Reefer Madness
REEFER MADNESS
SKULL
THE MINOR STATES
Reefer Madness
HARRY ANSLINGER'S GORE FILE
THE MINOR STATES
OregonFlag IdahoFlag Rhode-islandFlag IndianaFlag KentuckyFlag
HawaiiFlag South Dakota Flag TennesseeFlag NevadaFlag MinnesotaFlag


SkullF This section is reserved for what we term, “The Minor States,” which (assuming you live in one of those states), is a good thing.   As it would mean that YES, some Reefer Madness tidbits did occur, BUT “Thank God” not that many.   And believe me, that IS A GOOD THING.

So as not to add insult to injury, the states listed below are not arranged in any particular order.

Indiana Flag     INDIANA
Having so few Gore File cases, one would think that Indiana would have been grateful for small favors.   However, despite having ONLY ONE official Gore File Case, (and a couple of maybes) a look over our pamphlet index section shows that Indiana’s State government was responsible for more Reefer Madness literature than many of the major States.   You figure!


MURDER OF ELDERLY DOPE PEDDLER
Name: Louis Dupee - Location: - Fort Wayne, IN   - Date: - July 20, 1936

What the Narc’s were claiming
Indiana - 1936 A fifty-year-old dope peddler was murdered in July 1936, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.   His police record included sentences for crimes ranging from petit larceny to murder, and he was killed by an assailant who cracked the peddler's head with a table leg, during an argument which developed when he accused two acquaintances of cutting into his dope racket.   He had been convicted twice for selling narcotics.   Approximately 4 pounds of MARIHUANA were seized from him and another man previous to his murder.   -- The Union Signal (WCTU) Jan. 30, 1937

Fort Wayne, Indiana - July 20, 1936 an underworld character known as Old Folks murdered one Louis Dupee., a Marihuana peddler.   Dupee, whose police record included sentences for crimes ranging from petit larceny to murder, was killed in an altercation over selling narcotics (Marihuana).   --- Review of the Illicit Traffic In The United States and the Philippine Islands In 1936

INDIANA - Ft. Wayne On March 12, 1936, Louis Dupee and George Robinson were arrested at Fort Wayne for possession of 9 pounds of marihuana.   They were held for prosecution.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File

Ft. Wayne, Indiana. July 1936.   Marihuana peddler, with record of crimes ranging from larceny to murder, killed by assailant during an argument.  Four pounds marihuana seized from him previous to murder.   --- Box9, File7 - PennState Collection

- Convicted twice for selling narcotics.   Approximately 4 pounds of MARIHUANA were seized from him and another man previous to his murder.   --- Box9, File7 - PennState Collection

A fifty-year old dope peddler was murdered in July 1936, in Fort Wayne, INDIANA.   His police record included sentences for crimes ranging from petit larceny to murder, and he was killed by an assailant who cracked his head with a table leg, during an argument [he] had when he accused two acquaintances of cutting into his dope racket.   He had been   --- Box9, File7 - PennState Collection
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
LOGANSPORT PHAROS TRIBUNE
[S]- July 20, 1936 p3 - “Dope Peddler Slain; Search for Suspect”
DOPE PEDDLER SLAIN; SEARCH FOR SUSPECT
“Fort Wayne, Ind. July 20 -- (UP) An underworld negro known as ‘Old Folks’ was being hunted here by police today in connection with the murder yesterday of Louis Dunee, 50 year old negro dope peddler.   Dupee whose police record included sentences for crimes ranging from petit larceny to murder, was killed by an assailant who cracked his head with a table leg.   Police believe the killing grew out of an argument when Dupee accused two acquaintences(sic) of en[ ]ing into his dope racket.   He had been convicted twice for selling narcotics.
[S]- July 21, 1936 p4 - “Suspect in Murder Wins His Release”


[Key-finder - Case #IN01]


TWO MEXICANS SELLING TO SCHOOL CHILDREN
Name: Frank Contres and Albert Galban - Location: - Bluffton, IN   - Date: - Oct 1935

What the Narc’s were claiming
INDIANA - Bluffton On October 3, 1935, Frank Contres and Albert Galban, Mexican beet workers, were sentenced to serve thirty days at the Indiana State Penal Farm upon their pleas of guilty to possession of cannabis indica (marihuana). The defendants were also fined $50 and costs, amounting to $60. in each case. The pair were arrested on a farm in Jefferson Township, Wells County, while they were allegedly in the act of stripping leaves off the marihuana plants,   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
The Waterloo Press
(Waterloo, Indiana)
[e]- October 10, 1935 - P1 - “SOLD TO PUPILS” (title may not be complete)
SOLD TO PUPILS
Two Mexicans Arrested at Bluffton While Harvesting the Drug Made cigarets for Children
---------------
The discovery that marijuana cigarets were being sold to school children at Bluffton Friday resulted in a vigorous campaign against the traffic in the weed.
Mayor Franklin Buckner, informed that peddlers were circulating the drug among school children, issued a warning to parents to support the campaign to stamp out the traffic.
Two Mexicans, Frank Contres and Albert Galban, were arrested while harvesting a crop of marijuana weed on a farm near Bluffton. The plant resembles ragweed. Harvesters dry the weed and strip the leaves, which are pulverized and mixed with tobacco. The men were sentenced to jail for ninety days.
[Case#IN02_Two Mexicans]


INDIANA's
UNSOLVED GORE FILE CASES & INCIDENTS:

NOT AN OFFICIAL FEDERAL GORE FILE CASES
INSANITY CAUSED BY
Another high school boy is in the insane asylum at Madison, Indiana, a raving maniac never more to breathe the fresh air and feel the sunshine of the farm, just because he joined a smoking party and got into the "habit."   -- KIWANIS MAGAZINE – Oct. 1938

A young man in Fayette county, Indiana, has gone insane from the use of marijuana or "dope" cigarettes.   He is now a crazed, wild boy gazing out of the windows of Madison Insane Hospital, his mind destroyed.   But for the coaxing of a vicious marijuana peddler, this boy would be working in the sunshine and the green fields of the home farm.   His life is broken, and he is only one of thousands being ruined in Indiana, Illinois and the Middle West by heartless, money-grabbing "dope" rings.   -- The Prairie Farmer - July 30, 1938

MUSEUM COMMENT
We have only been able to track down the following about the case and nothing more.
  • MADISON STATE HOSPITAL
           [ Was initially called the ‘Southeastern Hospital for the Insane’]
  • Was located in Madison, Indiana
  • the Superintendent at the time would have been a Dr. James W. Milligan (1915-1944)


    YET MORE INSANITY
    Connersville, Indiana   Another boy of a good family in the same county is serving a term in the state penal farm for a crime he committed while crazed from smoking this death weed.   "He knew little of what he had done when he came out of his daze," said Night Captain William Harris of the Connersville police.   "When we arrested him, he was so excited we could hardly manage him, and crying, hysterical and violent   ---The Prairie Farmer - July 30, 1938

    MUSEUM NOTE
    We have been able to establish (via old phone directories) that there really was a police Captain William Harris of Connersville, Indiana.   But nothing more about the incident.


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    ALSO VIEW THE FOLLOWING RELATED PAGES:
    MEDICAL CANNABIS MEDICINES
    IN INDIANA
    BEFORE THE COMMING OF THE MARIHUANA LAWS
    INDIANA
    NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
    DURING THE REEFER MADNESS ERA


    Hawaii Flag     HAWAII
    Hawaii, probably due to its geographical isolation, simply didn’t have any real (BLOOD AND GUTS) Gore File cases.   In a way, it’s a good example of; “The fairies are just beyond that ridge, at that next campfire down the road” syndrome. A situation where, people are saying that this or that is happening.   But for whatever reason, it’s always happening somewhere else, somwhere down the road, etc.   However, in the case of Hawwaii, (again due to geography) there simply was no, “down the road location” for any real Reefer Madness incidents to be occurring.   Thus (as we suspect) the real reason why Anslinger made almost no mentions of Hawaii.

    Below is the only mention made for that state by Anslinger’s Bureau of Narcotics, and not that’s it’s really nothing more then a simple arrest for possession case.

    HAWAII's
    UNSOLVED GORE FILE CASES & INCIDENTS:


    POSSESSION / SALES
    HAWAII - HONOLULU - On January 20, 1936, Lloyd R. Evans was arrested at Honolulu for posession of 1 marihuana cigarette.   No action was taken against the prisoner, as he aided police -in making a case against Joseph A. Sylva, the peddler from whom he purchased the marihuana.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File

    HAWAII - HONOLULU - On January 25, 1936, Joseph A. Sylva was arrested at Honolulu following the sale of 3 marihuana cigarettes to Narcotic Agents and local police.   He was held for trial by the Honolulu Police authorities.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File

    MUSEUM COMMENT:
    Previously, we had listed the above as having been two distinct cases.   However upon closer examination we see that both statements are actually referencing the same case.   Note that at this time we have NOT been able to confirm that this case really took place.


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    Kentucky Flag     KENTUCKY
    Kentucky historically was known as a major grower and producer of Industrial Hemp for our nation.   Thus, it should come as little wonder that it has so few Gore File cases – Two many people knew the truth etc.

    MURDER & ROBBERY
    Name: Calvin Tate and Willard Hall - Location: - Kentucky   - Date: - Jan 17, 1936

    EXECUTION BLOTTER
    (State of KENTUCKY
    NAME CALVIN TATE WILLARD HALL
    AGE 21 33
    RACE WHITE WHITE
    SEX MALE MALE
    OCCUPATION PAROLEE PAROLEE
    CRIME MURDER-ROBBERY MURDER-ROBBERY
    METHOD ELECTROCUTION ELECTROCUTION
    DATE JAN 17, 1936 JAN 17, 1936
    COUNTY JEFFERSON JEFFERSON

    What the Narc's were claiming
    Still another center is Louisville, for the good reason that Kentucky is one of the largest hemp-growing states in the Union.   And, certainly, marihuana was blamed for one of the most wanton murders Louisville has known in the last five years.   In this crime, twenty-year-old Calvin Tate, with three accomplices, attempted to hold up a filling station operated by an elderly man.   Their plans failed, a boy pulled a gun and the station owner was killed.   In their rush for freedom, they killed two other men, neither of whom attempted to halt them.   The first was standing on a corner outside the station waiting for a bus.   The second, attracted by the shots, was walking in his front yard when Tate and the only other gunman in the quartet, Willard Hall, ran past.   Captured, Tate admitted being at the station with Hall during the holdup but said he was “muggle-headed" at the time.   This was his defense to police.   It wasn't enough and a jury sent him, with Hall, to the electric chair.   -- DESIGNS IN SCARLET By Courtney Ryley Cooper 1939
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    STEVENS POINT DAILY JOURNAL
    [Jan 17, 1936 pp12] “Two Electrocuted For Killing Three in Holdup in Kentucky”
    HAMMOND TIMES (Hammond Indiana)
    Jan. 14, 1936- “Two men are put to death”
    NEVADA STATE JOURNAL
    [Jan. 17, 1936 pp2] “Two Electrocuted”


    [Key-finder – Case#Ky01_CavinTate]

    MUSEUM COMMENT:
    Did Medical Marihuana have really anything to do with these crimes? – We will allow the reader to decide.


    MARIHUANA BUST
    Name: Harry Bridewell - Location:   Newport, KY - Date:  Feb. 24, 1938

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    NEWPORT, KY.   On Feb. 24, 1938, police officers of Feb. 24, 1938, Feb. 24, 1938,., arrested Ralph Bridowell for the possession of stolen property.   While searching his premises they found a total of 8 kg. 306 gm. of marihuana, to which he acknowledged ownership and claimed to have purchased it from a man whose name he did not know.   On February 25, 1938, his brother, Harry Bridewell, was arrested for the sale of marihuana cigarettes.   Both pleaded guilty and each was sentenced to serve a term of 5 years in the Penitentiary.   Each had previously served a penitentiary term for violations of the liquor laws.
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    COSHOCTON TRIBUNE
    [S]- Feb 27, 1938 p - “Marihuana Cache Found at Newport”
    MARIHUANA CACHE FOUND AT NEWPORT
    “CINCINNATI, O. --With the arrest of four more men, Cincinati metropolitan area police believed Saturday they had uncovered a source of a supply for manufacturing Marihuana cigarets.   Authorities found a #10,000 supply of the drug in a Newport, Ky., house, they said.
    Harry Bridewell, 27, of Newport, was arrested Friday by Newport police and turned over to federal agents, who charged him with transporting and selling Marihuana.   He was held under $5,000 bond. “
    [Key-finder - Case#KY02]


    ARREST
    Name: Carl Rochae - Location:   KY   - Date:  June 10, 1935

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    KENTUCKY - Covington On July 12, 1935, two men, ages 23 and 25, were bound over to the Hamilton County Grand Jury in Cincinnati Municipal Court on a charge of possessing marihuana cigarettes, or "muggles".   The two men were picked up in Newport, Kentucky. One of the men, Rochae is said to have purchased the marihuana on Lower Madison Avenue, Covington, Kentucky.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    KENTUCKY POST
    [S]- June 10, 1935 p1 - “Muggles Sold Here is Claim”
    MUGGLES SOLD HERE IS CLAIM
    “Marihuana Cigarets Bought in Newport and Covington, Prisoners Say The sale of muggles will not be tolerated in northern Kentucky, Theodore Kluemper, Covington city manager, declared today.
    Two men, Cornellus Glass, 23, and Carl Rochae, 25, both of Cincinnati, were bound over to the Hamilton county, O., grand jury in cincinnati Municipal Court on a charge of possessing narcotics. In addition, the two were fined $50 and cost on loitering charges.
    Glass and Rochae were picked up on Fountain Square Saturday nigtht. Glass said he had purchased muggles in Newport, while Rochae is said to have purchased the cigarets on lower Madison avenue in Covington.
    Both were held on $5000 bonds.
    When informed of the statements made by Cincinnati police.   Mr. Kluemper said: “Covington had an ordinance against the sale of marihuana cigarets.   The law is as hard to enforce as prohibition, but the officers are doing their best.”
    Mr. Wallingford also said that Newport had an ordinance prohibiting the sale of the weed.
    [Key-finder - Case#KY03]



    THE GHOST MAN OF BOURBON COUNTY
    Name: JAMES McBAIN - Location:   Bourbon, Ky.   - Date:  Oct 1941

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    AS PER A COMPLETE MAGAZINE ARTICLE ; THE ANSLINGER COLLECTION, PEN STATE UNIVERSITY
    JAMES McBAIN ALIAS “MEXICAN JIM” (MARIHUANA CASE)

    James McBain, alias “Mexican Jim”, was arrested in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 25, 1938, for possession of 58 marihuana cigarettes and 10.07 ounces of bulk marihuana, which he had gathered in the rural districts around Hamilton County, Ohio.

    McBain sold the cigarettes through waiters in the night clubs of Cincinnati.   This was reported to Narcotic Agent R. W. Faulk, who arranged with the informer (a waiter at the Mickey Mouse Café), to buy a certain quantity.   The waiter informed the Narcotic Agent that he had made six previous purchases of marihuana cigarettes from McBain, paying him $1 for 15.

    The officers were piloted to McBain’s place of domicile, where he was arrested, hiding in a room on the third floor with the package of 58 cigarettes and the 10.7 ounces of bulk marihuana between his feet.   He was tried in the U.S. District Court at Cincinnati, convicted of violating the Marihuana Taxing Act, and sent to prison for a year and a day.

    On his release from the Atlanta Penitentiary on April 27, 1940, McBain went to Bourbon County, Kentucky, where he took up his residence in a cave.   His strange movements in the neighborhood of Paris, soon won for him the name of the “ghost man.”

    Shunning the highways, he was often seen walking the railroad tracks, always carrying a small burlap sack.   He seemed never to stop and talk to anyone he met, and had no greeting for the tenants working in the fields as he passed by.

    His strange actions soon aroused suspicion in the minds, at least, of Chief of Police A.B. Lovell and patrolman Fred Link of Paris, who thought McBain might be a narcotic peddler.   They notified Federal narcotics Agents at Lexington, five of whom were soon on the scene investigating.   For three nights they lay in the tall grass in a cemetery waiting for McBain to appear, but he disappointed them.   A search was then made of the farm on which he had been seen several times, and in a weather beaten shed near the railroad they found a small quantity of bulk marihuana.

    Two days after the Federal Agents returned to Lexington, Lovell and Link saw “Mexican Jim” walking the cross-ties near the farm they had under surveillance.   He was carrying his small burlap sack as usual.   It bulged a little, showing that it contained something other than groceries.

    “what have you got in that sack?” the officers asked McBain.
    “Tea,” he replied.

    Taking the sack from him and opening it, the policemen found that it contained dried marihuana.   McBain was placed under arrest, and the Federal Narcotics Agents at Lexington were sent for again.   A search was made of the farm on which McBain was supposed to hide out, and a large quantity of sifted marihuana, enough to make 100,000 cigarettes, valued at $25,000 at current prices, was found hidden in a carbide can underneath the shed which had previously been searched.

    In the cave nearby, in which McBain lived, more marihuana was found, together with a metal strainer, a small postal scale graduated to ounces, a quantity of wrapping cord and a number of burlap sacks.

    Examined in jail, “Mexican Jim” told the officers that he had visited Paris and the farms of Bourbon County numerous times since his coming to that country, “selling herbs and catnip to the ladies of the homes.”

    “I had about 20 pounds of the ‘stuff’ stripped, cleaned and rubbed down n that shed out there,” he said.   “I intended to take it over into Virginia and sell it.”

    Personal Description: White, age 48, not an addict, 5’ 11 1/2”, 170 pounds, medium build, black hair tinged with gray, brown eyes, speaks broken Spanish.
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
    [S]- Nov 27, 1938p15 - “Held On “Muggles” Charge”
    [S]- Dec 01, 1938p14 - “Held On Muggles Charge”

    THE COURIER JOURNAL (Louisville, Kentucky)
    [s]- Friday, October 31, 1941 P37 - “Bourbon County’s ‘Ghost Man’ Is Arrested For Having $25,000 w Arrested Worth of Marihuana”
    Ghost Man “Bourbon County’s ‘Ghost Man’ Is Arrested For Having $25,000 Worth of Marihuana”
    Paris, Ky., Oct.
    Of mystery surrounding Bourbon County’s “ghost man” was punctured Thursday by Paris Police Officers and federal narcotic agents when they arrested swarthy, 52-year-old James “Mexican Jim” McBain for possessing and transferring marihuana -- an estimated $25,000 worth.

    MmBain pleaded guilty to charges of possessing and transferring the narcotics before United States Commissioner William Hays at Lexington later in the day.   He was held to the federal grand jury under $2,000 Bond to await trial at the Richmond term of court.   Unable to furnish bond, he was remanded to the Fayette County Jail.

    For the last six years, the swarthy man has been seen around Paris.   He always carried a small burlap sack.   Nobody knew where he lived or what his name was until Thursday.

    Several weeks ago Chief of Police A.B. Lovell and Patrolman Fred Link Became suspicious of the odd character and, believing he might be a dealer in some kind of narcotics, notified federal agents at Lexington.

    Five of the agents immediately came to Paris and went to work to see for themselves what this “ghost man” business was all about.

    Tenants on a farm off the Peacock Road, approximately four miles from here told agents and police that the man often had been seen walking along the railroad near the farm.

    On three consecutive nights they lay in the tall grass in a cemetery on the farm watching and waiting for the man to appear.

    Meanwhile the officers found a small amount of marihuana in a weather-beaten shed in a thicket on the farm.   But they saw nothing of the man.   So the agents returned to Lexington.

    Says He’s Carrying Tea.
    Thursday morning, two days after the agents left, Chief Lovell and patrolman Link saw “Mexican Jim” walking along the railroad near the farm.

    Link and Lovell asked “Mexican Jim” was carrying in his sack.

    “It’s tea.” The man replied.
    The officers discovered the contents were marihuana.

    Then the federal agents rejoined the Paris officers in another searching foray at the Peacock Road farm.

    This time a large quantity of Sifted Marihuana --- enough, they said, to manufacture approximately 100,000 “muggles” worth close to $25,000 at current prices --was found in a carbide can underneath the shed.

    The officers also found a metal strainer, a small postal scale graduated In ounces, a quantity of wrapping cord and a number of Burlap Sacks.

    The police party then went to a cave located in a “cut” along side the railroad tracks to complete the investigation.   They previously had been told by residents of the neighborhood that the Stranger often was seen entering this cave.

    In it they found a straw bed, over which had been spread newspapers.   Several small pieces of marihuana also were discovered in the cavern.

    At the jail, “Mexican Jim” told the officers he had visited Paris and Bourbon County numerous times within recent years “selling herbs and catnip to the ladies of the homes.”

    McBain said he had “about Twenty pounds of the stuff (marihuana) stripped, cleaned and rubbed down in that shed out there.   I intended to take it over into Virginia and sell it”

    “I was sent up from Cincinnati in 1939 on a marihuana charge.   I served the sentence, a year and a day in the federal prison at Atlanta, Georgia.   I used to sell Marihuana in Cincinnati, but I aimed to take the stuff and sell it in Virginia.”
    [Key-finder - Case#KY4GhostMan]



    ALSO VIEW THE FOLLOWING RELATED PAGES:
    Hemp
    INDUSTRIAL HEMP
    IN KENTUCKY
    BEFORE THE COMMING OF THE MARIHUANA LAWS

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    Idaho Flag     IDAHO
    The state of Idaho (blessed by the lord and/or the good Lady upstairs) did not have any actual Gore File cases on its soil.   Thus it was spared much of evil that occured elsewhere.   However it did have one hell of a Mayor (that's a literal not a figurative) who was quoted as stated the following:
    The Mayor of Boise, Idaho, is quoted as follows:  "The Mexican beet-field workers have introduced a new problem-the smoking in cigarettes and pipes, of Marihuana or Grifo.   Its use is as demoralizing as the use of other narcotics, and Idaho has no law to cope with the use and spread of this dangerous drug".   --- JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY– May-June 1932/Mar.-Apr., 1933


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    Tennessee Flag     TENNESSEE
    Tennessee lucked out and only had one of Anslinger’s Gore File cases, and that one was related to a simple Marihuana Farm which just happened to have taken place there.

    MARIHUANA FARM
    Name: Mary Jones/ Joe Lang, Orlando Hodge - Location: Tunica, Miss /Memphis TN   - Date: Oct 13, 1938
    What the Narc’s were claiming
    MEMPHIS, TENN.   On Oct. 4, 1938, police officers of Memphis, Tenn., received information that Joe Lang, Orlando Hodge, and Mary Jones were planning to rob Mary Jones' aunt and with the proceeds therefrom to proceed to Chicago for the purpose of selling marihuana.   They were arrested on the same date and 411 gm. of marihuana and 147 marihuana cigarettes were seized.   They admitted that they had procured the marihuana on a plantation in Mississippi about 50 miles from Memphis, and divided it, and they had planned after committing the robbery to take the marihuana to Chicago and sell it.   On October 14, 1938, all three pleaded guilty.   Hodge and Lang each received a sentence of 3 years and $1,000 fine, both having previous criminal records.   Mary Jones was placed on probation for 3 years.   -- The Traffic in Opium and Other Dangers Drugs (1938)
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    CHICAGO DEFENDER
    [S - Oct 15, 1938 pg 1] - Mississippi Marijuana Farms Raided; 2 Tons of Weed Taken”


    [Key-finder - Case#TN01]


    TENNESSEE's
    UNSOLVED GORE FILE CASES & INCIDENTS:

    NOT AN OFFICIAL FEDERAL GORE FILE CASES
    Note that these case come out of Earl Rowells classic -- On the Trail of marihuana , the Weed of Madness, and thus are NOT thus not an official Case.

    INSANITY CAUSED BY
    In one state where there was no law governing marihuana, an ordinance to control it had been drawn for adoption by the city council of the second largest city in the state.   The reason for the ordinance lay in a near tragedy.   A high-school boy had smoked marihuana, and then gone berserk.   He wanted to kill someone - anyone would do.   As he had no gun or knife handy, he stole an automobile and ran it hilariously and recklessly about the city, trying to run over someone and kill him.   He did eventually run down an old man, broke his legs, and was careening down the streets in search of another victim when he was finally arrested by the police.
    In jail, he said he did not know what he had been doing, except that he was filled with an uncontrollable desire to commit murder.   He pleaded with the public to do something to prevent other youth from getting reefers, and, through a newspaper interview, he appealed to the youth never to smoke them.   The proposed city ordinance was the result of this incident.   We were asked to appear before the city council in favor of the bill.   What amazed us was the callous indifference of the council to the whole matter.   The bill was defeated by three arguments: first, the chief of police stated there was no marihuana problem! Second, it was the state's business anyway; and, as there was no state law on the matter, why should the city pass one?   Third, a state official said it was not a state matter but a Federal; and, as Uncle Sam had no law on it, why should the state bother!   --- On the trail of Marihuana the Weed of Madness 1939

    Nashville, TN -- pre-1939
    A young Boy in Nashville, after smoking a few of these cigarettes, developed an urge to kill just for the sake of killing.   He jumped into the first automobile he could find and started down the street to run people down.   He went viciously after anyone in sight, and succeeded in running over an old man, braking both his legs, before the police could stop him.   -- Marihuana – the Weed of Madness, the killer weed 1938


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    Rhode Island Flag     RHODE ISLAND
    Rhode Island was another that also lucked out and only had one of Anslinger’s Gore File cases, which relates solely to some black guys who found a patch of hemp growing somewhere in that state.   But boy did it make news in a lot of newspapers.

    MARIHUANA GROWING WILD
    Name: (a negro)* - Location: R.I,   - Date: Jan 1935
    * Note, no laws existed so no arrests could be made.   However, a newspaper report listed Charles Wilson, James Moore (both negro’s) as having been arrested.

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    Providence, R.I.: Nearly a ton of marihuana was found growing here by local police following the arrest of twenty tramps in possession of some of the weed.   The men stated they gathered it along the waterfront and after drying it, ground it in small coffee mills and rolled it into cigarettes.   As a result of this discovery a bill was introduced into the Rhode Island Legislature requesting an appropriation to be used in exterminating marihuana throughout the state.   -- Oakland Tribune (Newspaper) Oct. 11, 1936 “Don't be a MuggleHead”

    RHODE ISLAND - Providence   On January 2, 1935, local police arrested 20 “floaters”, American tramps, who discovered marihuana growing along the waterfront in the vicinity of the gas holder and adjacent to the tanks of a large oil distributing company.   Some of these plants were 8’ high.   The men dried the marihuana after it was harvested, ground it in small coffee mills, and sold the "reefers" for from 10cents to 25cents each.   The contraband marihuana was confiscated and several lots where the plant was found growing were dug up and the weed destroyed.   A resolution was, introduced in the Rhode Island Legislature containing a request for a moderate appropriation for the purpose of exterminating marihuana throughout the State.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File
    Newspaper Accounts:
    PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

    [s]- Dec 10, 1934 p 1 - “Police Undcover DOPE FARM on Municipal Land”
    OKLAHOMAN
    [s]- 1935-03-13p10 - “marijuana in Rhode Island”
    BOSTON GLOBE
    [S]- Jan 20, 1935 pA2 – “Plans War on Hashish Drug” – Rhode Island Aims to Wipe Out Mexico Weed”


    [Key Finder - Case#RI01]


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    Nevada Flag     NEVADA
    Talk about lucky, Nevada didn't have a signal acutal Gore File Case; --- well actually it did, but they were so fake that even anslinger didn't make any use of them.

    NEVADA's – GORE FILE INVESTIGATIONS:

    CRUCIFIXION
    Name: - Location: Close to Reno, NV.   - Date: August 1938
    In terms of Reefer Madness noir, Nevada may best be remembered for an incident that never happened.   Literally a crucifixion that never took place.

    PostEnquirer1938-08-30p1
    ISIScrucifixion

    THE GREAT RENO NAVADA
    CRUCIFIXION THAT NEVER WAS
    One day we hope to devote a whole section to Harry Anslinger's failed investigations.   Here its enough to say that after the "Holliday of Horrors" affair in which a reporter asked for verification information about some of his Gore File Cases.   Anslinger then hit the panic button.   It appears that previous to this point, he had been relying simply on oral statements from newspaper reporters, hear say from police officers and in some cases, on mere rumors.
    http://reefermadnessmuseum.org/chap06/RM_Halliday1.htm
    But after the “Holiday of Horror’s Affair” (the reporter’s name sounded a lot like Mr. Holiday), Anslinger, who didn’t want to get caught flat footed again, started conducting actual investigation, demanding documentation.   With the results being that very few new (gory) gore file cases being added after this point.   The following investigation, presented in chronological order, provide a good example of why there were so few new such cases. - - [All photographs, were obtained via the National archives (College Park, Md), have been doctored for faster download times. – If needed, feel free to ask for our copies of the originals]


    Letter1938-09-13
    September 13, 1938.
    Mr. J. A. Manning,
    District Supervisor,
    San Francisco, California.

    Dear Mr. Manning:
    In an editorial on Marihuana in the Post-Enquirer of Oakland, California, dated August 30, 1938,
    I note the following:
    "But for one fact the grewsome story of two men who crucified a companion near Reno last week would be incredible.   When it is stated by the victim that these men were supplied with marihuana some key to their horrid beastiality Is furnished."
    Please let me have a report on the details of this case if obtainable.
    Very truly yours,

    H.J. ANSLINGER
    Commissioner.

    To which (after the investigation), Anslinger received the following reply.
    Letter1938-09-24
    September 24, 1938
    BUREAU OF NARCOTICS
    SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
    OFFICE OF DISTRICT SUPERVISOR
    DISTRICT No. 14
    STATES OF CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA

    Mr. H.J. Anslinger,
    Commissioner of Narcotics,
    Washington, D. C.
    Dear Sir:
    Reference is had to your letter of September 13, 1938 quoting an editorial on Marihuana in the Post-Enquirer of Oakland, California, dated August 30, 1938, relative to the crucification of a man in Reno who, according to the article, had said the men who crucified him were supplied with Marihuana.

    This was referred to Narcotic Agent Thomas E. McGuire at Reno, Nevada for investigation.   As a result he has submitted a report, it being dated September 21st, copy of which is enclosed together with clipping from one of the Reno newspapers.   Agent McGuire's report is self-explanatory and it would appear therefrom that the statements made by the man crucified could not be believed.
    Very truly yours,

    Joseph A. Manning
    District Supervisor

    Letter1938-09-21
    Mr. Joseph A. Manning
    District Supervisor
    San Francisco Calif.
    Reno Nev.
    Sept 21, 1938

    Dear Sir:
    Relative to your letter of September 19, 1938, please find newspaper clipping as you requested.

    2   At the time of this crime I was out of town working on case of S.E. 101 but I did make inquires upon my return from the officers on the case and learned that in substance, the newspaper story is accurate, but the victim of the crucifixion, told such a vague story concerning the two men that did the act and furthermore there were so many discrepancies in the victims story that the investigating officers could not do anything further on the case and the case was dropped.

    3.   As to the crucifixion part of the story that is no doubts but as to the marihuana part of the story, that is the victims statement, and due to his inconsistencies in other parts of his story iec., he could not identify the men he claims to know for 8 yrs, mistaking the part his accomplishes took in the crime he was originally sentenced for, and also the improbable statements made by the victim of his part in making the cross and carrying it across a river without him being wet nor his clothes showing the water and also other details, that I took the the(sic) position that the investigating officers took and as did the district attorney that the victim was either a sex degenate or attempting to get publicity, and none of the facts devulged by him was worthy of belief.

    4.   I might add that there must have been someone who did the nailing of the victim, as each hand and foot was nailed securely, but each nail was driven throught the fleash in such a way as not to break any bones and with the minimum of flesh being impaneled.

    5.   No facts was disclosed showing that the victim was a marihuana user nor any facts be shown that the man responisbale were marihuana users, however it was not possible to check to state that they were no users.
    Respectfully

    Thomas E. McGuire
    Narcotic Agent.

    NOT AN OFFICIAL FEDERAL GORE FILE INCIDENT:

    Nevada - At a Reno party a girl thrust a pistol in the waistband of her slacks and called to another teen-ager: "Go ahead and have a good time.   If a cop comes to that door, I'll blast him."   --- Fortnight Newsmagazine Aug 20, 1951



    ALSO VIEW THE FOLLOWING RELATED PAGE:
    NEVADA
    NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
    DURING THE REEFER MADNESS ERA


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    Oregon Flag OREGON LONE GORE FILE CASE:
    Oregon also seems to have been blessed with being a one shot wonder.   And note that this wonder occurred in 1960.

    RAPE / ASSAULT
    Name: Vincent M. Mullen - Location: - Portland Or   - Date: - Sept, 1960

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    Portland Oregon, M 19 – Raped 16-year old high school girl; beat, broke jaw, knocked out upper teeth, in wooded area after beatnick party.   Arrested   -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2

    1960 - V. Mullen, - Portland, Ore. - M - 19 - Raped 16-yr. high school girl; beat, broke jaw, knocked out upper teeth, in wooded area after beatnick party.   - Arrested   - 6th conference report - INEOA 1965
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    NEWS REVIEW (Roseburg, Oregon)
    [S]- September 13, 1960 - Pg3 - “Portland Youth Draws Long Prison Sentence”
    [Wanted]- September 24, 1960 - Page 2

    OREGON STATESMAN (Salem, Oregon)
    [Wanted]- September 13, 1960 - Page 2

    HERALD AND NEWS (Klamath Falls, Oregon)
    [Wanted]- September 14, 1960 - Page 18


    [Key-finder - Case #OR01]


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    SouthDakotaFlag SOUTH DAKOTA – UNSOLVED LONE GORE FILE CASE:
    "Blesset Be" South Dakota had one and only one Gore file case.   And it was a simple arrest at that.   Boy did those guys ever luck out.

    MARIHUANA ARREST
    Pierre, S.D.: Two men were apprehended by the local police and found to be carrying a quantity of marihuana.   When taken into custody the men stated that they had seen the weed growing along the highway and gathered it, not knowing its possession was against State statutes.   -- Oakland Tribune (Newspaper) Oct. 11, 1936 “Don't be a MuggleHead”

    SOUTH DAKOTA - Pierre   On October 7, 1935, two citizens of Pierre were stopped by a police officer when he saw the men carrying a suspicious looking box. Examination showed he box to contain marihuana.   The men were taken to City Hall, whee they stated they saw the weed growing along the highway and gathered it, not knowing its possession was against the State statutes.   --- ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN MARIHUANA - aka Gore File


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    Minnesota Flag     MINNESOTA
    Although being one of the major Industrial Hemp growing areas (especially during the Second World War), it seems that this same State didn’t figure in very much into Harry Anslinger’s Gore File.   Below are the only Gore File cases that we've been able to find for that state.

    TAXI CAB ROBBERIES
    Name: Eitel Guthman - Location: - Winona, Minn.   - Date: - Sept 24, 1938

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    Minnesota - 1938---Minnesota - 1938 Winona, Minn.   - Male - Smoked marihuana for years; held up 3 taxi-cabs.   Sentenced, 10 years   -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2

    1938 - E. Guthman, Winona, Minn. - m - Smoked marihuana for years; held up 3 taxi-cabs.   Convicted sentenced 10 years.   -- 6th conference report - INEOA 1965
    NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
    BRAINERD DAILY DISPATCH
    [S]- Sept 24, 1938 p3 - Marijuana Is blamed for Theft of Three Taxicabs” “Winona, Minn.   (UP) Authorities today said Eitel Guthman had marijuana cigarettes to blame for the up to ten year prison sentence he received yesterday for third degree robbery charges in connection with the theft of three taxicabs.   Attorney M.J. Oten said Gutinman committed the crimes while under the influence of marijuana.   He plead guilty to the robberies described as motiveless and almost profitless.”


    [Key-finder - Case#MN01_EitelGuthman ]


    MURDER
    Guadalupe Balli
    Name: Guadalupe Balli - Location: - Albert Lea, Minn. - Date: - Sept 22, 1938

    What the Narc’s were claiming
    Illinois - 1936 - William Barnett of Chicago, ILL., was arrested for the possession of marihuana.   At the time of Barnett's arrest he was in possession of a letter from Pete Gurralo, alias Joseph Fierro, of Mankato, Minn., offering to furnish marihuana in any quantity from 1 pound up.   On Sep. 22, 1936, Balli, alias Tom Gurrola, killed a man at Albert Lea, Minn.   Following the murder he escaped from prison and fled to the farm of his father.   He was identical with the man who offered to supply marihuana to Barnett.   When the officer went to the farm to apprehend him, he found 6 or 7 bushels of marihuana contained in a sack and two cardboard boxes, and concealed under a haystack   -- The Traffic in Opium and Other Dangers Drugs (1936)

    Mankato, Minnesota September 1, 1936, William Barnett, 721 Oakwood Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, was arrested for possession of Marihuana.   At the time of his arrest he was in possession of a letter from Pete Gurrola of Mankato, Minnesota, offering to furnish Marihuana in any quantity from one pound up.   On September 22, Guadalupe Balli, alias Tom Gurrola, killed a man at Albert Lea, Minnesota.   Following the murder he escaped from prison and fled to the farm of his father.   A representative of the sheriff’s office went to the farm to apprehend him but he was not there.   While searching the premises, they found a quantity of Marihuana concealed in a sack and two cardboard boxes, about 6 or 7 bushels, and covered by a haystack.   -- Review of the Illicit Traffic In The United States and the Philippine Islands In 1936
    NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:
    EVENING TRIBUNE
    - Albert Lea, Minn
    [S]- AlbertLeaEveningTrib1936-09-23p- "Mexican Shoots to Death Luis Contreras Druing Battle near Hollandale"
    [S]- AlbertLeaEveningTrib1936-09-25p3-"Still Eludes Officers of Law"
    [S]- AlbertLeaEveningTrib1936-09-26p7- "Still Working On Case"


    [Key-finder - Case#MN02_AlbertLea ]


    MINNESOTA's
    UNSOLVED GORE FILE CASES & INCIDENTS:

    MURDER
    . . . a man in Minnesota puts a bullet thru the head of a stranger on the road;   -- Chicago Tribune Jan 17, 1962 pg 5 -- “Reefers: A Fast Road Downhill” by Harry J. Anslinger; Will Oursler


    ROBBERY & MURDER
    NOT AN OFFICIAL FEDERAL GORE FILE CASES
    Minnesota - In St. Paul, Minn., in February, 1950, a young 16-year-old lad was shot and killed and his father seriously wounded at the hands of a bandit who attempted to rob them.   The father was able to identify the bandit, who, when arrested, readily admitted himself to be a marihuana addict.   He had smoked a "reefer" just prior to the killing, to bolster his courage for the hold-up.   The murderer was "out on parole" from a previous sentence for marihuana addiction!   -- “Assassin of Youth” (Book) 1954 By Robert Devine



    ALSO VIEW THE FOLLOWING RELATED PAGE:
    MINNESSOTA
    NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
    DURING THE REEFER MADNESS ERA
    MINNESSOTA
    INDUSTRIAL HEMP
    DURING THE REEFER MADNESS ERA


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    MORE WEBSITES COMING -- ONE OF THESE DAYS:
    We wish that we had the ability to run a complete website on all these states, but due to limited resources this is not a possibility at this time.   For now, we hope that this partial material will be of some help to historians doing research into the Era.   ---- (Hint) if you make a financial donation to the museum it might help to speed things up a bit.


    WANT TO KNOW MORE:
    =====================

    Due to space / download time considerations, only selected materials are displayed.   If you would like to obtain more information, feel free to contact the museum.   All our material is available (at cost) on CD-Rom format.
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