REEFER MADNESS New Mexico

THEIR EARLIEST
(Marihuana)
DRUG WAR
POW’s
(1923 - 1957)

Frank apodaca	Tiburcio Morales	Refugia Avila (age 108 yr) Her Prison phot was not available	Alfredo Rivera	Max Gutierrez

In 1925, one Frank Ortiz is said to have stabbed both his mother and sister, then gone out and knocked down Augustin Sanchez, a baker, and slashed him with the knife, along with others whom he met on the street, one of them being a young girl.   ALL under the influence of marihuana and Whiskey ;  -- Yet no mention of Marihuana anywhere appears in this prison records. --- As per the AlbuquerqueMorningJournal1925-10-09p1

OF RACE AND LAW:
The number of Mexican Sir names is something that almost immediately jumps out at the reader.   In fact of the 80 names listed, 74 of those (or 92%) had Mexican sounding Sir names.   And while 12 of those prisoners look like they could pass for white people, even if they were taken away (74 – 12 = 62), still the number of Brown Skin Marihuana’s appears to be quite high.   Almost as if someone had targeted the law against them.
But if its any consolation, the figures also show that four blacks (5%) and three white/white people (two women) and a druggist were also incarcerated for Marihuana during this same time period.

THE SMALL NUMBER OF INCARCERATIONS:
As previously noted, because NOT ALL marihuana prisoners were stated as such in the prison records, the listing below is way, way incomplete.   Something which (at least in part) accounts for the small numbers, and in addition, we must also remember that the total population of New Mexico (way back then) was somewhat smaller.
However (and here the following is opinion), it is also important to note that it wasn’t until then President Nixon created his War on Drugs (1972), that serous money started to flow into prison construction, etc.   Before that time, the states by themselves had to meet all prisons expenses, thus forcing them not to incarcerate only the real kind of criminals.   In addition, while this is no place to get into conspiracy theories, we should also note that the original purpose of the Drug War was NOT incarceration, but simply to give blacks/browns a felony criminal conviction which would thus prevent them from being able to register to vote.

HOW A WORD IS SPELLED:
While glancing over the listing below, the reader may note the various ways that “Marihuana” was being spelled back then;   -- And for good reason.   Originally, syndicated newspaper accounts originating out of Mexico City (era 1890’s) used the spelling “Mariguana”.   Soon the term became associated with brown skinned peoples as well as vaguely descriptions of a Mexican Cigarette, one that had the effect of turning its users into crazed insensitive murderers, started to circulate.

However, it appears that by the 1930’s (for reasons unknown), most newspapers had gotten rid of the “G” and had replaced it with an “H”.   Probably just for better pronunciation by their Anglo readers, but for whatever reason the word was now spelled “Marihuana”.   This spelling however was not long to last.   Especially when it was noticed that the city of Tijuana used a “J” in it’s spelling.   And as the original laws were racially motivated, of course the spelling had to be changed yet once more.

However, it would not be until the presidential term of Richard Nixon, that the spelling was finally standardized to “Marijuana.”   No doubt reflecting his own personal viewpoints regarding the subject matter.

* No affiliation between “www ancestry com” and this museum exists, however it is a great service.

Ray Garcia	Mariano Sedios	Eliseo Sanchez	Frank Briones	Augustin Valdez

Lauriano Garcia	Gilardo Madrid	Carlos Castro	Jean Baker	Roberto Montano

Manuel Rodriguez	Alfredo Cordova	Apalonio Medrano	Candido Doninguez	John McDonald

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