Was the prohibition of cannabis related to racism?

[buritobr]

The prohibition of cannabis took place in many countries in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Probably, cannabis was brought to Americas by african slaves. The consumption of cannabis is related to the african culture. Maybe, the motivation of the prohibition was the aversion to the african culture.

[brucejoel99]

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but here's the sentiment through which it happened here in America:

You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.