Marihuana : a signal of misunderstanding first report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse.

  • United States. Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse.
Date:
[1972?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Marihuana : a signal of misunderstanding first report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The Need for Perspective This Commission has the task of exploring the marihuana contro- versy from as many vantage points as possible in its attempt to make sound, realistic and workable policy recommendations. Because we are dealing essentially with a complex social concern rather than a simple pharmacologic phenomenon, any social policy decision must discuss the realities of marihuana as a drug, marihuana use as a form of be- havior, and marihuana as a symbol. Particularly important is the determination of the longevity of the behavior. Are we dealing with a behavior that is becoming rooted in our culture or are we experiencing an aberration, a fad that will in time, of its own accord, pass away ? The vortex of the marihuana controversy is the present, but the prudent policy planner must not be blinded by the deluge of recent statistics. It is important that we scan the past for clues about the meaning of certain behavior and the promise offered by various social policy responses. We are convinced that a wider historical under- standing will also go a long way toward deflating marihuana as a problem. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE When viewed in the context of American society’s ambivalent re- sponse to the non-medical use of drugs, the marihuana problem is not unique. Both the existing social policy toward the drug and its con- temporary challenge have historical antecedents and explanations. Somewhat surprisingly, until the last half of the 19th century, the only drugs used to any significant extent for non-medical purposes in this country were alcohol and tobacco. American opinion has always included some opposition to the non- medical use of any drug, including alcohol and tobacco. From colonial times through the Civil War, abstentionist outcries against alcohol and tobacco sporadically provoked prohibitory legislation. One 18th century pamphleteer advised against the use of any drink “which is liable to steal away a man’s senses and render him foolish, irascible, uncontrollable and dangerous.” Similarly, one 19th century observer attributed delirium tremens, perverted sexuality, impotency, insanity and cancer to the smoking and chewing of tobacco. Despite such warnings, alcohol and tobacco use took deep root in American society. De Tocqueville noted what hard drinkers the Ameri- cans were, and Dickens was compelled to report that “in all the pub- lic places of America, this filthy custom [tobacco chewing] is recog- nized.” Nonetheless, the strain in our culture opposed to all non-medi- cal drug use persisted and in the late 19th century gained ardent ad- herents among larger segments of the population.