Did a U.S. congressman claim that smoking marijuana makes white women want to have sex with black men? No, that's not true: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries did quote a federal official who made that claim nearly 90 years earlier when arguing for marijuana to be outlawed, but he was not endorsing the sentiment. The New York Democrat was making a point during a congressional hearng in July 2019 that the legislation that first made pot illegal was partly based on racists fears.
The story originated from an article (archived here) published by 18karatreggae.com on July 10, 2019 under the title "Marijuana makes white women horny for Black men, according to a congressman". It opened:
A few years ago a study concluded that over 80 percent of white women fantasized about being intimate with Black men. The study did not take marijuana smoking into consideration and its validity was questioned by many in the academia field, especially white males.
Today at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on marijuana policy, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y seems to somewhat agree with the study, at least for white women who smoke marijuana.
"This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others," said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
This is what social media users saw:
The problem with this article is that it uses a misleading headline and the first paragraphs as a lure to get readers to click. The story gained viral traction on social media as a result. Comments under the story show that many people just read the headline and first sentences. Later in the story the writer admits the deception:
Okay, okay! Jeffries did make that statement but he was actually quoting a bigot. The person responsible for that silly comment is Harry J. Anslinger who was the chief of narcotics back in the 1930s. That was the nincompoop's silly argument for making cannabis illegal and of course it continues to be illegal on the federal level even today.
Representative Jeffries was merely trying to show the stupidity, behind and bigotry behind marijuana laws. The politician was not alone in his thinking as Malik Burnett, MD, one of a few Black men who own a major cannabis dispensary shared the same sentiment.
"The foundations of marijuana policy are inherently racist," Burnett said.
