Marihuana Tax Act of 1937

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 75–238, 50 Stat. 551, enacted August 2, 1937, was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Seventy-fifth United States Congress held hearings on April 27, 28, 29th, 30th, and May 4, 1937. Upon the congressional hearings confirmation, the H.R. 6385 act was redrafted as H.R. 6906 and introduced with House Report 792. The Act is referred to, using the modern spelling, as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. It was overturned in 1969 in Leary v. United States, and was repealed by Congress the next year.

Marijuana Tax Act of 1937

Other short titles	1937 Marihuana Tax Act The Taxation of Marijuana
Long title	An Act to impose an occupational excise tax upon certain dealers in marijuana, to impose a transfer tax upon certain dealings in marijuana, and to safeguard the revenue there from by registry and recording.
Acronyms (colloquial)	MTA
Enacted by	the 75th United States Congress
Effective	October 1, 1937
Citations
Public law	75-238
Statutes at Large	50 Stat. 551
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 6906 by Robert L. Doughton (D–NC) on May 11, 1937 Committee consideration by House Ways and Means Committee, Senate Committee on Finance Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 2, 1937
United States Supreme Court cases
Struck down by U.S. Supreme Court in Leary v. United States on May 19, 1969