Date of Award
8-16-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Radio-Television, MSMC
First Advisor
Mary Jackson Pitts
Committee Members
Collin Pillow; Michael Bowman
Abstract
The issue of medical marijuana is a highly political issue within today's media coverage. At the core of the debate, is the nature of state's rights issues versus federal law supremacy. But most people don't know there was a time when medical marijuana was legal and openly used by pharmacists and doctors to treat various medical conditions. This documentary will explore the medical marijuana debate from a historical perspective of how the Federal Bureau of Narcotics changed the laws and public perception of a once widely used medical treatment during the 1930s. By examining communications theories including propaganda, framing theory, agenda setting, and gatekeeping, one will be able to see how the strategies used by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics forever changed the public perception of medical marijuana.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Holifield, Michael, "Blowing Smoke: Harry Anslinger and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937" (2013). Student Theses and Dissertations. 807.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/807
