Reefer Madness- 1936

[Miss Brill]

I used to watch it on the USA network as a kid. Even then I thought it was supposed to be a joke. I hated it.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I never liked Reefer Madness. It has it's moments, but I always thought it was kind of boring and I've only watched it once. I prefer Marihuana (1936).

 

[reetpleat]

I avoided the musical. How can something intentional be anywhere near as good as unintentional? I love the film though for three reasons. One, great clothing. Two, funny. Three, those party scenes look like so much fun. If I could go to a party where everyone was getting so wild, there was hot music being played live, and everyone was dressed vintage, man I would be in heaven.

Saw an interesting segment on the history of drugs on some cable channel. Very interesting. Most drug laws were passed for reasons not all to do with any threat of drugs. In fact, so they say, the anti marajuana laws wer eall about oppressing and villifying Mexicans in an attempt to get rid of the laborers who were more than welcome in the twenties, but not in the thirties. The border states started passing laws, then Hearst jumped in, then some politicians who were connected to hearst and voila, reefer maddness was born.

Please do not take this as any desire to discuss immigration or the right or wrong or even the truth of it really. I am just repeating what the documentary said as it pertains to the efforts to villify and ban mj with movies such as this one.

 

[carebear]

Do a little more digging and you'll find most such campaigns in US history, while outwardly justified by "public health or morals or safety" reasons, have explicitly (and only lightly disguised) racist roots.

Political double-speak and hypocrisy is nothing new, unfortunately.

 

[Doctor Strange]

It's a hoot. I remember seeing it on a PBS series of the late 70s/early 80s called Films Of Persuasion. During the introduction, host Richard Shickel's final comment was the old WWII instruction, "Smoke if ya got 'em."!

 

[Rooster]

I've seen it a couple times in the past year. Entertaining little show.

 

[A.R. McVintage]

Always heard the "marijuana" banning came about because of a smear campaign by Hearst in the Hemp vs. Cotton wars.

Not because of unwanted Mexicans.

 

[Fletch]

Du Pont and Mellon interests may also have been behind it. Harry Anslinger, chief of the Bureau of Narcotics from 1930, had links to both families, who were chary of competition from cheap, industrial hemp.

 

[RondoHatton]

I have met Lillian Miles' (Blanche) son John, only recently learned his ma was in one of the leading roles. That media whore Anslinger was jealous of J. Edgar and wanted public worship of himself, even planning a nation wide dragnet of jazz musicians inc'l. Louis Armstrong. He and Hearst can share the same wing of hell with the Axis powers, IMHO.

 

[catsmeow]

I haven't had the opportunity to see Reefer Madness yet. It's hard to find. It always gets stolen at the video stores! ha! ha!

I've seen "The Delinquents" -1957- the scene where he's suppose to be drunk is hilarious.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050302/

Will try and get that Reefer Madness and those other propaganda druggie movies. classics!

 

[cooncatbob]

I haven't had the opportunity to see Reefer Madness yet. It's hard to find. It always gets stolen at the video stores! ha! ha!

I've seen "The Delinquents" -1957- the scene where he's suppose to be drunk is hilarious.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050302/

Will try and get that Reefer Madness and those other propaganda druggie movies. classics!

Back in the day the local Head Shop had reprints of the movie poster.
"Weed with roots in Hell" Funny stuff, we used to watch it smoke some and try to giggle like the characters in the movie. lol
Edit. That was the other movie Marihana.

 

[carebear]

I haven't had the opportunity to see Reefer Madness yet. It's hard to find. It always gets stolen at the video stores! ha! ha!

I've seen "The Delinquents" -1957- the scene where he's suppose to be drunk is hilarious.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050302/

Will try and get that Reefer Madness and those other propaganda druggie movies. classics!

You might try the library.

 

[dr greg]

where's there's smoke

Wasn't it also a factor that the repeal of prohibition had meant there was a whole lot of agents sitting round with virtually nothing to do, so a new bogeyman had to be found to keep them all employed, and Anslinger was put to work demonising pot heads, who at that time were mostly poor and black?

 

[ShortClara]

I wonder if "Weird Orgies, Wild Parties and Unleashed Passions" are supposed to make me not want the drugs?

I wonder what makes an orgy "weird"?

 

[carebear]

Wasn't it also a factor that the repeal of prohibition had meant there was a whole lot of agents sitting round with virtually nothing to do, so a new bogeyman had to be found to keep them all employed, and Anslinger was put to work demonising pot heads, who at that time were mostly poor and black?

That's also been reasonably documented as part of the reason for the passage of the National Firearms Act of 1934. To create something else for the "Revenuers" to enforce, and to assist in keeping firearms out of the hands of socialists (usually poor and immigrant) and blacks.

Just like the drug laws, all in the name of "public safety" and "for the children" which excused all sorts of lies and propaganda and demonizing of opponents.

 

[carebear]

I wonder if "Weird Orgies, Wild Parties and Unleashed Passions" are supposed to make me not want the drugs?

I wonder what makes an orgy "weird"?

Come to one of mine. You'll know it's going on when you see the freak flag fly.

 

[panamag8or]

I haven't had the opportunity to see Reefer Madness yet. It's hard to find. It always gets stolen at the video stores! ha! ha!

Nah, I bet people just forgot they had rented it.lol

 

[Story]

Of tangential interest

GENEVA (AFP) — Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the now-banned hallucinogenic drug LSD that was an icon of the Hippy movement, has died at the age of 102, authorities said Wednesday.
*
In 1938 while working on ergot, a fungus that attacks grain, Hofmann isolated the German-named "Lysergsaeure-Diaethylamid," or lysergic acid diethylamide.

Five years later, while working in his lab, Hofmann spilled some synthesised LSD onto his hand.

The effects were immediate: suffering from dizziness, the scientist cycled home and pedalled into his first "trip."

 

[Real Swell Gal]

I just laugh and laugh at that movie.

 

[The Wolf]

Some characters in the movie just laugh and laugh also. Hmmm.

Sincerely,
The Wolf