Tax Act 1937

1860 Words8 Pages

The purpose of this investigation is to determine what the principal cause was for implementing the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 and analyze what the cause reveals about Americans during the 1930s. The main body of the evidence will investigate the events leading up to the creation of the act and the societal bias’ that influenced the implementation of the tax act, particularly against Mexican immigrants. Evidence will include the Marihuana Tax Act, witness testimonies, and secondary sources such as historical accounts of the time period. The investigation will focus on events that directly impacted the implementation of the tax act from the years 1910-1937. This investigation will give a view into the bias of Americans in the past and can also …show more content…

It stated “Every person who imports, manufactures, produces, compounds, sells, deals in, dispenses, prescribes, administers, or gives away marihuana shall...pay...special taxes”. “ Rather than making marijuana possession illegal directly, the law required you to purchase a tax stamp in order to possess marijuana legally. Because the taxes were set prohibitively high, it discouraged compliance, creating de facto prohibition”. Prior to the implementation of the tax act, there was much discussion within the American government over the use of cannabis. Although the industrial use of hemp was common prior to the implementation of the tax act, recreational use was not and many people did not approve the use of the …show more content…

As hemp continued being used for various reasons, paper, rope, fuel, etc., many major lumber companies began looking for new ways to increase profit. Although some may argue that the Marihuana Tax Act was the result of greed by Heart and his paper company, as they wanted to be able to monopolize the areas in which hemp was being used, even this argument can be used as an example of cultural bias against Mexicans during the 1930s. Prior to the implementation of the tax act, Hearst lost 800,000 acres of timberland to Pancho Villa, a Mexican activist, and Villa’s army of men.. This, coupled with Hearst’s openly expressed hatred towards immigrants, is what pushed him to go against the hemp industry and favor the Marihuana Tax