Blanco y Negro Cigarette/Marijuana Rolling Papers: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

These rolling papers are part of a collection of 233 objects which came from the Upper Berks County Grain Company (UBC), a large distribution company that sold pipes, bongs, rolling papers and other drug paraphernalia to “head shops” during the 1970s. UBC served as a wholesaler to both head shops and tobacco shops. Merchandise was shipped via the United Parcel Service (UPS) to the company’s warehouse in Elverson, Pennsylvania. Despite the questionable legality of drug paraphernalia during this period, shipments always arrived without any problems. UBC salespeople then traveled to shops, transporting the merchandise in a van. Each salesperson was assigned to a particular region, with UBC selling products in states ranging from Florida to Minnesota.

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, retailers and distributors often skirted anti-drug paraphernalia laws by claiming that the products they sold were intended for use with tobacco or other legal products. This practice was common even when manufacturers altered a specific product to reflect the needs of marijuana users (thereby making the product less effective for a tobacco user). Rolling papers for marijuana, for example, need to be wider than those used for a cigarette---yet head shops routinely sold extra-wide rolling paper claiming this paper was for use in tobacco cigarettes. Most of the rolling papers sold by UBC were bought from larger distribution companies, with some of these papers being imported from outside the United States.

During the 1960s, the use of Spanish in marketing rolling papers became especially popular. Blanco y Negro was one of the brands which benefitted from this trend. In using a stereotyped image of an African American musician as well as an image of a skyscraper, the company’s marketers exploited what was viewed as a strong connection between jazz, urbanism, African American culture, and marijuana use.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: c. 1970s
• maker: Blanco y Negro
• Object Name: rolling papers
• Object Type: Rolling Paper
• Physical Description: cardboard; paper (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 3 3/16 in x 1 3/16 in x 1/4 in; 8.09625 cm x 3.01625 cm x .635 cm
• place made: Spain
• associated place: United States: Pennsylvania, Elverson
• associated community; associated subject; collector's community; maker's community; user's community; web subject: Counterculture--United States--History--20th century
• associated community; associated subject; collector's community; maker's community; user's community; web subject: Protest and Civil Disobedience
• associated community; associated subject; collector's community; maker's community; user's community; web subject: Smoking
• associated subject; depicted; web subject: Marijuana
• associated subject; depicted; web subject: Drug paraphernalia
• associated community; associated subject; depicted; user's community; web subject: Recreational Drug Use
• associated community; associated subject; depicted; user's community; web subject: Hashish
• associated community; associated subject; depicted; web subject: Jazz
• ID Number: 2024.0069.018
• catalog number: 2024.0069.018
• accession number: 2024.0069
• Credit Line: Cheryl Adams Boone
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.