Making Marijuana illegal was also a racist issue. Only blacks smoked pot (muggles as it was known back then). Whites got their THC in elixir form and were highly surprised when it turns out that this bill to criminalize 'marijuana', a name which had previously never been uttered practically, outlawed cannabis. A wholly useful plant in so many ways. Hemp farmers were once the boon of our economy. Hemp was (still is for that matter) used in so many applications that it seemed insane to criminalize it. And yet here we are. We now import hemp from the Phillipines. Except in WWII when Japan cut off our supply of hemp and we had to introduce farmers once more to growing it. "Grow Hemp For Victory" was the name of the government propaganda film showed to select farmers chosen to save us from our own ignorant policies. And then, later, they utterly denied that such a film was ever made. Denied all the way until Jack Herer found a copy and dumped it on the Library of Congress forcing them to admit to their pro-hemp status of the past.
The history of the criminalization of cannabis is a history of the manipulation of history. Prior to 1930 whatever when it was made illegal, hemp was one of the most useful plants in the world. It was used everywhere, for everything. Immigrants would grow it in their gardens and make their underwear out of it. Contrary to popular belief, hemp can be grown so that its fibers are incredibly soft. It could be used as animal feed. It could be used as a fuel source. Used as fiber. Paper. Medicine. The uses for it were endless. And then after it was made illegal history was rewritten and the name of hemp was trampled.
Disgusting, really. Makes you sick to think how easy it is for the powers that be to alter reality for the mindless.
It's already been stated that DuPont had it's hand in the lobbying, but there were other industrial interests that wanted it out as well. Pharmaceutical companies were jealous of the medical properties which it was used for and by which it was known to many people. Drinking the juice (I forget it's main brand name, there were many) would knock you on your ass like you wouldn't believe according to all accounts. Much more potent than smoking it. Also, the paper industries didn't want hemp to compete with timber. Hemp is almost infinitely renewable. I believe that statistics are something on the lines of 1 acre of hemp produces as much paper as 10 acres of trees. And the hemp will be back in a year. This is a cheap, renewable source of fiber. And of course, to the industries that wished to profit off of a bit more difficult to obtain source of fiber (trees) this just would not do.
It's such a shame that even now, after 70 years, the lie still continues. And so many people are fed the lie and they eat it up. Hook, line, and sinker.
The evils of marijuana.
Devil-weed.
Ha!
Fools.