How To Popularize Drugs In The 70's

The time: the 1960s. The place: United States of America. Who? The youth. Doing what? Using drugs. Why? Many reasons. The 1960s proved to be a very turbulent time in the history of American youth growing up. There were many different activist movements all over the country. The primary drug user was the male college student involved in politics. He used mostly marijuana, some cocaine or LSD and of course alcohol. The sixites culminated with perhaps the biggest public scene of drug use ever: Woodstock. American youth in the sixties turned to drugs for a variety of reasons including the Vietnam War, the feeling of rebellion, activist movements, and the general pleasure-oriented society.

because of the Mexican Revolution. These immigrants brought along a new culture and customs one of them being the use of Marijuana as a medicine and relaxant. Marijuana which had been known as “cannabis” by Americans was not illegal in the U.S. and was in fact commonly used for industrial and medical purposes. Citizens in the Western states were uneasy of the newcomers and with rising tensions in those states it was not a difficult task for the media to take advantage of the citizen’s unease and pit them against the newcomers and their customs. Harry Anslinger, who is considered the father of the war on weed was a prominent figure of prohibition during the time, used the media to demonize marijuana by using racist tactics. He made several racist claims such as, “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S. and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others”(huffpost.com). In succeeding in painting the Mexican immigrants in a bad light, the media also managed to arouse people’s fear towards the unknown effects of Marijuana The outlawing of marijuana would provide authorities with an opportunity to control Mexican immigrants.( Although the prohibition of marijuana was founded on racism one has to wonder if things are really the same today. Facts have continuously managed to show that

In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, there is a drug used and mentioned throughout the story called Soma. The characters have been conditioned by birth that Soma is always the answer when you feel alone or sad. This drug is used so people can go on "holidays" from their reality and is used as payment for the lower caste groups. People want Soma because they go on these highs and live in their "Heaven" to escape reality. After all, they do call Soma "All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects"(Huxley 54). Soma becomes a tool to control the people in society.

Marijuana during the 70’s was viewed much differently then it is today. Twenty-Seven states approve for new medical studies, and consequential turn out of those convicted of using the most commonly used drug in the world, is making the United States change their opinion on the subject. The most debatable question going on right now in this question about Marijuana is: Whether or Marijuana should be legalized based on how it effects people’s health, its resourcefulness to medicine, and the contribution to the country?

Introduction - Use of psychoactive substances for recreational purposes is not a radically new social issue. In fact, history tells us that almost every society had their own pharmacopeia of herbs, potions, and substances that not only contributed to healing, but also allowed the user to escape reality (Schules 1992, 4-5). However, it is the contemporary use of psychoactive drugs purchased through illicit or illegal channels and used by persons neither prescribed nor in quantities larger than necessary that defines modern drug abuse (Robins 2006). Prior to World War I, substances like morphine, heroin, and cocaine were available in the major American cities, particularly those with active international ports. For instance, when Chinese immigrants were first imported to work in the mines and railroads during the early 1800s, they brought opium to America. It was the leisure class, who began to experiment with this drug, and, as in Europe, many major U.S. cities had so-called opium dens. In addition, there were a substantial number of "society women" who ended up addicted because their doctor prescribed this drug to deal with female histrionics or to "cure" an excessive sexual appetite (Johnson 2002). Within major cities, this problem began to spill over into other groups: prostitutes, child laborers, orphans, and even men and women of lower social classes seeking to escape the harshness of their lives (Courtwright 2002, 3-19). Between the widespread use and general

The stigma of marijuana started in the 1930s when it was first prohibited nationwide, but since then, the stigma has changed quite drastically to the point where the sigma could be completely eradicated in the near future. The stigma that was created from the prohibition of marijuana is something that still affects every American today. In a brief history of the stigma, it can be traced back to the 1930s where its prohibition would begin, by the 1960s, no one would do it in their right mind because it was closely related to the anti-war protest/hippie movement, and finally by the mid-1990s, it would become legal in a few states for medical purposes. Since the 1990s, the stigma has really changed to the point where Americans are on the verge to the end of the 80+ year prohibition of the substance. (Hari, Johann) The stigma can really be defined by almost anything from marijuana’s relationship to a certain group, to the propaganda that defined it in the 1950s. Even though these are important factors contributing to the stigma, the most influential factors is its legality and of course, what marijuana means to people during the time period they are living. Marijuana’s stigma was obviously different in the 1960s than it is today for Americas and this trend of constantly changing definitions of the stigma will probably continue even after its legalization. The stigma of marijuana today is based on its legality and the growth of marijuana as a whole in the last decade.

Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis

Another exceedingly referenced individual is a classic man whose culture has cannabis deeply rooted in their beliefs. Bob Marley could be reflected as one of the most iconic figures in marijuana culture. I believe this to be the case because Bob Marley did not consume in a typical way. He was very nonchalant about it and certainly was a pioneer in cannabis culture. Marley believed and practiced Rastafarianism, which can be viewed as a religion or culture. Rastafarianism holds strong beliefs in the use of cannabis. According to Murrell, “The ritual smoking of marijuana (ganja) also plays an important role in Rastafarian life. This “holy herb” is highly valued for its physical, psychological and therapeutic powers” (1998). These deeply rooted beliefs made Bob Marley stay genuine throughout his life. He truly embraced cannabis and throughout his influential celebrity status he kept it in a positive light. There is speculation that during the Vietnam War, many protestors of the war were cannabis users, so the Nixon Campaign began the war on drugs specifically targeting cannabis users to decrease protestors. With governments targeting cannabis culture a lot

The rise of illegal drug use that began in the 1960s was accompanied by the growing opinion that drug use should be legalized. This feeling remained strong though the middle of the 1970s when the existing research on drugs such as marijuana and cocaine did not clearly point to health hazards. Those who favored legalization thought that certain drugs could be used responsibly by most people who would otherwise be law-abiding or even model citizens. In other words, they believed most drug use to be a victimless crime.

The use of marijuana by Americans has been no secret; over the past century whether it has been legalized or not. It has only recently become a huge controversial issue in America in the past several decades. Marijuana was not outlawed in the United States until the 1930’s. By 1931, 29 US states had outlawed marijuana, but it wasn't until 1937, when congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, that the drug effectively became criminalized. In the early 1900’s marijuana was seen as an evil drug associated with Mexican immigrants; terrible crimes were attributed to marijuana and the Mexicans that used it. It wasn't until the 1960’s that attitudes towards marijuana became more relaxed. The drug started to be used for recreational fun in the white upper middle class. In the 70’s the drug took flight across the nation. With music festivals such as Woodstock and peace movements during the Vietnam War the drug became very popular. In 1996 California became the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana with the passing of Proposition 215. Within the following years several states began to decriminalize marijuana, and legalize marijuana for medical use, but it wasn't until last year that the states of Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for recreational use. With many states changing the laws on the use of marijuana it beings a problem for the federal government being that federally marijuana is still illegal. The use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes

The policy of barring the sale and use of marijuana is of immense public interest (Thornton). During 1960s-1970s, the number of middle-class marijuana users increased. Due to this rather greater acceptance of the drug, supporters of marijuana asked for the relaxation of U.S. laws regarding it. As a result, The Drug Abuse Prevention Act (1970) relieved

Marijuana has been widely viewed by many as a dangerous substance that had no benefits to society. It was criminalized by President Nixon in 1970 (LoBianco, 2016). "The war on drugs was created as a political tool to fight blacks and hippies" stated by John Ehrlichman. John Ehrlichman was one of President Nixon’s top advisors. He was also a major part in the Watergate scandal (LoBianco, 2016). Since the beginning of the modern day prohibition, it has always been surrounded with controversy. Ducatti-Flister (2012) stated that marijuana is the most used drug in the world. No wonder why it is also the most widely produced and trafficked drug than any other drug (Ducatti-Flister, 2012). Despite the billions of dollars spent on the war on drugs,

Many remember former president Richard Nixon for the Watergate Scandal, but one of his greater long lasting impacts was his effect on how America views Marijuana because of his “War on Drugs”. One of his advisors, John Ehrlichman, stated: “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up

In the country’s more recent history, known politicians have stepped to the podium and dealt with Marijuana. During the Kennedy administration in the 1960's, Vietnam was a major issue, and the public, especially college students, turned to marijuana to rebel. As this happened,

Moreover, the article “Media Representations of Drinking, Drug Use, and Smoking,” states, “Marijuana was the drug that appeared most often in these songs, with other references to crack and powdered cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogens.” For example, Three Six Mafia, a famous rap gang, promotes the use of marijuana by saying, “What's up Mary? Mary Jane since I have met ya girl you ruined my brain, you stole my heart, right from the start, so I broke you down, lil momma put you in the gar,” in their popular song “Weed, Blow, Pills.” Three Six Mafia is obviously introducing and encouraging the use of marijuana by making it sound amazing and unforgettable. Or how about the rapper Snoop Dogg? who has openly discussed his love of smoking weed to the media