The Untouchable

George Orwell famously asserted, "The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history." This statement epitomizes the approach adopted by Harry Anslinger, former commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, to shape the public perception of drugs in America. While the overt racism and targeting of black artists like Billie Holiday and her contemporaries are well-documented, I contend that Anslinger's most insidious tactic was his manipulation of the media, which continues to warp truth, rewrite history, and influence the American psyche. Anslinger's strategic use of newspapers and films to propagate stereotypes about marginalized groups, including Mexican immigrants and African Americans, has had a lasting impact, perpetuating distorted perceptions and contributing to the dehumanization of minority communities in contemporary discourse.

Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs, author Alexandra Chasin describes Anslinger as a "spin doctor" and characterized him by "his prowess as a propagandist"(8). Chasin writes that "He knew that control of narrative engendered other forms of social control"(8). As the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Anslinger faced a dilemma, including a shrinking budget and a previous failed government attempt at banning illicit substances through Prohibition. In Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari describes this situation by stating, "A war on narcotics alone - cocaine and heroin, outlawed in 1914 - wasn't enough"(14-15). The solution was to pivot towards a direction that could fund the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, but this solution simultaneously perpetuated racism by devising a scapegoat. Anslinger believed "the two most-feared groups in the United States - Mexican immigrants and African Americans - were taking [cannabis] much more than white people"(Hari 15). Looking at the racist roots of this pivot, we can see that one of the main reasons for banning drugs “was that the blacks, Mexicans, and Chinese were using the chemicals, forgetting their place, and menacing white people''(Hari 26) which "threatened social order"(Chasin 190). Villainizing minority groups had Americans “[begin] to clamor for the Bureau of Narcotics to be given more money”(Hari 16) and provided the program a purpose, to back stereotypes of minority drug addicts through pulp stories in credible newspapers, films, and radio. 

The problem with Anslinger’s stories wasn't that he was adding gas to a pre-existing fire. The problem was that he started the fire, tended to it, and let it burn out of control as the lone tender to the flame of misinformation. "Harry's bureau...housed all kinds of files, memos, reports, and correspondence"(Chasin 184), and he weaponized this collection because "he was discovering he could control the flow of ideas"(Hari 18). "[Anslinger] wanted to control the distribution of stories about drugs"(Chasin 193), and he attempted this by having a monopoly on the market by being the sole provider of these stories. Chasin said, "Readers knew of marijuana after reading ['Assassin of Youth'], but they knew only what Harry J. Anslinger and Courtney Ryley Cooper had to say about it"(191). Seeing the fire he created burn high, Anslinger realized he had a monopoly over the media on drugs and decided to push forward, telling any story he wanted, including "sourceless examples of marijuana causing insanity"(Chasin 190).

Anslinger’s sensationalized stories villainized minority groups, and in the case of Mexicans, Anslinger used some of his common themes, including insanity by marijuana use. This theme was ramped up when Anslinger latched onto the story of Victor Licata. Pushing the Licota story, "The press, at Harry's prompting, made Licata's story famous"(Hari 16). Chasin said, "Anslinger used Victor Licata, again and again, as the wake up call to the dangers of marijuana (and Mexicans)"(191). In an article by CBS News, Cydney Adams wrote, “It was discovered many years later, however, that Licata had a history of mental illness in his family, and there was no proof he ever used the drug”(Adams). The implied nature of this story wasn't solely to warn about drugs, Anslinger had plenty of stories, but Harry pushed this story because it associated the marijuana drug with Mexicans. Cydney Adams also mentioned how “the word ‘marijuana’ itself was part of [Anslinger’s] approach. What was commonly known as cannabis until the early 1900s was instead called marihuana, a Spanish word more likely to be associated with Mexicans”(Adams), which only further demonstrates Anslinger’s active attempts to associate Mexicans with the “drug problem” in the United States. 

While Anslinger brought forth stories of Mexicans and their use of marijuana, we can still see his influence in the modern association of Mexican immigrants with drug trafficking and cartels. We can see this in political rhetoric, including some of Ron Desantis’ 2024 presidential campaign points, such as the need for the use of “deadly force”(Gutierrez and Seward) on the Mexican and United States border. The political conversation around Mexican immigration and drugs demonstrates that while we are decades beyond Anslinger’s original stories, we continue to associate drugs with Mexican immigrants. While immigration is a highly debated topic, the mistreatment of Mexican immigrants through media depiction as well as basic human rights, are failing. A New York Times article claimed, “The U.S. government has placed detained immigrants in solitary confinement more than 14,000 times in the last five years, and the average duration is longer than what the U.N. has said may constitute torture”(Nixon and Santos). When looking at the influence of dehumanization in the media, we can see the effects on everyday Mexican-Americans. Research has shown that “hate crimes against Latinos increase when there is national news involving Hispanic people''(Linares and Telemundo). In American society, we continue to justify the dehumanization of Mexican immigrants through fear-mongering based on the fear of drugs. 

Anslinger also used stories to perpetuate stereotypes about African Americans. In Anslinger’s opinion, "the most frightening effects of marijuana…was on blacks. It made them forget the appropriate racial barriers"(Hari 17). Some of these factors were superhuman strength, while other stories contained other forms of sensationalized fabrications. Anslinger’s stories utilized pre-existing racism and anxieties of the general public. One infamous example of a sensationalized story that used the same tactics as Anslinger before his time in office is the New York Times article titled “Negro Cocaine ‘Fiends’ Are a New Southern Menace”(Williams). In this article, there is a passage under the title “Proof Against Bullets,” and within this blurb, the article claims officers faced up against the threat of an African American on cocaine “[know] that he must kill the man or be killed himself”(Williams). The solution to this problem given by the article is that “the only method to keep him from taking this drug is imprisoning him”(Williams). Anslinger’s use of the media similar to prior forms of stereotyping and racism against African Americans and the public’s acceptance of these stories as facts led to the rationalization that “getting rid of the white powder would render black Americans docile and on their knees once again”(Hari 27). 

Even after the death of Anslinger, fears of African Americans and drugs continue to consume controversy and police action. One notable instance occurred “in 1992 when four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King”(Bernstein and Bailey). The excuse from these officers stemmed from “fears that King was on PCP”(Bernstein and Bailey) which was found to be false. In the police officers' excuses, they used similar rhetoric as the infamous 1914 New York Times article by saying they believed the drug PCP would give King “hulk-like strength”(Bernstein and Bailey). Excuses from jurors included how “the cops were simply doing what they'd been instructed to do”(Mydans) and “they were afraid he was going to run or even attack them”(Mydans). The defense lawyers claimed it was “the role of a police force in protecting society from 'the likes of Rodney King'”(Mydans).

Into the twenty-first century, we continue to justify violence against African Americans by police officers by blaming drugs. For example, the George Floyd murder by the police was argued by the defense that it was an overdose that killed him. A Washington Post article claims that “the defense [used] events out of order and medical findings out of context to deflect blame from Chauvin to Floyd”(Bernstein and Bailey). The defense argued that “Mr. Floyd’s use of fentanyl and methamphetamine most likely killed him”(Bernstein and Bailey). In this argument, Floyd, an African American, and the drugs he was using were the causes of his death, instead of the knee of a police officer that inhibited him from breathing, subsequently blaming the victim.

These continued excuses in both of these cases demonstrate how African Americans continue to be blamed and feared for the looming threat of drug use. While in both these cases violence occurred against a human being, the defense attorneys decided to dehumanize the victims of police violence by blaming drug use and claiming the violence falls within the rights of an officer. All of these justifications for police violence in modern times are claims made in the 1914 article rooted in racist misinformation titled “Negro Cocaine ‘Fiends’ Are a New Southern Menace” and demonstrate the continued ignorance of the American people on the powers of drugs. 

Harry Anslinger cast a foggy haze on all those who look back on the early drug war in America by distorting our views of what truly occurred. Chasin said, "We live in a regime of mass incarceration that literally decimates communities and disenfranchises particular, and very large, social cohorts, by means of drug laws"(13). America still uses Anslinger’s talking points, and “many of the threads in Anslinger’s arguments are still present in the American conversation about legalizing marijuana.”(Adams). Anslinger leaves us in a world where Orwell would tell us that we are a destroyed people due to our complete and utter ignorance of our history since those we trusted in positions of power to solve a problem were vehemently biased and driven in a way not pointed towards true problem solving, but instead in their own best interest for their jobs and moral values rooted in racism. Due to this mishandling of power, we continue to see the effects of Anslinger in the continued dehumanization of Mexican immigrants and African Americans due to the stigma around drugs.

Works Cited

Adams, Cydney. “The man behind the marijuana ban for all the wrong reasons.” CBS News, 17 November 2016, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harry-anslinger-the-man-behind-the-marijuana-ban/. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Bernstein, Lenny, and Holly Bailey. “At the heart of Derek Chauvin's trial is this question: What killed George Floyd?” Washington Post, 10 March 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/george-floyd-fentanyl/2021/03/10/c3d4f328-76ec-11eb-9537-496158cc5fd9_story.html. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Chasin, Alexandra. Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs. University of Chicago Press, 2016.

Gutierrez, Gabe, and Bianca Seward. “Ron DeSantis endorses 'deadly force' against migrants suspected of trafficking drugs.” NBC News, 26 June 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-vows-send-military-block-drugs-reaching-mexican-ports-rcna91121. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Hari, Johann. Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. Bloomsbury USA, 2015.

Linares, Albinson, and Noticias Telemundo. “Hate crimes against Latinos see 'significant increase.'” NBC News, 3 November 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/hate-crimes-latinos-see-significant-increase-rcna123211. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Mydans, Seth. “Los Angeles Policemen Acquitted In Taped Beating.” The New York Times Web Archive, 29 April 1992, https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0429.html. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Santos, Fernanda. “U.S. Appetite for Mexico's Drugs Fuels Illegal Immigration (Published 2017).” The New York Times, 4 April 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/us/politics/us-appetite-for-mexicos-drugs-fuels-illegal-immigration.html. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Thompson, Matt. “The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' : Code Switch.” NPR, 22 July 2013, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/14/201981025/the-mysterious-history-of-marijuana. Accessed 13 February 2024.

Williams, Edward Huntington. “NEGRO COCAINE "FIENDS" ARE A NEW SOUTHERN MENACE; Murder and Insanity Increasing Among Lower Class Blacks Because They Have Taken to "Sniffing" Since Deprived of Whisky by Prohibition. (Published 1914).” The New York Times, 8 February 1914, https://www.nytimes.com/1914/02/08/archives/negro-cocaine-fiends-are-a-new-southern-menace-murder-and-insanity.html. Accessed 13 February 2024.