hillary clinton banning smoking in all public places The outlawing of Cannabis throughout the states had a lot more to do with immigration (especially in the southern states) then it did with competing cannabis products. It was made to look as though the "lazy mexicans" were bringing over the border with them, and once stoned, they would rape and attack us poor white folk. The issue was the same then as it is now. Before the depression, they were taking up the jobs no one wanted, and white people were happy about that, but during the depression every job was needed, and this was a quick fix. The man in charge of dealing with cocaine at the time didn't even want to touch the subject of making it illegal because he saw no way of outlawing, and enforcing, the selling or growing a weed that grew any place there was water and sunlight.