University of Virginia Library

Whitebread Supports Reform Laws
Against Private Drug Exploitation

By JEFF DICKERSON
and RICK KNIESLER

"The history of drugs in the
United States perfectly follows
the history of the United
States from 1900-1970, with
its peaks and troughs of public
interest and popularity."

With this statement Law
Prof. Charles H. Whitebread
opened his talk and discussion
last night on the first federal
drug laws, and his personal
participation in the process of
drug reform on the national
level.

Speaking before a small
group at the Gordon Avenue
Library, Mr. Whitebread
described his work with the
National Commission on
Marijuana and Drug Abuse, for
which he is a consultant.

Early legislation and public
reaction affected the progress
of legislation today, setting
punishment guidelines which
were never changed or revised,
Mr. Whitebread said.

The first federal law
banning marijuana was enacted
in 1914, and has set the
pattern for drug laws until
today. The Hemp Law Act was
originally designed to restrict
the import and use of hemp in
the U.S.

"Not until the late 1960's
has any attempt to change the
past been made," Mr.
Whitebread claimed. "The
popular belief held that
Communism was behind this
evil and was corrupting the
nation's youth, and leading
them to insanity, criminality
and death," he said.

Three categories for early
state laws emerged, developing
into the later national laws. The
Western states developed laws
aimed against the Mexicans
who were immigrating to the
U.S. in 1910. and bringing
"evil" marijuana with them.

"In the Northeast,
legislation against marijuana
was passed even before drug
effects were noticed among the
population, a rarity among
legislative processes," said Mr.
Whitebread.

Utah, with its Mormon
background, banned marijuana
on the basis of religion.

In 1937, the Marijuana Tax
Act was brought before
Congress, yet attained very
little interest, according to Mr.
Whitebread.

"At the turn of the
century, there were more
narcotics addicts in the United
States than there are today."

"Many of these were
middle-aged rural women, who
were addicted to 'patent'
medicines which were in actual
content 50-60 per cent
narcotic addictive," he said.

Much of the blame for
advancing the use of drugs was
placed on m musicians, especially
the jazz musicians of the
1950's. "The Federal Narcotics
Bureau falsely placed much of
the blame and influence on this
group."

Commenting on the current
situation, Mr. Whitebread
referred to President Richard
M. Nixon's Heroin Traffic
Study.

CD/Dave Ritchie

Assoc. Law Prof. Charles H. Whitebread

"It was a tremendously
naive proposal. The problem
today is in the available
market, and in economic
theories," he said. Mr.
Whitebread spoke against the
proposal to pay foreign
exporters to burn poppy fields.

Present areas of legalization
advocated included the
removal of criminal penalties
except for selling, the state
monopoly of marijuana and
the freedom of selling, as in the
cigarette industry.

When asked whether he
thought if Virginia would lead
the nation in legalizing
marijuana, he replied, "Let's
just say that Virginia will not
be the vanguard of the
movement."