Editorial: Cannabis and the courts: Expungement is an important step forward; Maryland should keep going
Ioana Stoica
Read the editorial in the Baltimore Sun by JOTF senior policy advocate Kam Bridges on cannabis history and Maryland legislative efforts during the 2023 Session.
“Marijuana is racist. Not the drug itself, but the word. Derived from Mexican slang for cannabis, “marihuana” was not originally an established part of the American lexicon. But that changed when Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in the U.S. Treasury Department, began to use the foreign sounding term in a concerted effort to stigmatize cannabis usage by connecting it to Mexicans. While his tactics specifically targeted Mexicans, his racist motivations were much broader. He is quoted as saying, “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men. The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” …
Ioana Stoica
