How are we going to save the economy from its current struggles? Now although there are many other ways, one that needs to be discussed is a natural, renewable resource called cannabis. This report will provide a brief history of cannabis, some of the legal history, and the benefits of cannabis and how it could possibly save not only our economy, but the environment as well.
The history of cannabis goes a long way back to about 12,000 years ago. It has been used for many different things over the years such as medicines, and fiber. One interesting thing about cannabis is that it is a plant with two faces. There is a male plant called hemp, and a female plant called marihuana. Legend used to call it the Queen of the jungles since it is the only plant to have a male and female. In fact the name Cannabis means plant with two faces. The staminate hemp plant is a crop that produces many products. Fiber has been the main use of hemp over the years but recently science has made it a much more useful plant. On the other hand there is the female plant which contains the psychotropic drug known as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol carboxylic) which also just happens to have a ton of uses not only in medicine. Hemp also contains THC but not enough to have any effect on you. It is an amazing plant with so many qualities that could change our world today, but I will get to that later.
So now, let’s talk about why Hemp is illegal. First of all let’s start with the days of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Ah yes, good old George who by the way was a hemp farmer. In fact, so was Thomas Jefferson. One more person of interest was Ben Franklin who owned (and created) the first Hemp paper mill. Well at the same time as Ben came up with this machine, a wealthy man known as William Randolph Hearst got together with another wealthy man named Pierre DuPont. Now this is where the fun begins! DuPont has just created a new way of making paper with acid known as the sulfuric acid wood pulp paper method, and funny enough Hearst just happens to own a ton of trees. So, this dynamic duo get together and start to pressure congress into making hemp illegal so that they might profit off of the paper industry. Not only did they come up with this Idea but they had also made a new synthetic fiber and did not want hemp to get in the way. So now that they have used their wealth and power to pressure congress the laws begin. This was the first stepping stone in the long battle on cannabis.
Next, I will take you back to the time of the Great Depression, and the age of Prohibition. It was about this time that the southern states decided that they wanted the Mexican immigrants out of the country. They were very useful during the industrial boom, but when the great depression started they became a liability. So these states got Harry J Anslinger (who was now the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and who was believed to have ties with Hearst and DuPont) to start the war on cannabis. He started using propaganda to discriminate Mexicans, and African Americans as druggies basically. He used cases that were not even related to cannabis as basis for his case. One of which was the case of Victor Licata who chopped up his family with an axe. Anslinger tried to say that it was because of cannabis. When in fact after hospitalization, they found out it was because Victor was a paranoid schizoid. So now we have Victor, Mexicans, and African Americans being used in the case. Ok let’s look at the Mexicans and why they were picked out. The crime rate was indeed growing but not because of cannabis like Anslinger would have you believe. The crime rate was going up because of Prohibition, and the Depression. Prohibition in itself was the main cause of the crime rate. Gangs started popping up to run the illegal substances all over and control the market. Anslinger used this as a basis to point at the Mexicans and eventually African Americans as well. He started the huge propaganda scam that made Americans believe a lie. Just to let you know just how nice of a guy he was here are a few statements that he made to congress during the trial. "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.""...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.""Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its user’s insanity, criminality, and death." "You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother.""Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." Now there are some interesting facts about Marijuana that you didn’t know. He got congress to fall right into his hand and the laws were passed in no time at all. Even though, Dr. William Woodward testified that there was no basis to back up anything that Anslinger said “congress ignored him”. They even went as far as to lie about his testimony afterward to the press trying to run his name in the ground. By August 2, 1947 the law was passed and signed by Roosevelt. The law went into effect on October 1 and essentially the law was the same as the Machine Gun Act. The law stated that you had to come to the Supreme Court to get a Marihuana stamp but to get the stamp you had to prove that you had possession and in doing so you incriminate yourself. Samuel Caldwell was the first person ever arrested for possession of cannabis. Caldwell was taken into custody by the FBI and the Denver Police on Oct 2, 1937. Judge Foster Symes gave him a four sentence of hard labor at Leavenworth Penitentiary. He was also fined a thousand dollars for the two joints that he had in his possession. Even Mayor LaGuardia of NY had the New York Academy of Medicine run a four year test on cannabis and its side effects. This study was later given to Anslinger (who unknowingly gave LaGuardia the cannabis in the first place), and it went against everything that he stated about cannabis. In fact, they found that I do not lead to addiction in anyway, not a determining factor in crime, not a huge thing among the youth, and that it may even have medicinal uses. Anslinger to say the least was not happy with these results, and he pushed them under the table as if they never happened. Eventually LaGuardia gives into the pressure from congress and falls into line with all the other states making cannabis illegal. In 1939 there was another huge threat to not only our own government and way of life but the worlds. And so World War 2 begins, and Hitler and his super troupers are marching across Europe as fast as the wind. Well come to find out, he was giving his troops amphetamines to keep them going. In fact he himself was injected with amphetamines up to five times a day. “Which might be the reason that he basically went crazy in the first place, but I can't be certain on that!” Anyway, this drug speed spread like an epidemic. It was all over Europe, and Japan was a huge user of this drug. They were giving it to the pilots to make them more aware and fearless. Eventually, it was released in Germany as a decongestant known as Benzedrine and found its way into America in 1946. Doctors prescribed this for everything, and it became the most widely prescribed drug in America. Ok now let’s look at what speed does to you in the long run. Death, stroke, heart attacks, losing your mind, even having your heart explode, and not to mention that it is the most addictive and deadly drugs in the world. It is amazing that our government can push this highly deadly drug like candy, but then turn around and make cannabis (an essentially harmless plant) out to be the devil. Yes they even called it the devil at one point. Now, we really get into the crime wave of the world. Anslinger had started a war on drugs that would go from then until now and cost our country trillions of dollars all based on lies. Not to mention the legal problems it has caused for millions of people, or even ruined their lives. All of this, over a simple weed that grows naturally all over the world that has so many uses and that has no harmful side effects. Meanwhile, they were pushing the most deadly addictive drug in the world. Makes you wonder about our government just a little doesn’t it. “If not, it should!” Eventually, Timothy Leary fought the stamp act law and congress threw it out. Not that it really matters because in 1970 they just created a new law called the “Controlled Substance Act” that they say is more constitutional. This law is still in effect today.
Well now that you know a little history of the reasons behind the illegalization of Hemp and Marihuana, let us look at some reasons why it should be legalized. Marihuana will be our first topic. Just look at the benefits, and uses of medicinal Marihuana. It is used for glaucoma, aids patients, cancer patients, chronic pain, insomnia, depression, and appetite stimulant, spasticity from spinal injuries, ms, inflammation, and even Asthma. It is also used for certain psychological problems as well. These are just a few of the things that they have found marihuana to help with. Not to mention, that there are no harmful side effects (aside from smoking it) and no addiction. It has helped millions of cancer and aids patients to deal with the pain, overcome nausea from treatments, and even give them the ability to eat food again. This drug (THC) has so many uses and no side effects so why are we not using this more often. They push such drugs as Opiods that are highly addictive and can even kill you from withdrawals, but persecute a harmless plant.
Then there is the financial side of things. Let us look at California to start with. They have made a ton of money off of medicinal marihuana, and it has reduced the crime rate. In fact, those that use it are now free to anywhere as long as you have a medical card. In doing this you also reduce those lives ruined by prosecution of the laws. No more lives ruined over a little plant! Wow, what a concept! Then there are the 1997 estimates that 15.1 billion dollars was made by growers that year, and 25.2 billion in the market. The most recent figures from the 2005 “World Drug Report” stated that the market is now estimated at 141.8 billion dollars annually. Come on people we need to wake up! There is all of this money up for grabs, and yet our government does nothing to get it. It has been judged the largest revenue producing crop in Alabama, California, Colorado’s, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is in the top five in 29 other states. There is billions upon trillions of dollars to be made of the legalizing of marihuana, it will help to reduce crime, and no more lives will be ruined over this harmless plant. There is also the fact that our government spends billions of dollars annually to promote the “WAR ON DRUGS”. I mean really is it that necessary to spend that much money on a simple plant, a weed even. Or just a simple thought, all that money could be going into research and development of hemp uses, or even other programs that need attention more than weed. I mean heaven forbid that we used some of that money to help our homeless out rather than to fight an endless war that will cost us more in the end that it is worth.
Hemp is another huge resource that our government outlawed for no reason other than political pressure. In fact hemp is the most renewable natural resource in the world. It takes one tree almost twenty plus years to grow into maturity, and it takes hemp between four to six months. It grows in almost any climate other than the Arctic’s, and can be replanted over and over. The fiber in hemp is among the strongest in the world, and has the highest rot resistance of any natural resource. Today there are roughly 30,000 hemp related products that are able to be produced. This would mean new jobs, companies, marketing, farmers would able to make money again, and then there is the international trade of hemp. Hemp (according to Pinfold Consulting 1998) is valued at between 100 and 200 million dollars annually. That was in 1998 today its market value rates in the billions, and that does not include the US. If we tap into this market and start production of hemp products then the market will increase along with the demand. Some of the products made from hemp are clothing, insulation, fiberboard, houses, shingles, animal bedding, bird seed, geotextiles, oilseed uses for health, food, personal care products (creams, soap, shampoo, hair gel, face cream, and makeup are a few personal care products), lubricants for machinery, fuel, car parts (C Class Mercedes-Benz have more than 30 parts made of natural fibers including hemp. ), paper, textiles, pulp paper, and plastic. Just to name a few to say the least! Do you see what I mean about the potential of hemp yet? I have only mentioned a few out of 30000 products that can be made from hemp. The production of these products and reestablishing the hemp trade into the economy would be huge boost to our economy. Right now might be a good time to get started with this process, because God knows our economy can use a boast right now.
There is also the ecological side of the story here. Right now, we are going through a global economy crisis, and the issue of global warming. Hemp is very eco friendly. As I said before, it takes a tree twenty years to reach maturity and hemp only four months. This means no more cutting down of tree to make paper, would, houses, or any wood related products. There would be no need for the use of wood anymore since now you have a totally reusable resource that can be grown over and over. Some areas of the world can grow hemp all year long. This means an endless supply of all those hemp related products I mentioned before. Hemp can be used to make fuel also. There is another huge issue that we face right now is the fact that our oil is going to run out. We have already passed our peak oil consumption and are on the downward side of the slope. We need another source of fuel and it is right in front of us. There is a huge market for fuel and energy recourses and here is one that can be grown endlessly. The Global impact this could have might be huge if we take the steps to put it into play. It would be like killing 1000 birds with one stone. We keep saying we need an alternative to all of this and here is one right in front of us. Almost every other country knows the potential of hemp, and most of them spend a ton of money annually for research on it. There are also many independent contractors that see it too and have been investing their own money into research of it. Why would they spend so much money if there was not something to this plant? They wouldn’t! In fact there is something to all of this, and America needs to get in on it. Not only could we save our economy, but the environment as well. By growing hemp instead of trees you stop the deforestation of the world. Thus increasing the oxygen levels and decreasing carbon dioxide levels. Using hemp oil for fuels would result in less use of fossil fuels, and less toxins. There are really no reasons why this plant is illegal, and it only makes sense to use this resource that God gave us.
Well, I hope this has shown the reason I feel the legalization of cannabis would be great for our current economic problems. I also hope I have shown how the legal ramifications are far more serious that the drug itself, and that by legalizing it you will stop the ruining of innocent people’s lives. And we can’t forget about the environment. Hopefully now you can see how this plant can really make a change. We can do so much with this plant and change so many things. My question is “Why aren’t we?”
Sources will be provided if you want them just email me at jasonluttrell1977@gmail.com
Thank you so much and god bless
ty so much and god bless
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)