Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-05-16
Bv William 4. Bell, Jr.

by ~ HI11m n. DeII, ".
DOOR has at last been opened
n to effective control OF the
II traffic here in marihuana,
4 a called by the Bureau Of Mar
cotics the most dangerous Of drugs.
The House Ways and Means Com
mittee concluded hearings week ago
on a marihuana control bill by Chair
man Doughton. The bill is now being
considered in executive session. Its
enactment not only would provide for
Federal regulation. but would give to
the District something 1t has never
had-an effective means to combat
the marihuana menace.
Every State has marihuana legisla-
ton OF one sort or another. Thirty Of
them regulate the traffic under the
uniform narcotic drug act. Seven pro-
hibit cultivation. The Mexican gov
eminent bans cultivation or sale, pro-
viding severe penalties for violations
Florida sends marihuana law violators
to prison for as much as seven years.
In Washington, however, all that
AdAA NC oOllC pACoSllC 40 w p1OSCSuCC
marihuana trafickers for practicing
pharmacy without license. Sole pun
ishment for this offense is $50 fine,
whereas the pending bill would pro-
vide fines up to $1,000 and imprison-
ment up to five years-not for I'M
licensed practice, of course, but for
out-and-out illegal handling OF MARI
huana.
The Doughton bill approaches mari
huana control through the back door,
so to speak. for it is a revenue bill
and not strictly police legislation. The
revenue aspects are just 'front.'"
however. the real purpose Of the bill
being to stamp out illegal production.
manufacture and sale Of an insidious
drug 1t is not expected that Treasury
receipts will be materially increased
by the taxes for which the bill makes
provision. Similar taxes on transac-
tons in opium. morphine, heroin and
cocaine contributed only sl8,037 to
March revenues and the proposed
marihuana levies are substantially
lower.
An analogy is the conviction Of Al
Capone for income tax evasion. Vir-
tually every one knew the notorious
Chicago mobster was guilty of more
serious crimes, but it took the Bureau
of Internal Revenue to put him behind
the bars. Application Of revenue laws
was just a means toward an end.
7 1NDER the legislation seemingly
destined for passage, importers.
manufacturers and compounders OF
marihuana would be taxed $50 an
nually; producers, $25. Physicians,
dentists, veterinarians and other
practitioners or researchers would be
required to pay only 81. Each trans
fer of marihuana to any one not
registered with the Treasury and pay
Ing the special tax will be taxable at
the rate of 500 an ounce, prohibit
tive levy because marihuana traffic
is matter of large quantities.
The legal marihuana trafficker, hav-
ing registered with the Government,
Immediately becomes subject to in
spetcion by revenue collectors. He
must keep records showing the whole
history OF sale or tranSfer-the
amount Of sales, purchase price and
the name and address Of the re-
cipient. He must also record the
amount Of the drug in his posses
sion and If producer, the location
and acreage Of the field where mari
huana Is growing.
This will enable the Government to
keep tab on the n1arihuana supply
and to discover whether any OF it
has been diverted into illegal chan
nels, and woe betide any one caught
fooling with the stuff without tax
payment receipt or other proof that
his business in marihuana is open
and above board
Lacking effective means of control
the District, which otherwise has good
narcotic legislation, has an illegal
marihuana traffic that is, without
question, problem, according to Har-
ry j. Anslinger, narcotics commits
sioner It will grow more serious, he
says, if the pending bill doesn't come
to the rescue.
That marihuana is a problem here
Is shown by these facts:
Two years ago the Narcotics Blu
reau made survey in cooperation
with the Metropolitan Police and
within week had arrested Is ped
oilers. The only action that could be
taken against them was to charge
them with practicing pharmacy with
out license.
Last fall Federal authorities dis
covered a 3-acre marihuana farm
in Dundalk, Nd, on the outskirts Of
Baltimore. Their seizure amounted
to tons, an extraordinarily large
haul The product of the Dundalk
weeds had been finding its way into
Washington in the form of cigarettes
peddled surreptitiously to youths as
we'll as to confirmed "muggles'
smokers.
IN ORDER to show why Federal,
State and municipal authorities
are exercised greatly over the mari
huana menace it is necessary to out
line the history of the drug and to
enumerate some Of its evils.
First, history:
Development Of the illegal traffic
In marihuana in the United States has
been rapid only during the last two
years, but it long has been serious
problem in other parts of the globe,
Egypt in particular. So grave is the
situation in Egypt that the central
narcotics Intelligence bureau of that
government published l72-page IL
Illustrated report on the subject in
1894
Marihuana-other names are mari
juana, hashish, hay, greefo, muggles,
weed, Mary Warner, REFER, ganga or
bhang Gndia). hachichet ell keif
(Syria and Lebanon), kit algeria,
Morocco, takrouri (Tunisia), djamba,
liamba, riamba Central Africa, Bra
1ih douro (Coy,fhor,, AfricoN-ic tho