Box Brown gives a pretty thorough account of how one of the most unfairly maligned drugs of all time arrived at its current perception in Cannabis: An American History.
Beginning with its ties to Hinduism, Brown explores the many ways that the drug was used in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries (ie. quack cures) before a racist politician called Harry J. Anslinger saw how widely used the drug was used amongst minorities and set out to ban it in the name of morality and public health.
Despite numerous tests going back to the 19th century, there’s never been solid evidence that cannabis is harmful. Yeah, some people can be a little panicked on it but that passes once they realise they’re not going to die and never were. Nevertheless, straight up lies (“it’s a gateway drug!”) and anecdotal stories got it in the same classification as cocaine and heroin!
Newspaper magnate and another racist scumbag, William Randolph Hearst, used his newspapers to propagate Anslinger’s lies, sway public opinion, and give the drug the bad reputation it had for years. Interestingly, I’d always heard that Hearst did this as hemp was a cheaper material to print newspapers on than paper and his investments in paper made him demonise and drive out this rival, but this isn’t mentioned in the book so perhaps, like so much else surrounding cannabis, that’s anecdotal too.
Brown’s art is simplistic but I like it and it’s an informative book, though it is also quite dull and not at all gripping to read. It’s like an overlong pamphlet that’s very dry and it was really easy for me to keep putting it down after reading just a few pages. The mark of great nonfiction is that it’ll engage the reader whether or not they have an interest in the subject; with Box Brown’s Cannabis, you’ve gotta be really interested in the subject to find this one riveting!
I totally agree though that cannabis should be legalized for a whole raft of reasons, not least to stop locking up way too many people for using a drug that’s benign and vastly more safe than legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco. Racism and corruption led to suffering for untold numbers of people - who knew, eh? Thankfully the attitude has been changing for some time in recent years and hopefully one day soon we’ll see legalization across the board and a better society for it.
Cannabis: An American History wasn’t for me but I would recommend Box Brown’s Andre the Giant instead.
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