and led by the head of the federal bureau of narcotics henry anne slinger, the country turned its attention to other drugs. a movie marihuana gave people the sense that marijuana would drive people crazy. and despite opposition the marijuana tax rule flew through the office. it had something to do with a thing called marijuana. i think it's a narcotic of some kind. the bill passed easily in both the house and senate and president roosevelt signed it with little public attention. in california there were few marijuana arrests over the next two decades. but in the mid-1960s the numbers rose dramatically. increasing tenfold from 1962 to 1967. >> there are more and more people who are turning on every day. and who are learning how to use this in a good fashion. the courts will simply need to recognize this. >> reporter: in 1968, 50,000 marijuana arrests accounted for more than half the drug prosecutions in the state. in the 1980s, everyone as federal enforcement got tougher, marijuana became one of california's top cash crops. making work for a will the of enforcement agents. california voters