HARRY ANSLINGER'S GORE FILE OHIO CASE FILES

OHIO'S DRAMATIC STORY OF REEFER MADNESS

OHIO - Dec 1936 - Feb 1937 -- A gang of seven young lads, all under twenty years of age, had terrorized central Ohio for more than two months.   During that time they carried out 38 "stick-ups."   Finally arrested in Columbus, Ohio, they confessed that they operated while "high" on marihuana.

Listen to the testimony of one of these boys, the youngest lad in the group:

"Me? Sure I smoke 'reefers'. All us guys do.   I been usin' 'em maybe two-three years.   A guy has t 0 have somethin' like that ta be good at this game.   Th' rest o' th' guys in th' gang call me 'Th' Kid,' see, 'cause I'm the youngest in the bunch.   But they ain't got nothin' on me, see?   Maybe I ain't as tough yet as some o' them.   So what?   I just smokes me a coupla reefers' before we pull a job and boy, am I rarin' to go?   And how!   Listen copper, I ain't pullin' no fast one when I tell ya I could tear any guy apart and get a kick outta doin' it when I'm high on reefers.   Did I lay down on any o' them 38 stick-ups?   Not me!   Say, that ain't a bad record fer kids, is it?   38 stickups in a coupla months!   Chee, did some of them guys get scared when we told 'em to 'stick 'em up'!   Boy, if they'd a known we wuz high on reefers they'd a-been scareder than they wuz.

"Sure the other guys in the gang smoked 'em, too.   They been loadin' up on 'muggles' for about four-five years.   It was them brung me in on the racket.   Lissen ---I ain't squawkin' on the gang.   I ain't no squealer.   Us guys stick together, get me?   Boy, was it funny to see them gas station guys and th' others reach for the sky when we hollered at 'em: 'This is a stick-up'!   Good thing for them mugs to reach high plenty quick, too, told ya, a guy ain't really 'sponsible when he’s loaded himself with a coupla reefers.   Like I said, I anin’t a tough guy, usual-like, but chee, if any of them mugs we stuck up tried to pull anythin’ when we wuz high on Mary Warners, we’d sure have give ‘em the works.

“0h, yeh, ya wanta know about the gang.   I ain't squealin', get me?   But ya ast me about them startin' ta smoke.   Well, they told me they got started in high school, same as I did.   Ya can always get 'reefers,' or mebbe 'tea' from some of the 'peds' around school if ya know what to ast for.   Them 'peds' make big dough, b'lieve me.   The tough part comes when a guy, lets hisself get low on reefers and then has to go out an' pull a job without 'em so as ta get dough to buy some more, if ya know what I mean.   A guy has ta watch hisself, too, 'cause if ya gets too 'high' on. muggles before ya pulls a stick-up ya could do somethin' without knowin' it.   Honest, sarge, a guy could kill some mug and never know it.   Look at that gas station guy, there, f'r'nstance.   Him tellin' ya that I tried to bust his brains out with the butt of my gat.   Says I told him I would. Maybe I did, at that, but chee!   I sure don't remember nothin' about it.   Reefers is like that, though, if ya get too, high on 'em. A guy has to be careful.

"Ya, ast me why we don't quit smokin' them reefers? Say Mister. ya never smoked 'em, didja?   Well, let me tell ya somethin'!   Ya just can't quit, that's all.   When ya try to quit ya gets jumpy, if ya know what I mean.   And how?   Boy, yer hands starts ta shake all the time, and ya hear the least little noise.   Try it some time, Mister.   I'm tellin' ya, when ya begins ta get low in reefers ya get an awful dopey feelin' like ya was sinkin'.   Gee, ya gets just gotta get some more, quick, or ya gets mopey and yer folks notice ya ain’t just right, and a guy just has to pull himself outta it by startin’ in again.   Ya gets so ya smoke a ‘stick’ a day, and ya can't stop.   I know, sarge, 'cause I've tried ta snap out of it, but it ain't no use once ya get started.

"Ya ast me about them 'peds' sarge, but honest, I can't tell ya nothin' nohow.   Them guys is tough, Mister.   They told us they'd bump us off if we squealed.   They give us the names of some kids they bumped off for squealin'.   I ain't hankerin' for no tortures like they tell us they'll do.   No sir, not me!"

And so the marihuana menace marches on!  -- Moloch Of Marihuana (1945) Robert James Devine

The following cases taken from the files of the United States Bureau of Narcotics illustrate the disastrous effect upon many of its users: --- A gang of seven young men, all under 20 years of age, were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, on robbery charges.   They confessed that they operated while "high" on marihuana. --- One of the youths admitted that he had smoked "reefers" on and off for at least two years, and said that when he went with the others on stick-ups he was "ready to tear anybody apart" who opposed him.   He claimed the practice of smoking marihuana first started among his friends about four or five years previously, while most of them were still in high school.   In describing his crime he said: "If I had killed somebody on a job, I'd never have known it."   This was verified by the officer obtaining the confessions, who explained that the hardest problem was to get these youths to remember who committed the stick-ups, or when or where they happened.  -- National Parent-Teacher (PTA) – May, 1938

In Ohio, a gang of seven youngsters who learned to smoke reefers in high school terrorized a town by making 'thirty-eight holdups.   Because they were drugged at the time, they had trouble in recalling their crimes.   “If I had killed somebody on a job,” said one, "I'd never have known it."   --- The CHRISTIAN CENTURY - June 29, 1938

A gang of seven young lads, all under twenty years of age, had terrorized central Ohio for more than two months.   During that time they carried out 38 "stick-ups."   Finally arrested in Columbus, Ohio, they confessed that they operated while "high" on marihuana.   Police officers who checked upon the stories of this youthful gang found them to be correct.   They testified that the hardest problem was to get the youngsters to remember, which one of them committed the stick-ups, or where they took place.   Even when they could remember the robberies they could not recall the details, or what they said or did, though they seemed to be able to remember and gloat over the reaction of fear in the faces of their victims.   -- “Assassin of Youth” (Book) 1954 By Robert Devine

In Ohio a gang of seven young men, all less than twenty years old, had been caught after a series of 38 holdups.   An officer asked them where they got their incentive.
“We only work when we’re high on ‘tea,’” one explained.   “On what?”   “On tea. Oh, there are lots of names for it.   Some people call it ‘mu’ or ‘muggles’ or ‘Mary Weaver’ or ‘moocah’ or ‘weed’ or ‘reefers’ — there’s a million names for it.”   “All of which mean marijuana?”   “Sure. Us kids got on to it in high school three or four years ago; there must have been twenty-five or thirty of us who started smoking it. -- “But after you get the habit,” the boy added, “you don’t bother much about finding a place to smoke. I’ve seen as many as three or four high-school kids jam into a telephone booth and take a few drags.”   The officer questioned him about the gang’s crimes: “Remember that filling-station attendant you robbed — how you threatened to beat his brains out?” - The youth thought hard. “I’ve got a sort of hazy recollection,” he answered.   “I’m not trying to say I wasn’t there, you understand.   The trouble is, with all my gang, we can’t remember exactly what we’ve done or said. When you get to ‘floating,’ it’s hard to keep track of things.”   From the other youthful members of the gang the officer could get little information.   They confessed the robberies as one would vaguely remember bad dreams.   “If I had killed somebody on one of those jobs, I’d never have known it,” explained one youth.   “Sometimes it was over before I realized that I’d even been out of my room.  -- American Magazine “Marijuana, Assassin of Youth” By H.J Anslinger - July 1937

Ohio - A gang of seven young men, all under 20 years of age, who for more than 2 months terrorized central Ohio with a series of about 38 stick-ups, were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, on robbery charges.   They confessed that they operated while "high" on marihuana.   One of the youths admitted that he had smoked "reefers" on and off for at least 2 years, and said that when he went with the others on stick-ups he was "ready to tear anybody apart" who opposed him.   He claimed the practice of smoking marihuana first started among his friends about 4 or 5 years previously, while most of them were still in high school.   In describing his crimes he said: "If I had killed somebody on a job, I'd never have known it."   This was verified by the officer obtaining the confessions, who explained that the hardest problem was to get these youths to remember who committed the stick-ups, or when or where they, happened.   When police told them how a filling-station attendant reported a robber threatened to beat his brains out with a revolver butt, one admitted he was the robber, but had forgotten his own words.   It was almost impossible for them to break off the habit when they could still get "tea" so easily, they claimed.   "When you try to break off you get jumpy, your hands shake, and you hear the least little noise.   A dopey feeling comes when you're going down, and you get money.   You get so you smoke a 'stick' a day, and you can't stop.  -- The Traffic in Opium and Other Dangers Drugs (1936)

A gang of seven young men, all under 20 years of age, who for more than two months terrorized central Ohio with a series of about thirty-eight stick-ups, were arrested in March 1937 in Columbus, Ohio, on robbery charges.   They confessed that they operated while “high” on Marihuana. (sic some info)

A gang of boys, all under twenty, carried out thirty-eight "stickups."   They operated while "high" on marihuana.-   ---- Book 1939– Enemies Of Youth

In Ohio, a gang of seven youths under twenty recently perpetrated thirty-eight stick-ups while operating "high" on marijuana.   -- FORUM AND CENTURY – Jan. 1939

Seven youths, all under 20 and all under influence of marijuana, terrorized area with 38 stickups in two months before capture.  ---- The Truth about Marijuana - STEPPING STONE to DESTRUCTION June 1967

In Ohio, a gang of seven young men, all less than 20 years old, had been caught after a series of 38 holdups.   An officer asked them where they got their incentive.
"We only work when we're high on 'tea,' " one explained.   "On what?"
"On tea.   Oh, there are lots of names for it.   Some people call it ‘mu’ or smuggles' or 'Mary Weavers' or 'moocah' or 'weed' or 'reefers' there's a million names for it."   "All of which mean marihuana?"   "Sure.   Us kids got on to it in high school three or four years ago; there must have been 25 or 30 of us who started smoking it.   The stuff was cheaper then; you could buy a whole tobacco tin of it for 50 cents.   Now these peddlers will charge you all they can get, depending on how shaky you are. Usually though, it's two cigarettes for a quarter."   - INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL DIGEST – Sep, 1937

COLUMBUS, 0hio. 1936.   A gang of seven young men, all under 20 years of age, who for more than 2 months terrorized central Ohio with a series of about 38 stick-ups, were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, on robbery charges.   They confessed that they operated while "high" on marihuana.   One admitted that he had smoked "reefers" for at least 2 years, and said that when he went with the others on stick-ups he was "ready to tear anybody apart" who opposed him. In describing his crimes he said: "If I had killed somebody on a job, I'd never have known it."   This was verified by the officer obtaining the confessions, who explained that the hardest problem was to get these youths to remember who committed the stick-ups, or when or where they happened.   When police told them how a filling-station attendant reported a robber threatened to beat his brains out with a revolver butt, one admitted he was the robber, but had forgotten his own words.   It was almost impossible for them to break off the habit when they could get "tea," they claimed. "When you try to break off your hands shake, and you get jumpy, you hear the least little noise.   A dopey feeling comes when you're going down, and you get money.   You get so you smoke a 'stick' a day, and you can't stop."  -- The Traffic in Opium and Other Dangers Drugs (1936) (mention is made of the tax of the Oct. 1, 1937.)

1937 – M. 7 men, all under 20, terrorized and robbed Central Ohio area. 38 stickups in 2 months while under influence marihuana  -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2

1937 - M - 7 men, all under 20, terrorized and robbed Arrested Central Ohio area, 38 stickups in 2 months while under influence marihuana. - Arrested   - 6th conference report - INEOA 1965

Mr. Anslinger: Here is a gang of seven young men, all seven of them, young men under 21 years of age.   They terrorized central Ohio for more than two months, and they were responsible for 38 stick-ups. They all boast they did those crimes while under the influence of marihuana.
Mr. Lewis: Was that as an excuse, or a defense?
Mr. Anslinger: No, sir. I think it makes them irresponsible.   A man does not know what he is doing.   It has not been recognized as a defense by the courts, although it has been used as a defense.   As to these young men I was telling you about, one of them said if he had killed somebody on the spot he would not have known it.  --- Harry Anslinger 1937 Congressional Testimony

Recently, in Ohio, there was a gang of very young men, all under 20 years of age, every one of whom had confessed that they had committed some 38 holdups while under the influence of the drug.. . . . That was demonstrated by these seven boys, who said they did not know what they were doing after they smoked marihuana.   They conceived the series of crimes while in a state of marihuana intoxication.   --- Mr. Anslinger MTA 1937 Congressional Testimony

June 30, 1948 at Cleveland, Ohio, James Buchanan was arrested by police of that city for the murder of a 60-year-old East Cleveland widow.   After questioning by Police detectives he admitted his participation in the crime and also accused an accomplice.   Buchanan admitted having participated, during the previous 6 months in the brutal attack of 16 women for the purpose of robbing them of their money.   He stated further he wanted the money to buy wine and reefers (marihuana cigarettes) which he would consume at the same time.   Before venturing out to commit their atrocious crimes, Buchanan and his partner would fortify themselves with wine and marihuana.   Buchanan was 24 years of age at the time of his arrest, married and the father of three children.   -- The Traffic in Opium and Other Dangers Drugs (1948)

Cleveland, Ohio. June 1948. James, Buchanan, who was arrested by police for the murder of a 60-year-old widow, admitted that he and an accomplice had participated in brutal attacks on 16 women for the purpose of robbing them of their money.   He said he wanted the money to buy wine and reefers (marihuana cigarettes) which he consumed at the same time.   Before committing their atrocious crimes, Buchanan and his accomplice always fortified themselves with wine and marihuana.

1948 - M Murdered widow, 60 years old, with accomplice, to obtain money to buy more marihuana for both; confessed attacking and robbing 16 other women.   -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2

1948 - J. Buchanan - M - Negro, smoked marihuana before going out to commit various crimes including murder Mr. I. Koogle. "Poor man's poison." Guilty, electrocuted.  -- 6th conference report - INEOA 1965

1948 - J.B. - M - Murdered widow, 60 yrs. old, with accomplice, to obtain money to buy more marihuana for both; confessed attacking and robbing 16 other women. - Arrested  -- 6th conference report - INEOA 1965

1948 - M Negro, smoked marihuana before going out to commit various crimes including murder Mrs. I. Koogle. " Poor man's poison. "  -- Article by James C. Munch; "UN Bulletin on Narcotics"-1966 Issue 2

Cleveland, Ohio. 1948. James B., who was arrested by police for the murder of a sixty-year-old widow, admitted that he and an accomplice had participated in brutal attacks on sixteen women for the purpose of robbing them of their money.   He said he wanted the money to buy wine and reefers which he consumed at the same time.   Before committing their atrocious crimes, B. and his accomplice always fortified themselves with wine and marihuana.  --- The Traffic In Narcotics By H.J. Anslinger and William F. Tompkins 1953

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