And lo, from the comic book heavens came Reefer Madness, a compilation of funnybooks that spaketh of the evils of the demon weed, marihuana, and its attendant side effects – crime, Communism, sexual perversion, belief in equality between all races and genders! And lo, did Craig Yoe of Yoe Books and Dark Horse Comics bring together the best of these four-color warnings and charge but 20 thin dollars for your edification about the horrors of Satan’s cigarettes! And lo, did your humble blogger show some of these comics, in order that ye might learn of these terrors. Look upon these horrors, and quake with fear!
Okay, first of all, if I saw this cover on a magazine, why would it turn me OFF marijuana?
Moving on!
Always remember, kids, addiction to marijuana turns you into … a murderer! Yes, even if you were completely non-violent before, one puff and you’re a deranged killer!
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Marijuana, as we all know, is a total gateway drug!
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Nothing is worse than marijuana!
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Curiously, going to federal prison cures you of your marijuana addiction!
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If you smoke marijuana, people can get you to anything they want, even if you don’t want to do it!
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Even Frank Frazetta knew about the marijuana problem!
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As always, girls are most negatively affected by marijuana. It brings shame on their families …
Turns them into sluts …
And ages them prematurely, which of course means they can’t land a good, decent husband!
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Of course, marijuana will make you dig strange, probably “Negro” music instead of good, wholesome American tunes!
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And, of course, the only thing worse than marijuana is the fact that so many women of loose morals entice honest, innocent men (and one woman) into trying it!!!!
All this is to say, you should read Reefer Madness. It’s … boy, it’s something.
(Credits – art only unless otherwise indicated: Scans 1-4: Kirby. Scans 5-7, 27: Lou Cameron. Scan 8, 13, 28: Bill Wolfolk (script) and Mort Leav (art). Scan 9: Syd Shores. Scan 10-11, 25: Edwin Goldfarb and Bob Baer. Scan 12: Unknown. Scan 14, 16: Unknown. Scan 15: Alfred Andriola. Scans 17-18, 26: Raeburn van Buren. Scan 19: Frank Frazetta. Scans 20-22: Everett Raymond Kinstler. Scans 23-24: Unknown.)
As I once wrote:
Marijuana, the assassin of youth
You can believe it because it’s the truth
Oh, the delicious irony: I love how, in the Simon & Kirby panels, the cops dealing with the evils of marijuana are frequently shown puffing away at pipes or cigars.
Also: “I … need a marijuana!” *snort*
Edo: But you’ll notice that they’re smoking so the smoke swirls around the suspect, making him crave marijuana even more! They’re so clever!!!!
I had never heard the “banzai weed” thing before. Was that something they pulled out of their butt or was it a common belief? Similar I guess, to the belief the Nizar Ismaila (AKA the assassin sect) got stoned before committing killings.
Because nothing makes you a vicious, efficient killer like being stoned.
frasersherman: I have no idea if it’s a thing, but I suspect they pulled it out of their butts. A lot of the “information” in these comics is fishy, so why wouldn’t they make that up? Of course, they might have heard it from a spurious source and believed it, but it really doesn’t seem like an actual thing. As you note, marijuana doesn’t really turn one into a vicious killer.
Why would Kirby be pro-pot? Was he known to indulge?
I was just making a joke because his comics were so crazy, I would not be surprised if they were aided by foreign substances. But nothing I know about Kirby makes me think he was either pro- or anti-pot or whether he ever indulged.
Got it. I’ve read that some Dr. Strange fans in the Silver Age were convinced Lee and Ditko were tripping on something. They were supposedly baffled to meet them and discover two middle-aged normal types instead of Timothy Leary.