October 1, 1937: The Marihuana Tax Act

October 1, 1937: The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 -- that's how the drug usually spelled "marijuana" was spelled in this case -- goes into effect. It placed a tax on the sale of cannabis, designed to make the drug harder to obtain. It may have been a response to the 1936 film Reefer Madness, an early exploitation film.

(Oddly, I can't fid a release date for the film, only a year, 1936. If I could find an exact date, I would do an entry on the film.)

This law was overturned in the 1969 Supreme Court case Leary v. United States. In 1970, as part of President Richard Nixon beginning "The War On Drugs," Congress repealed it, but replaced it with what they hoped would be more effective legislation.

There's an old saying: "Wish in one hand, poop in the other, and see which hand fills up faster."

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October 1, 1937 was a Friday. There were 5 baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium. The game was shortened to 7 innings due to rain. Louis "Bobo" Newsom outpitched Lefty Gomez.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 7-4 at Ebbets Field.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 14-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Hank Greenberg went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs. He finished the season with 184 RBIs, 1 short of the American League record set by Lou Gehrig of the Yankees in 1931.