Although the content of "Reefer Madness" is generally considered so ludicrous as to be harmless, it has been criticized extensively for its complicity in the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which criminalized marijuana. "Reefer Madness" is variously dated; the traditional, "old" date was 1937, which has been pushed ahead as late as 1940 in some sources, though 1936 is the convention currently observed. Bret Wood notes that a movie poster in the background of one scene was also used in the Grand National film "Something to Sing About", which was released in September 1937. So this suggests a production date of mid-1937, but it appears "Reefer Madness" was not distributed until 1938 when Dwain Esper placed it on the roadshow circuit. By that time, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 had already passed into law, and no print of "Reefer Madness" has ever been found bearing the title "Tell Your Children".