Anslinger, Jazz and The War on Drugs: A Musical History

Ever since mankind crawled out of the primordial ooze, humans have tried to alter their reality. It can be successfully argued that life itself was predicated on the urge to transform existence.

“Just Say No” was an advertising campaign, part of the U.S. “War on Drugs”, prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from engaging in illegal recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying no. The slogan was created and championed by First Lady Nancy Reagan during her husband’s presidency

America’s obsessive need to not acknowledge this fundamental desire has given us the disastrous and never-ending war on drugs.

Ever since Nancy Reagan campaigned to, “Just Say No” back in the 80s, a myriad of drugs have flooded America’s streets.

Crack flourished, heroin and cocaine got cheaper, crystal meth spread and a whole new crop of designer drugs and pharmaceuticals have killed millions.

People are higher now than they’ve ever been.

America’s drug war began in 1930 with the creation of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

The first target of the agency was marijuana.

Harry Jacob Anslinger (May 20, 1892 — November 14, 1975) was a United States government official who served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). He was a supporter of prohibition and the criminalization of drugs, and played a pivotal role in cannabis prohibition.

The department’s director Harry J. Anslinger demonized the plant with catchy slogans such as, “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men” and, “You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother”.

People were so entranced with the Bureau’s racist propaganda that few questioned the legitimacy of Anslinger’s assertions.

It became accepted knowledge that marijuana was the scrooge of mankind.

His xenophobic campaign to eradicate marijuana smoking had a bias against jazz musicians. During his tenure, Anslinger ordered his agents to keep a close eye on musicians such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and many others whose music he believed was turning America’s (white) youth into dope fiends.

At one point in the 1940’s he proposed rounding up all the jazz musicians in a nationwide sweep.

He was right about one thing though.

Marijuana did have a profound effect on 20th century jazz but, listening to that music now, I’d say we are better as a nation for it.

The excellent 2-disc compilation, “Dope & Glory: Reefer Songs from the 30’s & 40’s” (Trikont) chronicles the influence of marijuana on jazz. It is a high-flying romp of syncopated rhythms, blazing horns and unabashed praises to mother nature played with zealous innovation.

Whatever these guys and gals were smoking, they certainly were smoking the good stuff.

Starting off the collection is Mezz Mezzrow & His Orchestra with the clarinet driven instrumental, “Sendin’ The Vipers” (Viper was slang for marijuana smokers). The tune swings with breathless ease as does Tampa Red & The Chicago Five’s joyous, “I’m Gonna Get High” and Cootie Williams & His Rug Cutters muted trumpet stomp, “Ol’ Man River”.

Solos are often lyrical punctuating the frantic tempos with festive bursts of melody. These guys might have been high, but it did not diminish their abilities as players.

The musicianship is consistently top notch.

Cab Calloway clocks in with two of the collection’s most raucous tunes.

Recorded in 1932, “The Man from Harlem” features Calloway’s energetic scat singing and hard swinging big band.

“If he trades you dimes for nickels and calls watermelon pickles then you know you’re talkin’ to the reefer man” Calloway sings with barely contained exuberance on the comical, “Reefer Man” (the tune is given a more subdued but equally blissful interpretation by Harlan Lattimore & His Connie’s Inn Orchestra).

It’s hard to listen to either one of these songs without smiling.

Fellow jazz luminary Louis Armstrong shines on the Kid Ory inspired New Orleans romp, “Sweet Sue, Just You” comically breaking the song down midway through imitating how musicians would interpret the song under the influence of marijuana.

On 1928’s slow rolling “Muggles”, Armstrong lets his trumpet do the talking rolling over piano based composition like a cloud of smoke.

Louis Armstrong: “Muggles”

Many lesser known singers and musicians contribute memorable material. Cleo Brown’s spry, “The Stuff is Here”, Frankie, “Half-Pint” Jaxon’s bluesy, “Jive Man Blues” and the Meltone Boys wholesome Ink Spots frolic, “Mary Jane” are just some of the many highlights to be found on this thoroughly entertaining set.

The Meltone Boys: “Mary Jane”

It is hard to have a reasonable discussion about drug use.

Anslinger’s methods have and continue to compound the drug problem with ignorance instead of acknowledging the inherent curiosity that leads to drug use in the first place.

“I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana — so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful,” Sessions said while speaking with law enforcement officers Wednesday. “Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.”

Instead of spending untold billions of dollars year after year waging a war that was designed never will be won, legalize the substances, tax them and in unnerving detail, educate the masses on the dire consequences of habitual use.

The same rules that apply to alcohol and cigarettes should apply to all intoxicants.

Sadly though, with Jeff Sessions as the nation’s Attorney General, the war on drugs isn’t going to end anytime soon.

It is only going to get worse.

Chris Bopst, April 20, 2018

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