Reefer Madness to Marijuana Legalization

• DOI: 10.1177/0022042616659762
• Author: Richard J. Stringer,Scott R. Maggard
• Date: 01 October 2016
• Published date: 01 October 2016
• Subject Matter: Articles

Journal of Drug Issues

2016, Vol. 46(4) 428 –445

© The Author(s) 2016

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042616659762

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Article

Reefer Madness to Marijuana

Legalization: Media Exposure

and American Attitudes Toward

Marijuana (1975-2012)

Richard J. Stringer1 and Scott R. Maggard1

Abstract

American attitudes toward marijuana have varied greatly from the time it was criminalized in

the 1930s through the present day, and public opinion favoring the legalization of marijuana

has steadily risen since 1990. It is generally well accepted that the media played a large role in

shaping not only marijuana laws but also the general public’s attitudes toward marijuana. As

such, this study utilized General Social Survey data to examine the relationship between media

exposure and attitudes toward the legalization of marijuana from 1975 through 2012, 1975

through 1990, and 1991 through 2012. The findings indicate that while media exposure was

not significantly related to attitudes about marijuana legalization from 1975 through 1990, both

television and newspaper exposure had a significant positive relationship with favor toward the

legalization of marijuana from 1991 through 2012.

Keywords

marijuana, marijuana legalization, media, public opinion

Introduction

If you believed the media in the 1930s, you may have thought that opium, morphine, and heroin

were dangerous drugs, but “even more dangerous, more deadly, than these soul destroying drugs

is the menace of marijuana” (Gasnier, 1936). However, media coverage about marijuana differs

greatly today from the negative horror stories of the 1930s Reefer Madness era when marijuana

was first outlawed. In addition, public opinion about marijuana has also diverged greatly from

earlier decades, and today much of society favors the legalization of marijuana (Caulkins,

Hawken, Kilmer, & Kleiman, 2012b). In fact, there has been a fairly consistent increase in the

trend toward favor of legalization since 1990. This period also marks a significant turning point

in media attention to marijuana as well (Gonzenbach, 1996; Schwartz, 2002; Stryker, 2003). As

such, this study examined the effects of media exposure on American attitudes about the legaliza-

tion of marijuana from 1975 through 2012, as well as the shift in this relationship in 1990.

Prior to 1936, concern over marijuana was mainly concentrated in a select few cities such as

New Orleans, and the general public’s concern about drugs was focused on other drugs such as

1Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Richard J. Stringer, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA.

Email: rstringe@odu.edu

659762JODXXX10.1177/0022042616659762Journal of Drug IssuesStringer and Maggard

research-article2016

Stringer and Maggard 429

cocaine and opiates that were thought to be dangerous (Armstrong & Parascandola, 1972). Even

Harry Anslinger, the Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and “the world expert” on

drugs, regarded it as a nuisance drug, unworthy of his organization’s time and energy (Carroll,

2004, p. 65). He believed that efforts should be concentrated on controlling more dangerous

drugs such as cocaine and opiates. In fact, marijuana was almost completely ignored until January

1936 when a Reorganization Act was introduced that would have forced Harry Anslinger out of

his position and dissolved the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (Carroll, 2004).

At this point, the rhetoric and sentiments toward of marijuana started to shift. Possessing little

to no scientific or medical knowledge, Anslinger began to “fabricate horror stories connecting

drug use to violent crime” (Carroll, 2004, p. 66). He was associated with the creation and/or

exploitation of many educational films and articles about marijuana such as Assassin of Youth,

Marihuana, the Weed with Roots in Hell, and Tell Your Children (later named Reefer Madness) in

1936 (Boyd, 2009). In one article, he called marijuana “as dangerous as a coiled rattlesnake” and

told a story of a Florida man who, after smoking marijuana, killed his family with an ax (Anslinger

& Cooper, 1937, p. 18). This shift in the marijuana rhetoric led to the first federal marijuana leg-

islation, The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, on October 1, 1937 (Carroll, 2004; Faupel, Horowitz, &

Weaver, 2010). This legislation criminalized marijuana possession without a federal tax stamp.

However, because this tax stamp was unattainable, all marijuana became illegal.

Because many people in the United States do not have a great deal of direct knowledge about

illicit drugs, they tend to get their information from the most common, easily accessed source, the

mass media (Gelders et al., 2009). The generation born in the 1920s grew up with little direct

knowledge and significant animosity toward drugs (Musto, 1999), and all pre-baby boom cohorts

grew up during a time of great negativity toward drugs (Kandel, Griesler, Lee, Davies, &

Schaffsan, 2001). The media has great impact on public opinion, plus it has the ability to influ-

ence vast numbers of individuals and is conducive to influencing the collective definition of a

particular situation. The media is known for portraying the worst case scenarios, placing a nega-

tive spin on an event, and exaggerating the issues to sell news (Faupel et al., 2010; Goode, 1999).

Kappeler, Blumberg, and Potter (1993) described the mass media as “one of the largest and most

powerful mythmakers,” and these myths tend to fill gaps in the knowledge to unanswered ques-

tions by the social sciences, thus influencing our social reality (p. 3-4).

Prior research has established a link between the media and public opinion about drugs.

However, few studies have examined this phenomenon longitudinally. Public opinion about mari-

juana today is greatly different from those held in the 1930s Reefer Madness era when marijuana

was first outlawed. In recent years, media coverage about marijuana has been vast and differed

greatly from the negative horror stories of the 1930s. Some differences are the coverage of the

various medicinal uses of marijuana in the mainstream media, state-level legalization, public fig-

ures admitting to prior use, the costs of enforcement, changes in the attitudes of medical profes-

sionals, and the perceived harms and benefits associated with the use of marijuana. These changes

could easily represent a change in both opinions about marijuana, and the media’s relationship

with opinions about marijuana. Because prior research has shown a decrease in anti-drug media in

the late 1980s and an increase in coverage related to the positive medical uses of marijuana in the

early 1990s, this study will look at the periods before and after 1990 separately (Gonzenbach,

1996; Schwartz, 2002; Stryker, 2003). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects

of media exposure on American attitudes about the legalization of marijuana from 1975 through

2012, and to examine any differences in the relationship during the periods before and after 1991.

Literature Review

Prior research has illustrated that many factors are related to opinions toward the legalization of

marijuana. Research also demonstrates how the media may have influenced public opinion which