Reefer Madness (1936)

Reefer Madness (AKA “Tell Your Children”, “The Burning Question”, “Dope Addict”, “Doped Youth” and “Love Madness”)
Directed by Louis J. Gasnier
Written by Arthur Hoerl from an original story by Lawrence Meade
1936/USA
George A. Hirliman Productions
First viewing

[box] Bureau Official: Here is an example: A fifteen-year-old lad apprehended in the act of staging a holdup – fifteen years old and a marijuana addict. Here is a most tragic case.

Dr. Carroll: Yes. I remember. Just a young boy… under the influence of drugs… who killed his entire family with an axe.[/box]

The second in my series of roadshow attractions from 1936 and another exploitation film that masquerades under the guise of raising public awareness on the perils of the evil weed.

In this one, Mary, Bill, and Jimmy are happy well-adjusted teenagers until Jimmy accepts Jack’s invitation to a party.  One by one they are picked off by innocently accepting cigarettes offered by their friends … cigarettes that immediately start them laughing maniacally.  After the victims become hopeless addicts, the inevitable slide to attempted rape, hit-and-run driving, murder, frame-up, and suicide begins.

This one is not quite so salacious as Marihuana but was surely scandalous for its time. The acting is priceless.  This film gained cult status in the 70’s when NORML showed it as a midnight movie to raise funds for its marijuana legalization efforts.

Original Trailer