ow the War on Drugs turned cannabis into a weapon — and truth into a casualty.
Introduction
By the 1970s, U.S. leaders weren’t just misunderstanding cannabis — they were actively turning it into a weapon.
The U.S. government ignored its own research, buried medical advice, and used drug laws as tools to control, divide, and criminalize. As a result, hemp is non-psychoactive. Despite this, it became collateral damage. The war was never about the plant itself.
This chapter isn’t just about prohibition — it’s about how fear and power shaped national drug policy. It all begins, in fact, with a commission formed to uncover the truth — but used to hide it.
The Commission That Got Buried
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act. This act placed cannabis into Schedule I, the most restricted category. It was categorized alongside heroin and LSD. This classification was supposed to be temporary, pending further review.
To investigate the issue, Nixon appointed the Shafer Commission, led by former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer.
After nearly two years of national hearings, the Commission conducted a scientific review. It then released its final report: Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding.
“The criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession… We recommend that the use of cannabis be decriminalized.”
— Shafer Commission, 1972
Nixon’s Reaction
Nixon ignored the Commission’s findings.
Oval Office tapes revealed that Nixon rejected the commission’s recommendations before it ever reached the public.
He called the Commission “soft” and insisted on harsher anti-marijuana messaging.
Later, Nixon advisor John Ehrlichman admitted the political strategy behind it:
“We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black… but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin… we could disrupt those communities.”
— Ehrlichman, 1994
Nixon’s administration buried the report. Cannabis stayed in Schedule I.
And hemp — still legally tied to marijuana — vanished with it under federal law.
The War on Drugs Begins — And Hemp Is Silenced by Association
When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, cannabis prohibition escalated into a national war.
Congress imposed mandatory minimum sentences.
The “Just Say No” campaign and D.A.R.E. framed cannabis as a gateway drug.
TV specials and public service announcements blurred the line between marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
While the campaign attacked many drugs, it singled out cannabis as one of the most visible. Lawmakers never separated hemp from the plant they feared.
Despite being non-psychoactive and historically legal, hemp remained banned from farming, research, and education.
The Fallout
- By 1989, marijuana arrests had tripled compared to the early 1970s.
- Hemp had disappeared from U.S. agriculture.
- Schools taught millions of students that marijuana led to addiction — without ever explaining the difference between hemp and THC.
The Mindset That Made It Possible
To truly understand this era, you have to get inside the political mindset of the time.
Nixon didn’t just want drug control — he wanted to control the people using them. He tied cannabis to protesters, anti-war voices, and Black communities. In doing so, he found a way to criminalize dissent. This method avoided directly attacking civil rights or free speech.
Many older voters — then and now — were shaped by this propaganda:
- “Reefer Madness” in the 1930s
- Cold War fearmongering in the 1950s
- Counterculture backlash in the 1960s
- “Just Say No” in the 1980s
These messages sank in deep. Even now, some still see cannabis as dangerous. They believe this not because of science — but because fear shaped their world from the start.
“Nixon didn’t invent the fear. He used it. And cannabis paid the price.”
— Part 3: Criminalization & Control
Then vs. Now
| Then (1970s–1980s) | Now (2020s) |
|---|---|
| Cannabis = Schedule I felony | Cannabis legal in many states |
| Hemp = banned by association | Hemp legalized under 2018 Farm Bill |
| Medical experts ignored (Shafer, AMA) | Cannabis research expanding |
| “Just Say No” and drug raids | Expungement and social equity reform |
| Public taught cannabis = hard drugs | Public sees therapeutic potential |
Coming Next
In Part 4, we follow the activists. We also look at the researchers and farmers who kept hemp alive. They persevered even when the law said it was dead. While the U.S. clung to outdated policies, the rest of the world moved ahead.
➡️ Next: Part 4 – Cracks in the Wall (1990s–2000s)