An exploration of how the media has shaped stereotypes and stigma around marijuana and those who use it.
By : Allessandra Inzinna
How America Villainized Weed for Decades to Come
Even before the war on drugs, weed had already been having a bad couple of decades in the PR department. American media’s obsessive villainization of weed, and (almost) all those who partake, spans back about a hundred years, fueled by blatant racism and bureaucratic nonsense. Here’s how they did it…
How it started
Starting with the 1937 MariHuana Tax Act, weed came under legal attack. People who did not pay the hefty tax for their limited supply couldn’t legally buy it. It wasn’t totally illegal yet, but it definitely set the ball rolling. Newspapers touted weed as the drug that made “white women and black men have sex” and what the Latinx and black communities abused regularly, which effectively barred politicians from countering if they hoped for re-election.
A long line of committees and official bodies came forward after the act had passed and stated that weed had no physically addictive properties, nor presented itself as a gateway drug. It didn’t really matter though, the public’s mind had been made up.
Thanks, Nixon!
After Congress repealed the Marihuana Tax Act in 1969, they decided to replace it with tougher legislation. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 officially started the War on Drugs, spearheaded by the biggest buzzkill of the 20th century, former president Richard Nixon.
The goal of this law sounded responsible enough: “Improve the manufacturing, importation and exportation, distribution, and dispensing of controlled substances.” The bill categorized “easily abusable” drugs into schedules ranging from one (highest abuse potential) to five (lowest abuse potential). Attorney General John Mitchell — the same one who served a 19 month prison sentence for the Watergate scandal — placed weed alongside heroin, ecstasy and GHB as a Schedule 1 drug.
The Nixon administration criminalized weed to the highest extent for one simple reason: he wanted to publicly demolish those against the Vietnam War, who happened to be predominantly hippies and black people.
While this might be a disputed fact, it’s a fact nonetheless. Nixon’s former policy chief admitted the following to Harper’s magazine in 2016:
“We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
Once again, it didn’t matter that the Shafer Commission of 1972 found that weed posed no more risk than alcohol and suggested that its prohibition ended. Their minds had been made up.
A Lasting Problem
Despite public opinion on weed seeming to shift in recent years, with several states crossing the threshold from legal medical weed to legal recreational weed, many news outlets still associate weed with laziness and criminals.
A 2019 study found that out of 458 articles published between June of 2013 and July of 2014, 21 percent had attached pictures of stoner cliches such as a giant bong or passing a joint. Fifteen percent of the pictures alluded to criminal activity — often including racist imagery.
Weed in the media has gotten an unsavory reputation, often vilifying communities of color in the process even though white and black people smoke at similar rates.
Many media outlets still depict those who use weed as impulsive teenagers taking bowl hits in their parent’s basement, “That ‘70s Show” style; or dangerous drug dealers who wind up in life-threatening situations after getting mixed up in the world of marijuana, “Weeds” style; or stoner adults with reckless tendencies, “Dazed and Confused” style.
However, nearly 55 million American adults use weed to relax, sleep or to have fun. Not to mention those who partake to combat nausea (often associated with advanced stages of cancer or AIDS), chronic pain, epilepsy, ALS, Parkinsin’s disease, dementia or pain stemming from endometriosis.
And Now We’re Here
Weed is not the perfect drug. Irresponsible use can turn into a psychological addiction, especially for young people, those who suffer from poor mental health and those who aren’t plugged into society around them.
However, for those who smoke responsibly, addiction rates are far and few between. Studies estimate that about 4 million Americans have a weed dependency, compared to the 14.4 million Americans who have an alcohol dependency. But where’s the alcohol ban?
Around 84 percent of Americans supported the decriminalization of weed in 2019. The HarrisX Hill poll’s participants spanned across races, genders, ages and political isles. The cannabis industry is booming and is expected to grow from a $10.6 billion industry to a $97.85 billion industry by 2027, according to Fortune Business Insights. Thirty states have passed laws outlining legal marijuana use, and nine states allow recreational smoking, according to Way of Leaf.
Americans have started seeing weed in a new light, and it seems the media is dragging its feet to catch up.
