Harry Anslinger was the Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from its establishment in 1930 until he retired in 1962. His long tenure and personal prejudices demonizing racial and immigrant groups had a major impact on drug enforcement policy. He was known for his promotion of harsh penalties for drug use and the criminalization of marijuana. On this edition of Conversations, I talk with Alexandra Chasin about her book Assassin of Youth – A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslingers’s War on Drugs. Alexandra Chasin is associate professor of literary studies at Eugene Lang College, the New School. She is the author of several books of fiction and non-fiction.
Conversations: Alexandra Chasin, "Assassin of Youth"
