In 1944 a handful of generals in the U.S. Army figured out that if they intended to ever have any success at all conscripting jazz musicians they had best figure out if the pastime of smoking marijuana was conducive to the disciplined life of a soldier. With this question in mind, the generals launched a study at the Army Air Forces Regional Station Hospital at March Field, California. It was there that 35 dedicated "vipers" (weed smokers, the majority being African-American) were supplied with liberal amounts of marijuana for a period of seven months in order that their behavior could be closely monitored by two psychiatrists.
"Unlike alcoholics, these marijuana users showed no sense of guilt of remorse. They were indifferent to opinion, and they frequently tried to persuade the doctors that they and other 'squares' (non-users) ought to try marijuana because they were missing 'the greatest thing in life.'"
Additional articles about weed in the Thirties and Forties can be read here...
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