 | Category: Fashion/T-Shirts
Product: Reefer Madness T-shirt
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Description: The Reefer Madness t-shirt! The movie Reefer Madness was considered THE archetypical sensationalized anti-drug movie but it's really an exploitation film made to capitalize on the hot taboo subject of marijuana use. Like many exploitation films of the time "Reefer Madness" tried to make a quick buck off of a forbidden subject while skirting aroiund the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930s. The Motion Picture Production Code forbade the positive portrayal of immoral acts like drug use: The illegal drug traffic must not be portrayed in such a way as to stimulate curiosity concerning the use of or traffic in such drugs; nor shall scenes be approved which show the use of illegal drugs or their effects in detail. Reefer Madness toured around the US for quite a few years - often being re-edited and re-titled ("Tell Your Children" "Dope Addict" "Doped Youth" "Love Madness" "The Burning Question"). It was re-discovered in the early 1970s by NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and screened again as an example of the government's demonization of marijuana. NORML may have been confused about the film's sponsorship since one of the film's distributors Dwain Esper testified to the Arizona Supreme Court that "Reefer Madness" was not a trashy exploitation film but was actually sponsored by the U.S. Government - which ended up being nothing more than a convincing lie. (Let that be a lesson to you). The film is still quite enjoyable since it dramatizes the "violent narcotic's ... soul destroying" effects on unwary teens and their hedonistic exploits enroute to the bottom of life. What is often perplexing is the portrayal of adults posing as teens or young kids. But that in itself is charming in itself.
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