The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition

The legal status of cannabis has been in question in the U.S. since people starting regularly smoking it in the early 1900s. The debate continues today, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions taking a firm stance against legalization and insisting that federal prohibition laws be enforced, even where states have made it legal. But how did it become illegal in the first place? As it turns out, it has some roots in racist rhetoric pushed by politicians and the media in the 1930s, when it first became illegal.

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50 Comments

  1. Cindy Roll on February 19, 2020 at 10:27 am

    racism is alive and well in America…there is only one race, the HUMAN race. Harry Anslinger hated black people and he killed Billie Holliday.



  2. Saul Orosco on February 19, 2020 at 10:27 am

    Reconsider all federal laws ASAP



  3. Vj Avzone on February 19, 2020 at 10:28 am

    One word
    ‘MEDICINAL’
    🌱
    🙏🏼



  4. darren donovan on February 19, 2020 at 10:29 am

    whoever made this schedule 1 needs to try mescaline or what they had back in the 70s double barrel t pot is no gateway is in a class with alcohol



  5. ZuRriX on February 19, 2020 at 10:30 am

    1:19 – THOSE are teens? Damn.



  6. Gu Rue on February 19, 2020 at 10:34 am

    To legalize it, into a society who’s standards to a balanced life style, have been so severely compromised by the cultural engineers.Take into consideration the history of prohibition, the legalization of alcohol, look what it has done to an UNSTABLE society.Cannabis in its recreational use and its spiritual use is both harmless and beneficial, but to mix it with synthetic drug shit, that’s being sold and feed to the brain washed youth within the inner city’s isn’t a good idea.Those who are ready to legalize it, are also ready to cause chaos, they have already systemized it, and have added to candy, goodies and foods that are attractive to the very young.I say this, they have an agenda and its to their benefit, not yours. Be-wary, what you think is a blessing could be a scourge, everyone has a different response to a substance than everyone else, especially if their mixing it.GuRuE



  7. Ice dice on February 19, 2020 at 10:34 am

    We be on the job site and niggahs be smoking blunts every break



  8. Nick Khalifa on February 19, 2020 at 10:35 am

    #FuckHarryAnslinger



  9. 031doolittle on February 19, 2020 at 10:36 am

    wow…i thought german doctors explored the healing power of cannabis just a few years ago 😉
    racist origin …and becose of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C_2kiuOOHw



  10. John David Maher on February 19, 2020 at 10:37 am

    Never had wild orgiastic experiences when I used cannabis. I was lied to!



  11. R to the Izzy on February 19, 2020 at 10:39 am

    Mexico banned marijuana in 1920. They are 17 years more racist and the US.



  12. Wicket AND FRIENDS PARODY BiZ厶ЯЯо PRODUCTIONS on February 19, 2020 at 10:40 am

    Snapple fact#666: Wheat ATTICS will immediately be sodomized by south western Mongolian dope peddlers within seconds of exposure:/



  13. Krinkels on February 19, 2020 at 10:43 am

    I’m disappointed that this video only reached 31K viewers.
    YouTube’s algorithm systematically hiding this truth.
    They can’t remove this video because it’s educational and doesn’t violate any guidelines, but, they don’t let this video get to people’s recommended section nor in the main page, despite Business Insider channel having OVER 2 MILLION SUBSCRIBES.
    Coincidence? I think NOT!



  14. gnarmarmilla on February 19, 2020 at 10:44 am

    I think it’s unfortunate how some journalists like the ones here use LSD and MDMA as examples of why it is a farce for the government to put marijuana on the schedule 1 list. Please investigate the story on those two drugs, the lies are every bit as bad as they are in the anti marijuana movements.

    Both of those drugs will be wondrous and salubrious for people who use them correctly. They are good for the human body when used correctly.
    The government is lying about them as well.



  15. Magnum Opus on February 19, 2020 at 10:46 am

    Not racism… "Culturism"



  16. FetchBillionBarbie on February 19, 2020 at 10:46 am

    did that racist old white man really just say "go back to the 30s" to prove his invalid/wrong point lmao.



  17. AlgoBis on February 19, 2020 at 10:46 am


  18. Oforlikelalune on February 19, 2020 at 10:46 am

    People are such in denial about racism, I swear to God. This video isn’t saying that racism is the ONLY reason, but that it definitely is a factor.



  19. Albert Davila on February 19, 2020 at 10:48 am

    Its always the white folk messing everything up for everyone!!! First they demonize it, then they bring it back as their idea. Same with music like jazz or blues..



  20. Awkward Bow_Owner on February 19, 2020 at 10:49 am

    Big pharmacy would not profit if people uses marijuana instead of their drugs.



  21. Ur Mom on February 19, 2020 at 10:52 am

    If marijuana went legal in America it would absolutely destroy the alcohol and cigarettes industry because 1. Weed is healthier and safer than both Tobacco and Alcohol and 2. Because weed is kinda like alcohol and cigarettes in one just minus the bad effects and 3. Because marijuana can be used as medicine for psychological illness’s and it can be used to treat physical illness’s as well



  22. Barry Soetoro on February 19, 2020 at 10:52 am

    I WAS RIGHT?  IT IS SPELED WITH AN H …   IT MEANS CANNABIS !



  23. Richard 303 on February 19, 2020 at 10:52 am

    On August 2, 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Marihuana TaxAct of 1937, the first federal marijuana law, which prohibited the substance beginning in October of that year (yes, that’s how they spelled marijuana back then).



  24. Priya Maharaj on February 19, 2020 at 10:53 am

    The exact same thing is happening in South Africa, although cannabis is decriminalized and allowed for private use, it remains a schedule 1 drug. The race-related term "Dagga" is still used today. No man has any authority to ban anything God created!!! GEN 1:11 – "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good". Can I get an AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



  25. Peaceful Dusk on February 19, 2020 at 10:56 am

    "Weed with roots in hell…" LOL Oh those foolish Christians cannot even read their own bible. Genesis 1:29 "Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."

    Granted we do not always just eat weed like fruits and veggies but this means God created ALL PLANTS on Earth according to their precious bible.



  26. O GS on February 19, 2020 at 10:57 am

    Its not about racism, during the Vietnam War, the Nixon white house figured out that they could seriously harass and dismantle the two largest groups of people opposed to the war, namely blacks and hippies. All they had to do was make psychedelics and cannabis illegal. Cuz you cant make being black, hippie or againts the war illegal, this was the next best thing. This has been later confirmed by Nixon’s close staff as a fully conscious choice



  27. MrNastydread on February 19, 2020 at 10:59 am

    This is all off, Cannabis was introduced to the west when Indians where brought to the West indies and mixed with some of the Africans already there after reading the Bible realized it is to be used as a sacrament indoctrinated into to the religion of Rastafari.



  28. paul ryan on February 19, 2020 at 11:00 am

    Ten years ago it was called: ‘the war on drugs’ now that heroin has hit the white suburbs, it’s now called: ‘the opioid crisis ‘ …wtf?



  29. Arena Rat on February 19, 2020 at 11:00 am

    racist isnt why, its immigration



  30. GENERALL on February 19, 2020 at 11:02 am

    Basically the fear and propaganda!



  31. Justin Kaye on February 19, 2020 at 11:02 am

    great video



  32. Douglas Roach on February 19, 2020 at 11:09 am

    I want to leave a poo on Anslinger’s grave.



  33. TEAM NO SLEEP on February 19, 2020 at 11:09 am

    Lol pitiful



  34. squishy booty on February 19, 2020 at 11:10 am

    Im sure the Democrats were the ones who made it illegal. Always have had a racist history, want total government control, and dont embrace capitalism that comes from the legalization.



  35. VLOGZZ on February 19, 2020 at 11:13 am

    I’m confused…how is making a drug that is harmful to you and others illegal racist? And how is saying that minority groups more specifically black ppl are using the drug more than any other group of people racist?



  36. Clout Lord on February 19, 2020 at 11:13 am

    White people use bongs bowls carts and all that shit lol blacks and hispanics in the hood just smoke blunts



  37. Budget Bikes on February 19, 2020 at 11:14 am

    And don’t forget our drug war also paved the way for all western countries to follow us and outlaw drugs in their countries too. Millions on millions have been imprisoned for what I can now buy at one of many many stores. Whos going to answer for all the suffering?



  38. Eric Z on February 19, 2020 at 11:15 am

    In the words of the great Sir Smoke-a-lot. “Legalize this shit please”..🙏🙏🙏



  39. mario garcia on February 19, 2020 at 11:15 am

    FREE GODS PLANT 0 Deaths HAS HELPED NOT HURT NO ONE EVER BUT YOUR BROKEN laws HAVE much evil to good people this has done



  40. Murmad Man on February 19, 2020 at 11:15 am

    white people ruin everything



  41. Barry Soetoro on February 19, 2020 at 11:16 am

    Life in prison is what a South Texas couple is looking at after they got caught with 3 pounds and 500 viles of THC oil used in vape pipes that they bought legally in another state…. 4-23-19



  42. Tyra Stamps on February 19, 2020 at 11:17 am

    Black people smoked weed and talked to the gods and spirits they white get scared



  43. Kevin Do bs on February 19, 2020 at 11:17 am

    This video is such BS! It was made illegal due to cotton industries political connections so it was made illegal to take Hemp out of the market, NOT due to racism! Idiots!



  44. Dylon Ispithotfire on February 19, 2020 at 11:18 am

    Sure why not racism # 2019 lulz.



  45. Anon Anon on February 19, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Pot causes schizophrenia. Want to spend a life-time in a psych ward? Most people can smoke it without trouble. The risk is not worth it, though. How do you know if you are "most people." @ You cannot smoke pot with a person in a psyche ward who has pot-induced schizophrenia.



  46. JosephCecilHorne SmithJunior on February 19, 2020 at 11:19 am

    💟Beautiful and Cleanliness Healthy Helps HEAVEN!‼️💚 and Cannabis!❗️



  47. Smokey on February 19, 2020 at 11:20 am

    1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

    2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

    3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

    4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

    5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

    6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

    7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

    8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

    9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

    10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

    11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

    12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

    14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

    15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

    16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

    17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

    18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

    19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

    20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

    21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

    23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

    24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

    25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

    27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

    28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

    29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

    30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

    31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

    Genesis 1



  48. Ghostface X on February 19, 2020 at 11:21 am

    I wish someone would Destroy the Deceased Body Of Harry Anslinger so he will not be able to get resurrected from the Dead I say burn his Remains



  49. 420 OG on February 19, 2020 at 11:23 am

    "They" Deem The Ganja As, "Evil" and "A Dangerous Drug"! The Flower Is No Drug, It Is A Plant Put On This Earth By Jah! TO Call A Flower "Illegal" That God Gifted Humanity, then That Is Anti God. Government Is Anti Jah! Peace, Love, Jah Rastafari 💚💛❤️✌️✌️



  50. Tyler Durden on February 19, 2020 at 11:24 am

    I can say I once supported trump because I’m not really a big fan of Hilary but if he doesn’t address the cannabis laws I’d never board for em.. We need to legalize it just like alcohol 🍺… I live in Louisiana where they have more people in jail then anywhere in the world and majority of that is doing life for a little bit of weed because of the third strike rule!! Wee need to change this fast and also vote for a prison reform!!! Come on people!!!