing comments are predicated on actual case histories and exemplify
publicity of a type certainly not designed to help law enforcement officials or
allay public hysteria. Fortunately,
this type of publicity has been in the minority.
Obviously, the few sensationalists whose only
interest in the subject of addiction is measured by its value to their sales,
will never stop such nefarious writings.
However, reporters, newscasters, publishers, writers, movie and
television producers can help if they so desire.
They can help by being sure they have all the true facts before a story
is published and by weighing carefully its news value against the impact it will
have on the public's well-being. Before
making a martyr out of a marihuana killer, his record should be checked, for the
chances are that he will have had criminal tendencies long before marihuana
appeared in the picture.
One
final thought for both producers and sponsors---stop building detective stories
around drug addicts. Generally the
facts are distorted, the plots abominable, and the youngsters' curiosity
improperly and unduly aroused thereby. One
fact is inescapable---unless the subject of narcotics and its criminal offshoots
are treated with utmost care and accuracy, more damage than good can result.
REPORTS
AND RESOLUTIONS
EXCERPTS
FROM O.C.1642, DATED
GENEVA
,
MAY 18,1936
LEAGUE
OF NATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC IN OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS
Anti-Narcotic
Education and Propaganda
The
most striking feature of the replies from the governments [*] interested in
measures for combating drug addiction is the divergence of opinion as to the
direct and indirect means of action. For
instance, the Government of Siam in its Annual Report for 1933 felt that direct
propaganda by means of posters, films, and lectures was not likely to be
successful, quite apart from the expenditure incurred, but was more likely to
stimulate unwholesome curiosity than to act as a salutary warning.
This being so, no propaganda was done in
Siam
.
In
the
Straits Settlements
and the
Federated Malay States
, as also in
Siam
, the Government does not resort to direct action or propaganda but adopts
indirect methods, the improvement of social conditions and the provision of
playing fields---measures which the authorities believe to be really effective.
As regards this negative attitude towards direct propaganda, the
Commission of Enquiry into the Control of Opium Smoking in the
Far East
was informed in the official reply of the Burmese authorities that no
educational measures had been taken to discourage the smoking of opium.
Such steps were considered undesirable as they might advertise the use of
opium for smoking and stimulate curiosity as to the effects.
In
the
Straits Settlements
, The Director of Education of the colony also expressed the view at that time
"that it would be a mistake to carry on propaganda by education against
opium smoking among boys, which would have the reverse effect of that
intended."
Lastly,
the authorities in Siam told the Commission that anti-opium education would be
unnecessary, would do no good and might do some harm by attracting attention to
opium smoking.
As
will be seen, there is a divergence of opinion as to direct and indirect means,
even in the territories in which the opium problem is of primary importance.
It is not surprising, therefore, that in the countries in which opium and
drug addiction are far less widespread all educational methods or direct
propaganda should be open to controversy and grave objection.
EXCERPT
OF REPORT BY UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS TO THE ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL,
MAY 2,1951
Education
and Propaganda
Against
the Use of Narcotic Drugs
On
the basis of a draft resolution submitted by the representative of
France
, the Commission discussed the advisability of education and propaganda against
the use of narcotic drugs. After a
general discussion, the representative of the Secretary-General gave the
Commission an account of the work done by the
League of Nations
on the problem, with special reference to the resolution adopted by the
Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs on
June 2, 1936
, in which it was stated" . . that propaganda in schools and other direct
propaganda should only be practiced in certain countries where addiction is a
substantial problem. In other
countries where addiction is, on the contrary, sporadic, such propaganda would
be definitely dangerous . . ." (League of Nations Document C.290.M.
176.1936.XI.) The Commission, after introducing some amendments into the draft
with the object of bringing its terms into conformity with the point of view
expressed by the Advisory Committee, decided by 10 votes in favor and I (Russia)
against to recommend to the Council the adoption of the following resolution:
EDUCATION
AND PROPACANDA
AGAINST
THE USE OF NARCOTIC DRUGS
The
Economic and Social Council,
Being
informed that the question of anti-narcotic education and propaganda has arisen
in various countries,
1.
Considers it advisable to restate the principle adopted by the Advisory
Committee on Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs of the League of Nations, namely,
that propaganda in schools and other forms of direct propaganda can be with
advantage employed only in certain countries where drug addiction has assumed
widespread proportions (China, Iran, India, and Thailand); and that in other
countries where it is of a more sporadic character (European countries and
countries of the North American continent), such measures would be definitely
dangerous, and
2.
Draws the attention of governments to this principle.
RESOLUTION
Passed
by National Convention of
NATIONAL
WOMANS CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE
UNION
at
Denver
,
Colorado
,
September
1950.
NARCOTICS-WHEREAS,
during the past year the narcotic drug theme as presented to the public in
numerous motion pictures, radio and television programs, and magazine and
newspaper articles, has deteriorated to the point where public welfare is being
endangered; and
WHEREAS,
the indiscriminate dissemination, particularly to the youth, of material
dramatizing the use of narcotic drugs and traffic therein, serves no purpose
except to satisfy morbid curiosity, and is and always has been considered
contrary to the public interest in the United States; since its effect is the
reverse of that intended because it advertises the use of narcotics for
non-medical purposes, thus developing unwholesome interest regarding the effect
of narcotics, on the part of impressionable persons who would not otherwise be
inclined to pursue the subject or to experiment with such dangerous substances;
and
WHEREAS,
the international authorities on narcotic drug control likewise have always
maintained that direct propaganda on the subject should be used only in
countries like those in the Far East where addiction is rampant, but in
countries like the United States direct propaganda is dangerous because, instead
of diverting young people from addiction, it tends to awaken interest and arouse
undue curiosity, thus defeating its own object; and
WHEREAS,
the United States Bureau of Narcotics reports that the results they have noted
of the recent distribution of "educational" material on the narcotic
drug traffic have served to emphasize the soundness and desirability of these
views;
THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED, THAT THE NATIONAL WOMANS CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION use its
influence wherever possible to discourage the indiscriminate use of stories
based on the narcotic theme as presently exploited in motion pictures, radio and
television programs and in certain types of magazine and newspaper articles, all
of which have the effect of increasing rather than lessening the hazards which
lead to drug addiction.
Similar
policy statements have been adopted by Parents-Teacher
Associations, General Federation of Womens Clubs,
by the City Council of Baltimore, Maryland, and others.
For
those who decide to go ahead with an educational program the Bureau of Narcotics
recommends a booklet "Living Death---The Truth about Drug Addiction,"
as the most suitable material available. This
booklet can be obtained free of cost from the Bureau in
Washington
.
[*]
The Advisory Committee secured lengthy reports on the subject from the 68
Governments parties to the 1931 Convention To Limit the Manufacture of Narcotic
Drugs, before the Committee reached a decision.
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