Reefer Madness: Warning Marijuana causes Manslaughter, Murder, and Sexual Deviance

5 minute read 

Marijuana is a dangerous, highly addictive drug that can cause you to become so crazy that you just can't seem to control yourself. It can cause erratic behavior, uncontrollable sexual urges, and even murder.

Dun dun dun. 

First, if you couldn't tell, we are being completely sarcastic here at The Green Blazer, but many believed this narrative at one point in marijuana’s history. It all started with a film called  Reefer madness, made in the 1930s, warning parents about the intense side effects of cannabis. The plot goes how you would expect it to go. Teenagers get lured by pushers to buy weed, and ultimately these teens become addicted to the ganja. The antics that follow include attempted rape, murder, conspiracy to murder, hit and run, and manslaughter. 

You millennials out there might be wondering, "how did people believe this?" and "was this a real film?". Yes. It was. If you want a good laugh check out some clips here.  It make more sense when we look at the history of the film. The reason for the film has some dark roots; it all started with a real-life murder. 

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it: “Doped-up Murderer Gets High and Kills his Family”

In 1933 Victor Lacata murdered his mother, father, two brothers, and his sister after smoking marijuana. This one tragic crime prompted people in society to fear cannabis and its potential side effects. Rather than think of other logical explanations, politicians and churches jumped on the idea of banning marijuana and assumed that since Victor was a rather pleasant and quiet man, it HAD to have been the drug. Our logic in the 30s was just great! 🤣 Come on people. We all know it is the quiet ones. 

The church, which had a strong political hold at the time, decided to finance a movie called "Tell Your Children," which ultimately became "Reefer Madness". This was the church's idea to help stop children from smoking weed. It went about as successful as the D.A.R.E program. Teens continued to smoke weed and parents called it the “devil’s drug”. By the time the 70s rolled around, all pot smokers were hippies who society thought were low life dropouts. Luckily, the film Reefer Madness became more laughable with time. It is now known as one of the worst anti-drug campaigns ever made. Although we think it is hard to top Rachel Leigh Cook's video 😋. 

 Looking back on this story, we know a lot more about mental health today than we did previously. It is likely that Victor was either predisposed to a mental health disorder and thus committed the crime because he was already sick, or maybe the marijuana was laced with a more severe drug that caused him to be "dazed" and not remember what he did. Us blazers all know what it is like to feel NOID, but we don't forget what we are doing and act completely out of character. Unfortunately, however, there are still some people today that believe these wild claims about weed. 

Today's Reefer Madness 

There are still many people who believe that pot causes you to hallucinate, struggle to function in society and is highly addictive. Reefer Madness was just the start to the existing movies like Pineapple Express, Super Troopers, and Superbad. We at The Green Blazer love these movies, but they aren’t realistic. Since marijuana became legal and vape pens reduced the smell, we know that a lot of people smoke weed and you wouldn’t even be able to tell.

Another protection that is still in place today occurs with social media. Smoking products are not allowed to be advertised on almost all social media sites. It seems ridiculous to us that if cannabis and tobacco are so terrible, then why are they legal in most states? It just doesn't check out. We understand that tobacco has nicotine which is addictive, but either ban nicotine or let sellers advertise their products with a disclaimer. Cannabis, which is legal in 19 states, is not addictive, so really, there is no reason why people can't make their own decision about their drug choices. 

So what can we do? 

Vote. Be sure to vote for candidates that support your views on tobacco or cannabis and understand that the campaigns against smoking might not always be the most accurate. We hope that more states will legalize marijuana, and then we will not have to be concerned about people's misconceptions anymore. 

Either that or after federal  legalization, we will all just become hysterical and start a life of crime where we murder and sexually assault  people. Idk what do you think? 🤷

References: 

Cannalore. (2017, July 15). Tell your children, 1936. The Canna Chronicles. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.thecannachronicles.com/tell-your-children-1936/

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