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KJZZ's Reefer Growing Madness

Prologue: How marijuana went from ghastly menace to eventual legalization in Arizona

Published February 19, 2025 at 4:30 AM MST
This piano player (uncredited) is a secret marijuana fiend in the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness.”
G&H Productions
This piano player (uncredited) is a secret marijuana fiend in the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness.”

A reefer is a marijuana cigarette. Reefer Madness is a 1936 propaganda film that labels pot as a ghastly menace. This prologue for Reefer Growing Madness explores marijuana’s foothold in the U.S. - from cultural expression to anti-racial propaganda, then outlawed substance to eventual legalization in certain states.

Read the episode transcript →

Time lapse: Watch a marijuana plant grow from clone to packaged product in Arizona

Image of a marijuana plant growing in the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness.”
G&H Productions
Image of a marijuana plant growing in the 1936 propaganda film “Reefer Madness.”

KJZZ's Reefer Growing Madness
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