The slander campaigns against marijuana started as early as 1906 and there are still more coming out today. While we have made significant progress in the end of marijuana prohibition there are some people whose minds will never be changed.

Today I’m going to list 4 of the most ridiculous slander campaigns that people have actually believed. It’s one thing to hear the lies and do more research for yourself – but those who follow the propaganda blindly and uninformed are the reason that slander campaigns even work in the first place.

<strong>Reefer Madness</strong>

Thanks to Mexico’s War on Drugs America was introduced to the idea of “reefer madness”. <a href="http://www.theneweconomy.com/business/a-smear-campaign-a-history-of-the-us-relationship-with-cannabis">According to the stories spread from Mexico,</a> those who smoke marijuana are much more likely to act in a violent manner.

However this theory has been gone over again and again and no such effect has been scientifically proven. (Actually, most users claim to be rather calm and relaxed after smoking marijuana.) When this fabrication came about most of the marijuana use in Mexico was in prisons and other already violent environments.

<strong>The Devils Harvest</strong>

In 1942 there was a movie released called “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0157533/">The Devils Harvest</a>”. The movie follows an investigator who is looking for the person providing “the Devils Harvest” – or marijuana – to the youth of America.

This movie actively claimed that marijuana use could lead to things such as debauchery, insanity and sin – and that’s just on the promotional poster! With propaganda like this floating around and no medical or scientific studies done back then, it’s easy to see how the misinformed were convinced they knew better.

<strong>The Gateway Drug Theory</strong>

Again, this one has been pushed on society for decades with no end in sight. As recently as a month or so ago presidential campaigner Chris Christie claimed he does not support marijuana because it is a gateway drug.

The thing is this cannot be proven – and there’s a surprising (or not so surprising depending on who you are) amount of evidence pointing to this being a debunked theory. Is it really worth continuing to argue at this point?

<strong>“The New Date Rape Drug is a Cookie?”</strong>

This is one of the newest slander campaigns against marijuana. Basically those who are spreading this one around are saying that a marijuana infused cookie is just as bad as any date rape drug and can be used in the same way.

While edibles are often more potent and you do not need to consume as much as when you are smoking, it is not likely that someone could use (or would for that matter) a marijuana cookie, brownie or candy as a date rape drug.

The worst part about all of these slander campaigns is that they are spreading misconceptions and an uninformed public is likely to give into the mass scare tactic. Since marijuana was banned there has been much more scientific and medical research done to prove that it is far less harmful than tobacco or alcohol – so why do people attempt to keep spreading these lies like wild fire?