Last Look
It’s Only a Movie,
It’s Only a Movie ... Though this green-eyed monster’s “Devil’s Harvest” poster doesn’t have the same recognizability factor as “Reefer Madness,” the message is still painfully familiar. Demonizing cannabis began in the early 1900s by associating it with Mexican immigrants and African Americans. Thanks to rampant racism and scapegoating, the U.S. government passed the Marihuana Tax in 1937, which restricted the use and sale of cannabis. The spelling of marijuana with an H is the correct name of the legislation; the incorrect use of “it’s” in the movie poster gives insight to the level of hysteria still evident in 1942, when “Devil’s Harvest” was released. CS
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Cannabis by the Sea Summer 2020
