Notes from the Director:
Working on any production is a collaboration and Lakeland Players’ production of Reefer Madness, the Musical is no exception. This production has been blessed with an extraordinary group of actors and creatives – everyone involved has exceeded expectations and has worked together to create a funny, engaging, visually intriguing and thought-provoking production. It takes a lot of courage for a community theatre to produce such a saucy, raucous, biting satire such as Reefer Madness, the Musical and I applaud LPL’s courage in producing such a provocative play.
Contrary to the opinions of some, Reefer Madness, the Musical is not an advocate of smokin’ reefer. RMTM is, however, a strong advocate of thinking for yourself, questioning the loud declamations
of authoritarians (and politicians) within the octopus of malice, racism and hate that still exists today and certainly existed in 1936 (when the play takes place). Within the play, you may even see reflections of the ongoing manipulation of the general public today by various forms of media. The original 1936 movie – Reefer Madness! clearly sought to influence everyone who saw it. Though movies and television are now old-fashioned influencers, they still hold power over public opinion, and it can certainly be argued that social media influencers seek to manipulate anyone who checks out what they’re offering – be it branded products or people or thoughts.
There are other ghosts of the 1930s that float around the edges of our world today –
In 1930, the newly-formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics, under the leadership of Harry J. Anslinger, the use of cannabis and other drugs came under increasing scrutiny as part of the government's broader push to outlaw all recreational drugs. In 1936 the Convention for the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Dangerous Drugs was concluded in Geneva. The U.S., led by Anslinger, had
attempted to include the criminalization of all activities in the treaty – cultivation, production, manufacture and distribution – related to the use of opium, coca (and its derivatives), and cannabis, for non-medical and non-scientific purposes. The FBN drafted a legislative plan for Congress seeking a new law, and Anslinger ran a campaign against marijuana. William Randolph Hearst (on whom Citizen Kane is
based) exploited his empire of newspapers by using the "yellow journalism" he pioneered to demonize the cannabis plant and spread a public perception that there were connections between cannabis and violent crime. Several scholars argue that the goal was to destroy the hemp industry, largely as an effort
of Hearst, Andrew Mellon and the Du Pont family. In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act effectively made possession or transfer of marijuana illegal throughout the United States under federal law (excluding medical and industrial uses), through imposition of an excise tax on all sales of hemp. Interestingly, the last commercial hemp fields were planted in Wisconsin in 1957.
