Marijuana and media manipulation

For good or ill cannabis has been an integral part of literature and music for several centuries, and films since the start, but its history is one of smoke and mirrors, not least in the 20th century, through it's relatively benign acceptance of the first 25 years of the last century, through its demonisation throughout the thirties, forties and fifties to the social liberalisation of the sixties and beyond - cannabis media profile has been swayed radically by propagandists using it to serve their own agendas.

This talk is a very brief look at the legislation behind the movies, what are the real reasons that such scaremonger films as Marihuana and refer madness were made? What are the facts behind the propaganda put out by the Hearst newspaper group?

Introduction

The early days of cinema
A look at drugs in the silent era

30's exploitation films