Cannabis Time Capsule, 1951: Marijuana as Bad as Morphine?

William Breathes April 3, 2015 4:20PM

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Ever wonder why the generation that came of age in the 1950s was so scared of drugs and – still to this day – equates cannabis with things like heroin? Well, it was probably due to speakers like anti-fun crusader Dr. E. Guy Cutshall, as described in this December 13, 1951 Douglas County newspaper.
According to the brief article, Dr. Cutshall was a “nationally known lecturer and educator” asked to speak to the 175 students in the Douglas County High School auditorium on the subject of narcotics. The most we could find on Cutshall was that he was once the chancellor of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Nebraska as well as a one-time president of the Iliff School of Theology (now a part of the University of Denver). He was apparently a pretty devout Methodist.

And, as best we can tell, a complete hack when it came to drugs.
Yup. Apparently, marijuana is as bad for you and society as morphine and alcohol.

O, at least that’s what your grandparents believed (and likely still believe). In fact, there are plenty of lawmakers in charge who still think this way.

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William Breathes

Contact: William Breathes

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