The Forgotten Origins of Cannabis Prohibition in California

Abstract

Long before being banned by federal law in 1937, cannabis was prohibited by California in 1913. The law was sponsored by the state Board of Pharmacy as part of a wider, aggressive anti-narcotics campaign originally aimed at opiates. There was no broader public concern about cannabis at the time. Prior to 1913, evidence for the use of “hashish” in California is exceedingly slim. Mexican “marihuana” was not familiar to the public until after the law was passed. The law was originally proposed by board member Henry Finger, supposedly to prevent the spread of cannabis use by “Hindoo” immigrants. The board began staging raids against marihuana in the Mexican district of Los Angeles in 1914. Despite increasing penalties, use gradually spread during the 1920s and after. California's law was not caused by “reefer madness,” anti-Mexican prejudice, or any publicly perceived problem, but by a preemptive bureaucratic initiative.