 GORE CASES |
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FAKE & PHANTOM GORE CASES
THEY NEVER HAPPENED:
During the Reefer Madness Era, [1930-to-1950's], the Federal Bureau of Narcotics made numerous claims about Medical Marihuana. That its use led to and was responsible for numerous bestial acts of violence. Rape, Murder, nothing was beyond the Medical Marihuana Addict.
Harry Anslinger [Our first Drug Czar] even went so far as to compile a set of examples or actual case files, collectively know as Anslingers' Gore File. These case file examples, were repeated over and over again and more than anything else, led to the creation of today's anti-Medical Marihuana laws.
Anyway, evidence is now coming out that all too many of these cases were out and out fakes; in other words, they never even occurred.
CAUTION -- A WORD OF WARNING:
The narc's claim that it happened, but this museum claims that it didn't. Obviously, as the narc's possess the badge of Governmental authority, the onus of proof fails on the museum. In other words, it is up to us to prove that the narc's were lying.
But how does one go about proving the negative?
It is a relatively simple thing to prove that "It Happened," one single newspaper article will do. But what if it never happened in the first place? What if the crime or case file (allegedly committed while under the influence of Medical Marihuana), was a phantom in the first place? How does one prove that?
Irregardless of how many hours or days, spent looking over old newspaper accounts, it can always be said, "Well, you just haven't found it yet?" Thus something else is needed---Some form of "Smoking Gun." The ghastly but mythical, "Eureka Axe Murder," case servers as a good example:
NAME: [NONE] DATE: Pre-Nov. 1933 LOCATION: Eureka Ca.
What the Narc's were claiming
It happened in California. A man under the influence of marijuana actually decapitated his best friend. Then, coming out from the effects of the drug, he was as horrified as anyone could be at what he had done. -- Heath magazine Oct 1938
"One is Harry D. Smith, chief of the Federal narcotic division, the other William G. Walker, head of the State bureau. . . . "Here is a case of a man who actually decapitated his friend with an axe recently up in Eureka, and then, coming out of the effects of the drug [of Medical Marihuana], was as horrified as anyone else over what he had done." -- S.F. Examiner Nov. 7, 1933 pp4.
"In California a young man who indulged in these convivial cigarettes went berserk, grabbed an ax, and decapitated his best friend. --[Book] Narcotics: America's Peril by Will Oursler (1952)
"In Eureka, California, an addict under the influence of marihuana decapitated his best friend. Coming out of his drugged condition, he was horrified at what he had done." --Inside Detective (Magazine) Nov 1937
". . . the unfortunate boy at Eureka, Ca. who, insane from the drug, seized a butcher's cleaver and cut off the head of his best friend. They found him---or rather he found himself--when he regained his senses, with the decapitated face staring up at him from the floor of his blood-smeared room!" -- Real Detective (Magazine) - April 1935
California. A man while under the effects of Marihuana decapitated his best friend, then corning out of the influence of the drug was amazed and horrified to see what he had done. -- Finger Print & Identification Magazine March 1938 pp3
"A California, frantic with the stuff, actually decapitated his best friend." -- The EAGLE MAGAZINE Nov. 1941
"The weed acts as a powerful aphrodisiac and renders users capable of various acts of violence; a California man decapitated his best friend while under the violent spell of the smoke, . . " -- News Week August 14, 1937
Practically every article written on the effects of the marihuana weed will tell of deeds committed without the knowledge of the culprit, while he was under the influence of this drug. There are many arguments for and against this statement, and many cases reported which uphold it, and still others which contradict it. Our opinion is that both arguments for and against are correct because of the inconsistency of the action of this drug on individual victims. The reactions resulting depend to a large extent on the innate characteristics of the individual. The person who is so unfortunate as to come under the influence of this drug, in many cases, becomes the unwilling offender of the law because the central nervous system has become affected, as is the case with other habit-forming drugs. As a representative case, note the tragic predicament of this Californian. "A man under the influence of marihuana actually decapitated his best friend; and then, coming out of the effects of the drug, was as horrified as anyone over what he had done" ---[Quoting - W. G. Walker, Chief, Division of Narcotic Enforcement, San Francisco, California, July 1, 1934] --- Mr. Anslinger 1937 Congressional Testimony
"The Chief of the Narcotic Enforcement Bureau of California in a report to the Federal Bureau gave an interesting example of this "Marijuana", he wrote, "has a worse effect than heroin. It gives men the lust to kill, unreasonably, without motive - for the sheer sake of murder itself. In Eureka, California, a man under the influence of marijuana actually decapitated his best friend; and then, coming out of the effects of the drug, was as horrified as anyone else over what he had done." --Health Officer - Dec. 1936
WHY WE BELIEVE IT'S A FAKE:
Here are the facts the way the museum sees them:
1- The sole source of ALL information concerning the case is the California Bureau of Narcotics.
2- To the best of our knowledge, first mention of the story was made by Narcotics Chief William G. Walker on Nov. 7, 1933, and that the words, "recently occur" were used.
3- While the story changes a bit, (according to the teller), a ghastly decapitation/murder was involved, close to or in Eureka California.
Logic and reason dictate that such a gruesome act would have made the local papers, especially in (a than) small town like Eureka California. So why didn't it? Extensive research by this museum curator [including hours upon hours of looking at Eureka newspaper archives] as well as various other historical societies and librarians, have all come to the same conclusion --- nothing, there is no mention. The following reply to our inquiries is typical:
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Reference Department Humboldt County Library
Subject: Marijuana related butchery
It seems that your information would be considered urban legend these days. We have searched extensively through newspapers and other periodicals from the time. Searches have included the indexes of writings we have from the time also. There is no mention of this case. According to the couple [of] historians [that] we have contacted there was also very little marijuana use in this area at the time. If something like this had happened, it would have been printed in the papers. . . . "
THE SMOKING GUN:
However, the reason we are fairly sure that this case is a phantom, lays with the following newspaper Editorial, which constitutes a sort of smoking gun.
San Francisco Chronicle Nov. 13, 1933 pg. 8 [Editorial Section]Recall that the original source of ALL information related to this was none other than the chief of narcotics, William G. Walker himself. In addition note the Editorial date: Only seven days after Walkers first mention of the case.
NARCOTIC FAKING
The ADMISSION by William G. Walker, Chief of the State Narcotics Division, that narcotics and white slave charges were faked to obtain "emergency" appropriations once more turns the spotlight on a bureau more notable for turmoil than for public service.
Since Joseph Anderson's time there has not been a single case above the petty class turned up by the State bureau although gigantic rings have been brought to justice here by the Federal agents.
The legislature withheld appropriations for the narcotics division in an effort to discipline it into efficiency. The seeking of "emergency" allowances by hysterical and false charges is an effort to defeat the Legislature's intention.
The distortion of records against which Sacramento's Chief of Police made the indignant protest that brought forth Mr. Walker's letter of admission demands more serious consideration.
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
[NONE]
NAME: Oscar Ralph Ashworth DATE: Sept. 1938 LOCATION: St. Joseph Missouri
CAUTION -- A WORD OF WARNING:
Here is a good example of an incident that both DID and DID NOT happen.
What the Narc's were claiming
"1938 - St. Joseph, Missouri - M 37 Smoked 2 marihuana cigarettes, then raped his 7-year old daughter. Death in Gas -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2
1938 - 0. Ashworth, - St.Joseph, Missouri. - 37 - Smoked 2 marihuana cigarettes, then raped his 7-yr. daughter. Trial: Guilty. - Death, gas chamber -- 6th conference report - INEOA 1965
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
The MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM
[Nov. 20, 1940 pp1] "Stark commutes Ashworth's Death Sentence to Life"
THE OSHKOSH NORTHWESTERN
[Sept. 2, 1938 pp7] "Ashworth is Sentenced to Die in Gas Chamber"
[Nov. 4, 1938 pp5] "Life of Ashworth Prolonged for at Least Ten Months"
LINCOLN STATE JOURNAL
[Nov. 6, 1938 pp12] "Longer life for Ashworth"
SHEBOYGAN PRESS
[Aug. 30, 1938 pp1] "Man Held at Bay Wanted for Assault"
[Nov. 5, 1938 pp 10] "Declare Condemned Convict Charged With Wrong Crime"
STEVENS POINT DAILY JOURNAL
[Oct. 25, 1940 pp 3] "Ashworth Granted Stay of Execution:
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED:
While the incident really did take place, NONE of the numerous newspaper accounts that we have been able to obtain, make any mention of Oscar Ashworth as a Medical Marihuana addict. Given the date [at the very height of the Reefer Madness campaign] it can assumed that such a factor would NOT have gone unnoticed by the news media.
THE SMOKING GUN:
In addition the museum has been able to locate the following statement--taken from the book "DESIGNS IN SCARLET By Courtney Ryley Cooper:
-
"In a case at St. Joseph, Missouri, where a man was convicted of a murderous rape attack upon a young girl, a newspaper made the statement that he was a marihuana fiend and that he had committed his crime while under the influence of the drug. Federal sources reported that as far as could be learned, the whole story originated in the mind of a cub reporter who asked the sex-murderer after he had been sentenced: "Why didn't you tell the court that you smoked marihuana cigarettes?" -- DESIGNS IN SCARLET By Courtney Ryley Cooper (1939).
In other words, the narc's knew [right from the get-go] that the case was bogus, but still continued to tout it as an example of a Medical Marihuana caused crime. It fact, as the following quotation shows, it was still being officially used by the narc's all the way up until the late 1960's.
"Through the kindness of Commissioners Anslinger and Giordano of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics, an opportunity was afforded to review various authenticated Case Reports in the files of the Bureau as typical of the relationships of various crimes committed by individuals after use and while under the influence of marihuana (usually smoked). As representative, table 3* reports details on 69 such cases. This objective evidence [Ha Ha] supports published statements of the association between the use of marihuana and various types of crime." -- article by James C. MUNCH ; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2
[*Note--- table 3; not shown, includes the Anhworth case]
NAME: [NONE] DATE: Pre-July 1937 LOCATION: Los Angeles Ca.
What the Narc's were claiming
"A boy seventeen years of age shot and killed a policeman in Los Angeles, California. Inasmuch as the officer had been his best friend, the boy's action was difficult to understand until it was discovered he was "high" on "reefers" when he committed the crime." -- "Assassin of Youth" (Book) 1954 By Robert Devine
"A boy seventeen years of age shot and killed a policeman in Los Angeles, California. Inasmuch as the officer had been his best friend, the boy's action was difficult to understand until it was discovered that he was "high" on "reefers" when he committed the crime." -- Moloch Of Marihuana (1945) Robert James Devine
"I am reminded of a Los Angeles case in which a boy of seventeen killed a policeman. They had been great friends. Patrolling his beat, the officer often stopped to talk to the young fellow, to advise him. But one day the boy surged toward the patrolman yellowish flame, and the officer fell dead. "Why did you kill him?" the youth was asked. "I don't know," he sobbed. "He was good to me. I was high on reefers. Suddenly I decided to shoot him." -- American Magazine "Marijuana, Assassin of Youth" By H.J Anslinger - July 1937
WHY WE BELIEVE IT'S A FAKE:
After extensive research on the subject, which included going through numerous back issues of Los Angeles Times, literally searching over each and every LAPD officer (including Sheriffs deputies etc) killed in the line of duty, we have been unable to locate any such incident.
BELOW ARE THE FACTS AS I/WE SEE THEM:
1- We have examined each and every L.A.P.D. death on record (starting in 1900) up until July 1937, via websites and newspaper back issues, with no matches.
2- We have examined numerous other police slaying, that occurred near the city of LA, as well as other law enforcement groups (example, Sheriffs Deputies), and again, no matches.
3- We have contacted various governmental groups [LAPD, city of Los Angeles etc.], historical groups, including police memorial groups -- again nothing, no matches.
Thus, I feel safe in saying, that: As their were ONLY so many police officers Killed in the line of duty, and as NONE of them match the given conditions (stated by the head of the Bureau of Narcotics), that NO such case actually occurred.
SMOKING GUN:
While we have no smoking gun --- Due to the shear fact that there were only so many LAPD Officers that were killed [on or off the line of duty] and as we have checked over every last one of them, we feel that the onus of proof now falls on the narc's to prove that the Gore Case in Question is real and not a figment of "anti-Medical Marihuana Propaganda.
Note, [without proof] given the date, we believe that Wm. G. Walker may have been responsible for the creation of this Gore file Case.
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
[NONE]
SEE FAKE GORE FILE CASES
Name: Joseph Ogden (Victim Oliver George Sinecal) Date: Aug 18, 1937 Location: New York City
What the Narc's were claiming
In New York City, an addicted inmate of the Tombs confessed that he had murdered a friend and put his body in a trunk. -- FORUM AND CENTURY - Jan. 1939
A New Yorker Killed a neighbor and stuffed his body in a trunk. -- THE EAGLE MAGAZINE [Nov. 1941]
In New York, Joseph Ogden murdered his best friend and stuffed his body into a trunk. -- "On the Trail of Marihuana, the Weed of Madness" By Earle Rowell 1939
1937 - J. Ogden, New York - 39 - While both smoking marihuana cigarettes, shot and killed roommate G. Senical, who wanted to borrow $20 to buy heroin. Put body in trunk to get rid of it. Arrested that night, had 20 marihuana cigarettes; had been selling in Miami restaurant before crime. Previous criminal record. III was fearless after smoking marihuana cigarettes but would not have done this without marihuana." - Arrested -- 6th conference report - INEOA 1965
1937 - New York - Male 39 While both smoking marihuana cigarettes, shot and killed room-mate G. Senical, who wanted to borrow $20 to buy heroin. Put body in trunk, to get rid of it. Arrested that night, had 20 marihuana cigarettes; had been selling in Miami restaurant before crime. Previous criminal record, " I was fearless after smoking marihuana cigarettes but would not have done this without marihuana." -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics" -1966 Issue 2
There is one other point which I would like to mention and that is the case of a man named Joseph Ogden who is reported among others in Mr. Merrill's paper as having been an addict. I saw him and spent some time with him. He was a psychopathic individual. I think he had been in the State hospital at Lexington, and had had several other arrests. But nothing in his history indicated Marihuana. In other words, the newspaper accounts must be discounted. The fact of the matter was that he had not even been a drug addict, but was a homosexualist. The offender was murdered by him and shoved into a trunk. I do not know whether he disarticulated his arms or not, but he sent the trunk to the express station, and they saw blood oozing out of it, and picked him up. He told the story rather frankly. It was a horrible crime. I think Marihuana was innocent of that. I am sure of that, because I have been able to check that very carefully. -- Marihuana Conference - Held Dec. 5, 1938
A thirty-nine-year-old man: "While both smoking marihuana cigarettes, shot and killed roommate . . . who wanted to borrow $20 to buy heroin. Put body in trunk, to get rid of it. Arrested that night, had twenty marihuana cigarettes; had been selling in Miami restaurant before crime. Previous criminal record. 'I was fearless after smoking marihuana cigarettes but would not have done this without marihuana. -- "Marijuana, the facts, the truth" 1968 by Will Oursler
Newspaper accounts:
Bismarck Tribune
[1937-08-18 pg. 2] “Man Tells How he Killed Room-Mate”
Edwardsville Inteligencer
[1937-08-18 pg. 2] “Solve Murder in nine Hours”
HammondTimes
[1937-08-19 ] “Trunk Murder Mystery Solved In New York”
OshkoshNorthwestern
[1937-08-19 pg. 13] “Held in Trunk Slaying”
ZanesvilleSignal
[1937-08-18 pg. 1] “Number on Trunk Trumps up Killer”
WHY WE FEEL THIS IS A FAKE GORE FILE CASE:
[From the book --- HEMP & HISTORY by Robert A. Nelson ]
One case cited by Anslinger concerned "O.J.", who confessed to the murder of a friend "while under the influence of marihuana". Dr Walter Bromberg of the New York County Court of General Sessions' Psychiatric Clinic reported on the case in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1939, and confirmed that O.J. had indeed murdered his friend and stuffed the corpse into a trunk. According to Dr Bromberg's report, "O.J was examined in this clinic…Although he was a psychopathic liar and possibly homosexual, there was no indication in the examination or history of any use of any drug. The investigation by the probation department failed to indicate the use of the drug marijuana". In 1966, Dr James Munch, who was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Narcotics, resurrected the lie in an article published in the United Nations Bulletin on narcotics, and embellished it with a quotation attributed to O.J.
From - J.A.M.A. [JOURNAL of the AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION] 1939
"Marihuana: A Psychiatric Study" by Walter Bromberg.
"The bulletin prepared by the Foreign Policy Association [MARIHUANA; The New Dangerous Drug (pamphlet 1937 Edition) by Frederick T. Merrill] lists ten cases "culled at random from the files of the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics" of murder and atrocious assault in which marihuana was directly responsible for the crime. Among the ten patients, the second, J.O., was described as having confessed how he murdered a friend and put his body in a trunk while under the influence of marihuana. J.O. was examined in this clinic; although he was a psychopathic liar and possible homosexual, there was no indication in the examination or history of the use of any drug. The investigation by the probation department failed to indicate use of the drug marihuana. The deceased, however, was addicted to heroin. "
Name: [NONE] Date: Around 1968 Location: [NONE]
What the Narc's were claiming
"The United States Bureau of narcotics and Dangerous Drugs [aka DEA] recently conducted its own study. It revealed a definite pattern between marijuana usage and crime. City and state police agencies were surveyed to gather and assemble a volume of well documented instances a volume of well documented instances where criminal behavior was directly related to marijuana -- "MARIJUANA - The WEED OF DEATH" by Dr. W.S. McBirnie [quoting H.L. Giordano]
MARIHUANA AND CRIME The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs recently conducted its own study. It revealed a definite pattern between marihuana usage and crime. City and State police agencies were surveyed to gather and assemble a volume of well-documented instances where criminal behavior was directly related to the use of marihuana. Several of the more poignant examples from this study are: -- FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Nov 1968 (Article by) H.L. Giordano
THE FACTS AS WE SEE THEM:
The study never happened.
THE SMOKING GUN:
The following is taken from the book "The Marijuana Smokers," by Erich Goode
"We commonly read that a "study" has "proven" a causal connection between marijuana use and crime, particularly violent crime. Giordano, the former Associate Director of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, wrote as follows: "The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs recently conducted its own study. It revealed a definite pattern between marihuana usage and crime. City and state police agencies were surveyed to gather and assemble a volume of well-documented instances where criminal behavior was directly related to the use of marihuana."
"As no statistics were cited in this particular article wherein the claim was made-only isolated cases were enumerated-I wrote to the Bureau of Narcotics asking about this "study." Louise G. Richards, research social psychologist for the Division of Drug Sciences of the Bureau, replied: "The study mentioned by Mr. Giordano... was not a research project of this Division. I have never seen it referred to except in the cited article. As far as I know, it did not result in either a published or an unpublished report" (personal communication, June 3, 1969). In fact, no such systematic study was actually done by the Bureau-nor has there ever been a study that adequately and definitively demonstrated the reputed link between marijuana and crime. Systematic data have never been brought to bear on the question." -- [Book] 1970 - The Marijuana Smokers by Erich Goode
NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS:
[NONE]
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