se white men were afraid that their women might be "corrupted" by the Chinese men (Marijuana Information, 2003)
             The Harrison Act targeted Black men. This act passed prior to the Marijuana Act was focused on opium and cocaine. White men were under the belief that when a Black man was under the influence of cocaine he was extremely dangerous and that there was a strong possibility of him raping white women. The Harrison Acts key importance comes from its effectiveness in allowing pharmacists and doctors to prescribe drugs with a license. The Harrison Act was effective because the agencies that were endowed with the authority to grant licenses never intended to distribute any. The penalty for distribution without a permit was severe (Marijuana Mayhem, 2003).
             The same prejudice that was directed towards the Chinese was later directed toward the influx of Mexicans. The Mexican population increased dramatically in border towns during the Depression was now being seen as a nuisance. When bureaucrats and newspaper editors were informed of the Mexicans use of a drug called marijuana became a vital course of information for them. Soon after newspaper articles and rumors that spread like wild fire were relating violent crimes that were committed by the Mexicans to their use of marijuana. One of the most popular stories was about a Mexican father would killed his daughter and when he was interrogated mentioned he regularly smoked marijuana and that he was not able to obtain any for the last two days and that his nerves were now on end. This was used as powerful ammunition in the campaign to eliminate the use of marijuana and to ultimately hurt the Mexicans (Marijuana Mayhem, 2003).
             Originally the tax was hard to enforce. It is difficult to enforce a tax on a plant that grows in the wild naturally. The government gave people who possessed marijuana on their land two options. Their first option was to pay a twenty-five dollar a year "occup...