MOTION PICTURES
THE REEFER MADNESS ERA
(The following is an)
Editorial Opinion
WHY SO FEW REEFER MADNESS FILMS?
Given the utter viciousness of the campaign, as well as the obvious uses of motion pictures as a tool for propaganda, one must ask the question; why were there so few reefer madness films made? One would think that there would have been thousands upon thousands of them made. After all, organized campaign or not, there's something about a naked girl (under the influence of medical marihuana) jumping out a window that, well, makes for a good script.

Perhaps the best answer to that question, comes from our first Drug Czar, Harry Anslinger, who wrote:

"Fortunately for the welfare of our country, the Motion Picture Producers Association of America has a provision in their code governing the industry to the effect that its members cannot produce films showing the narcotic traffic or drug addiction in any form. Were it not for this commendable self-imposed restriction by the motion-picture industry, the public would be continually subjected to the presentation of numerous motion pictures with a narcotic theme. From time to time a few motion pictures on narcotics are made outside the code, but their showing evokes so much protest from civic-minded individuals and groups that they are usually withdrawn from circulation before they do much damage." -- The Traffic in Narcotics By H.J. Anslinger and William F. Tompkins
F.A.Q.
(Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: What is the goal of the museum?
A: Our goal is to fully document the origin of the anti-Medical Marihuana laws (a.k.a. the Reefer Madness era) as well as the pre-1937 (meaning legal) uses of Cannabis.

Q: How can I help?
A: First, you can join the museum society; in addition we are always looking for volunteers to help us obtain copies of wanted magazine articles as well as various odd newspaper articles from libraries local to you.

JOIN THE MUSEUM SOCIETY
==== Become a member ====

Your membership dues (only $15 per year) keep the museum going and as a Museum Society member, you will receive a complete set of indexes and CD-ROMs, which include:

  • Documentation on over 600 pre-1942 medical marihuana products on a brand or trade name basis. Included are selected pages from numerous (1840-1942) pharmaceutical price and product catalogs, advertisements, etc. , as well as a complete set of all Museum pictures (including our censored ones).

  • The largest collection of Reefer Madness Magazine and Newspaper Articles collected anywhere.

  • The largest and best collection of Reefer Madness Comic Book stories available anywhere.

  • The Museum's collection of Reefer Madness OTR (Old Time Radio) programs.

  • A fine collection of (Reefer Madness era) pamphlets, book sections, encyclopedia definitions, pulp fiction (dime store novels) book covers, etc.

Contact Information: antique_andy@catholic.org


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