Anti Marijuana Propaganda is almost entirely rooted in racism - before I put forward my argument I've tried to be as objective as possible considering I am a strong believer in world wide legalisation. Anti-marijuana propaganda is best understood as a product of racialized social control rather than proportionate assessment of harm particularly when contrasted with the treatment of alcohol. Cannabis attracted little public concern until the early twentieth century, when its use became associated with Mexican immigrants and Black communities; the deliberate adoption of the term “marihuana” and the rhetoric promoted by officials such as Harry Anslinger framed the drug as a threat linked to racialized populations rather than to demonstrable risk. This framing persisted despite the absence of evidence that cannabis produced levels of violence, addiction, or social harm comparable to alcohol, a substance that remains legally and culturally normalized despite substantially higher associations with mortality and interpersonal violence. The endurance of punitive cannabis policy, alongside racially disproportionate enforcement outcomes despite similar usage rates across racial groups, suggests that opposition to marijuana has been shaped less by public health considerations than by historically contingent racial anxieties. While contemporary discourse increasingly acknowledges the relative harms of different substances, the legacy of racially selective moral panic continues to structure attitudes and enforcement, indicating that anti-marijuana narratives remain embedded within broader patterns of structural racism. Let me know you're thoughts!