Inspired by the case of Victor Licata, who killed his father, mother, two brothers, and a sister with an ax in Tampa, FL, on 10/16/33, allegedly while under the influence of marijuana. Declared unfit to stand trial for reasons of insanity, subsequent psychiatric examination at the Florida State Mental Hospital determined that Licata suffered from schizophrenia with homicidal tendencies. The Licata case was used to propagandize the passage of the federal Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 that effectively outlawed legal sales of the "demon weed".
A special-edition DVD of the film was released in 2004, with an outrageously non-realistic colorization (the various characters who smoke all exhale brightly colored pastel smoke) and a satirical commentary track by Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988).
According to author John Cocchi in his book "Second Feature", Thelma White told him she was loaned in 1938 from RKO to do the film. According to her, the film was written by a religious group and shot in three weeks.
The film became one of the earliest cult comedy hits during the golden age of the "midnight movie" in which theaters, especially those near colleges, would run the film at special screenings late at night during weekends.
Producer George A. Hirliman announced production of "Tell Your Children" in Variety, 6/15/38. It was later sold to an assortment of distributors on a states rights basis, who then used the alternative titles of "The Burning Question" and "Reefer Madness," in addition to "Tell Your Children," depending on the region.