The Unknown Story of “The War On Drugs”
On the night of June 18, 1971, The 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon, walked into a room with three people behind him. After taking his place at the podium, Nixon said one sentence that would influence many American lives for generations to come, including mine, “Drug Use in America’s Public Enemy Number One.” Although Nixon (And Later Ronald Reagan) started our campfire telling of the War On Drugs, the true origins date back much further and to one person Henry Jacob Anslinger.
Henry Jacob Anslinger was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on May 20, 1892. Anslinger often talked about one moment in his childhood, at the age of only twelve, after hearing a scream that didn’t sound at all human, his neighbor ran out and asked him to head to the local pharmacy and pick something up. Henry went inside and picked up Morphine, as a twelve-year-old boy. Once he got back to his neighbors home, The screaming had stopped, and instead was fuming with excitement. Henry would go on to become one of the most influential figures in shaping how we talk and deal with narcotics today, but he’s otherwise forgotten. In 1926 Ansliger became a U.S consul in the British Bahamas, A critical place that smuggled illegal alcohol into the United States. Anslinger became a tremendous force in the Prohibition force due to his ability to convince the British to help stop the smuggled liquor. In July of 1930, Herny J Anslinger became commissioner for the Bureau Of Narcotics, just a few years before no existing laws barred any addict from getting their Drugs prescribed by a doctor. Once Henry came into his commissioner position, a black market had already been flourishing for the same drugs that were legal just years ago. Henry would often make claims with the intent of sounding an alarm. They worked. one of his “alarms” claimed that Addicts made others also become addicts, Addicts were “Infectious.” the majority of addicts in his mind were people of color, one of his biggest hates other than Addicts was Jazz and African Americans. Jazz represents something in a core disagreement with Herny’s idea of what the world should be, Relaxed, Improvisation, and most importantly, an expression of self. These were things that could not coexist with the world he was going to build.
Southern trees bear strange fruit.
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Billie Holiday was standing. Eyes closed with only a spotlight placed on her face. She continued.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh-
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Billie finishes the song and walks off the stage, No applause, but Its impact fills the room of the Cafe Society.
Billie Holiday was one of the many victims of the War on Drugs, But not one we talk about when discussing the topic of drugs, but she’s a crucial part of the story. When Billie was younger, Her neighbor was attempting to rape her. Her man who assaulted her didn’t receive more than a few months in Jail. Billie was instead sent for longer into a reform school with Nuns. Billie was often perceived as rebellious she was forced into a room filled with dead bodies overnight with the intent of “correcting her behavior,” as one could imagine. She fled this “reformatory school” in search of her mother. She found her mother working in a brothel, where Billie eventually worked. Billie would subsequently become a Heroin addict and one that Henry Anslinger would target relentlessly. On her death bed, Billie was cuffed and arrested by Henry Anslinger’s men. Herny Anslinger’s hatred of drugs didn’t matter much when the user was white. Take the star of Wizard Of Oz, Judy Garland. Anslinger told Garland to take a “vacation” after discovering she had a drug problem, Alslinger not surprisingly enough. He was told by one of his colleagues to resign because he said the N-word too often.
I said earlier in this article that this issue would concern all of us. Well, I’ll start on how it worries me. I’m a recovering Opiate addict, while I'm also a college student. I first tried OxyCotin after surgery. I was already trying Percocet the following weekend. It’s mostly a reflection of the area I grew up around. I come from a long line of addicts, some from nicotine, some from alcohol. None of those are illegal, just regulated. At no point did they have to wake up at 3 AM and call an uber to come to pick them up and drop them off at a Home Depot parking lot. Henry Anslinger started this war not because he wanted to help the world rid itself of substances but because he wanted to shame people he deemed unworthy. As for where it concerns you, the reader. I’d suggest having a moment to think about how drugs have affected your life or someone you know, then read about Henry Anslinger. He might be the cause you’ve never found.
