`` Reefer Madness `` An Act Of Young People From Using...

â€Å"Reefer Madness† As an act to discourage young people from using cannabis, the government released the film Reefer Madness. The 1936 propaganda film revolves around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by â€Å"pushers† to try marijuana. The film was very successful and by 1937, 46 states had laws outlawing marijuana use. The movie shows events from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, hallucinations, and descent into madness due to marijuana addiction. Coined phrases such as, â€Å"The devil s harvest† and â€Å"an assassin of youth that would inflict tokers with a new medical condition called Reefer Madness, curable only by sobriety† instilled fear and a new perspective into much of†¦show more content†¦Theodore Roosevelt declared in a 1910 speech that the government should be â€Å"the steward of the public welfare.† Efforts of the progressive movement were 3 fold. The first was to make government c leaner, less corrupt, and more democratic. The 2nd was attempts to amend the effects of industrialization. The last were efforts to rein in corporate power. Progressivism grew out of dismay and a desire to fix what many saw as a broken system. (Swinth). â€Å"Its first effect is sudden violent uncontrollable laughter, then come dangerous hallucinations†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is how the propaganda film Reefer Madness begins. As the screen slowly fades from black to a scene portraying what looks more like a scene from a horror movie than a group of teenagers hanging out. Even from the first scene the film aims to put a sense of fear into the audience s mind. These â€Å"hallucinations† that the film speaks of were a huge part of turning people against marijuana use. Harry J. Angling used many different tactics including hallucinations to demonize pot. He was notorious for saying radical, very racist, quotes. He once said, â€Å" 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