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The great hemp conspiracy


Rafterman

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Skeptoid host Brian Dunning casts his skeptical eye at one of the great urban legends of our time. Was there a grand conspiracy involving William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Mellon, the Dupont Family, and others to make cannabis illegal in the United States. If you've spent any time online or hang out with 'smokers' (or are one yourself) you've no doubt heard this one - and there's probably a better than average chance you believe it.

Transcript and podcast at this link: http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4401

Hemp, Hearst, and Prohibition

A popular urban legend claims that William Randolph Hearst conspired to make cannabis illegal in the United States.

Cannabis hardly needed a conspiracy of Hearst and DuPont to put it out of business by the 1930s. It had already been doomed to extinction by racism, class warfare, and a complicit government and media to feed them. Though we often tend to look toward the rich and powerful to point the blame for society's missteps, oftentimes the true root of the problem is uncomfortably in our own back yards.

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It was a pure propaganda campaign with the posters of evil hemp smokers summoning belzebuub and throwing babies to fire pits. As legal hemp might'd guaranteed healthier and longer lives to those who'd prefer it over alcohol, but I dont know if they knew about the health aspect in comparison back then, I mean athletes at that time took lots of alcohol during their races because they thought it improved performance. Just saying I can't make up a good reason for the rich folk to introduce a ban like this if they thought alcohol was better health-wise. I've heard the tales of Henry Ford's hemp car but ain't seen one yet, ethanol isn't so easy to get after all I guess.

It made a good scapegoat though, and a convenient distraction. The more reasons you have to put people to jail or keep them on their toes, the better. I mean look at North Korea, such obedience!

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Hearst's actions were mostly due to the fact that he had economic interests in the hemp industry and feared competition.

He enlisted Mr. Anslinger's help and had it banned in the US, and over 16 (possibly 26) other countries as well. The US Marijuana Stamp Act was inserted into the Machine Gun Act. (In the late 1930's). The idea was to purchase the Stamp to allow you to legally possess it, but you had to bring your weed in to the office in order to purchase the stamp, and they would then arrest you for possession of the 'evil weed.'! :cry:

I remember seeing the movie, "Reefer Madness" in the 1980's. It was shown as a comedy then, but was originally released, (In the late 1930', I believe) as a means to deter the drug's use. And it was hilarious, scenes showing a kid beating his mother to death in the kitchen w/ a frying pan, etc...it portrayed pot as a truly EVIL weed, :devil: a reputation that lingers to this day. :rolleyes:

Edited by scorpiosonic
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Hearst's actions were mostly due to the fact that he had economic interests in the hemp industry and feared competition.

The podcast does a good job of debunking this legend. Hearst really had nothing to do with it - other than his newspapers, like all other newspapers of the day, sensationalizing drug use.

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I'll have a listen to the podcast later on.

I remember reading before that one of the big reasons was plain old-fashioned racism. It was associated with Mexicans and with the jazz culture (if those blacks and Mexicans are into it, there must be something wrong with it) and thus was doomed to criminalisation. It was sensationalised as causing swarthy foreigners and blacks to turn into violent psychopaths who would rape the white women, etc...

In my case it just makes we want to eat bacon sandwiches and watch Futurama DVDs...

Edited by JesseCuster
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I've read that it had to do hugely with Mexicans as mentionned above and also the vietman war, since your sterotypical stoners back then were hippies and those opposed to the war

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Racism was a big reason for it - hence the name marijuana to make it seem foreign and dirty.

As for Vietnam, this all went down pre-WWII.

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here is something to consider.... Sherwin Williams Paints used hemp oil as the 'vehicle' until it was outlawed (1937?) ... forcing them to switch to Dupont PETROCHEMICALS. in other words.. Dupont made lots of money because of the banning of hemp oil.

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But Hemp is not the smokable part of the plant, Thus it should still have been the better option (and still is the better option) to use instead of actual trees.

Thus the smokable part yes, was mainly due to racsism (hispanics) however I beleive Dupont family did blow it out of proportion to save his company as hemp would have replaced 80% of his industry

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I have heard that the reason hemp was banned had nothing to do with the effects of THC, which is extremely low in Cannabis sativa grown as hemp for the production of fiber, but rather it was because it threatened the cotton industry. It was easier to grow, needed relatively little care, produced a good quality fiber and was therefore a direct threat to cotton producers, so they convinced the powers that be in government to heavily tax it, and growing it went out of style with the tax burden. Later when the high THC variety known as marijuana began to circulate as a drug that put the finale nail in the coffin and growing it for any reason became illegal. I understand now there is a movement afoot to allow some 18 state the ability to grow hemp for fiber and other products, so it may become common place again.

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Growing Hemp, and Growing Smoking cannabis, is quiet a different process. Rules and regulations would not have been hard to apply to the industry, instead it was banned. This shows that there must have been a driving force somewhere, and it was not the use for the high.

Comparrsions:

Myth: Smoking hemp gets you high

Reality: THC is so low that nobody could get high from smoking it.

Myth: Hemp fields could hide Cannabis plants.

Reality: Hemp is growen quiet differently and harvested at a different time. Also cross polination would happen and this would reduce the plants potency thus making the canabis plant no good to on sell and/or use.

Myth: In the US, the governement has alwasy seen hemp and Cannabis as the same thing.

Reality:The history of the federal governement drug laws clearly shows that at one point the US Gov understood and accepted the distinction between hemp and cannabis

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here is something to consider.... Sherwin Williams Paints used hemp oil as the 'vehicle' until it was outlawed (1937?) ... forcing them to switch to Dupont PETROCHEMICALS. in other words.. Dupont made lots of money because of the banning of hemp oil.

Did they? Or is it more likely that with the development of new and improved chemicals, paint companies changed their formulations?

As is pointed out in the podcast, the notion that there was a thriving hemp market in the US prior to the legislation is simply an urban legend.

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snapback.pnglightly, on 20 February 2014 - 07:16 AM, said:

here is something to consider.... Sherwin Williams Paints used hemp oil as the 'vehicle' until it was outlawed (1937?) ... forcing them to switch to Dupont PETROCHEMICALS. in other words.. Dupont made lots of money because of the banning of hemp oil.

Did they? Or is it more likely that with the development of new and improved chemicals, paint companies changed their formulations?

As is pointed out in the podcast, the notion that there was a thriving hemp market in the US prior to the legislation is simply an urban legend.

Yes, because Dupont made and sold petro chemicals.. not hemp oil.

Edited by lightly
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Did they? Or is it more likely that with the development of new and improved chemicals, paint companies changed their formulations?

As is pointed out in the podcast, the notion that there was a thriving hemp market in the US prior to the legislation is simply an urban legend.

That's a good question ^ ... I don't know, but i'd be interested to know why they changed formulations. Was it because the newly developed synthetic petrochemical replacements were superior, or cheaper? Or was it because of Hemp oil being Phased out?

It would be interesting to learn who lobbied for the bill. Representatives of Petrochemicals, Cotton, Wood/Paper ? Oil? (Henry Ford's earliest cars ran on Ethanol produced from Hemp)

The obvious question is why was commercial/industrial hemp banned right along with the psychoactive/medicinal strains labeled "marijuana" ?

By then, machinery developed that could process the prolific and extremely useful hemp fiber, rather than by hand. It was either just plain old fashioned stupid to nearly abandon the use of hemp fiber, especially at a time when it's processing had become much easier, or it was to protect other economic interests . Which sounds more likely? ?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hemp has a lot of uses. More importantly, I believe the power are working with the pharmaceutical companies/ cancer research organisations to make sure no one use it to cure cancer. Even though people who believe in this are made to sound like wackos, its is strange how the USA govermenet holds the patient to use cannabis to cure cancer. Also you would be able to see a lot of a documents and testimonies from doctors and researher to confirm this. I totally understand why pharmaceutical companies would want to hide this cure, and I totally understand cancer research charity organisations dont promote this, believe if a lot of poeple can use hemp to cure cancer how much money would they really get in donations. But I find it sickening the people who are civil servants who push these stupid regulations to stop people from using hemp to cure themselves and love ones are doing this.

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.

Edited by The Id3al Experience
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I like to make bracelets with it.

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Congressional testimony 1937 .. which resulted in the stamp act / illegalizaton .

http://www.druglibra...act/anslng1.htm

Selected quotes from the testimony......

MR. ANSLINGER: But here we have drug that is not like opium. Opium has all of the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured.

MR. ANSLINGER: It affects different individuals in different ways. Some individuals have a complete loss of sense of time or a sense of value. They lose their sense of place. They have an increased feeling of physical strength and power.

Some people will fly into a delirious rage, and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes. Other people will laugh uncontrollably. It is impossible to say what the effect will be on any individual. Those research men who have tried it have always been under control. They have always insisted upon that.

MR. MCCORMACK: Is it used by the criminal class?

MR. ANSLINGER: Yes, it is. It is dangerous to the mind and body, and particularly dangerous to the criminal type, because it releases all of the inhibitions.

MR. ANSLINGER: I think it makes them irresponsible. A man does not know what he is doing.

MR. ANSLINGER: As to these young men I was telling you about, one of them said if he had killed somebody on the spot he would not have known it.

In Florida a 21-year-old boy under the influence of this drug killed his parents and his brothers and sisters. The evidence showed that he had smoke marihuana.

In Chicago recently two boys murdered a policeman while under the influence of marihuana. Not long ago we found a 15-year-old boy going insane because, the doctor told the enforcement officers, he thought the boy was smoking marihuana cigarettes. They traced the sale to some man who had been growing marihuana and selling it to these boys all under 15 years of age, on a playground there.

and so on and so forth....... All either intentional lies or gross misunderstanding...... why?

Edited by lightly
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Racism was a big reason for it - hence the name marijuana to make it seem foreign and dirty.

As for Vietnam, this all went down pre-WWII.

Oh shoot obviously I recalled something wrong (different war maybe?) but I remember they had some strong point to do with the war in the documentary The Union in their explanation. Wonderful informative documentary.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Congressional testimony 1937 .. which resulted in the stamp act / illegalizaton .

http://www.druglibra...act/anslng1.htm

Selected quotes from the testimony......

MR. ANSLINGER: But here we have drug that is not like opium. Opium has all of the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured.

MR. ANSLINGER: It affects different individuals in different ways. Some individuals have a complete loss of sense of time or a sense of value. They lose their sense of place. They have an increased feeling of physical strength and power.

Some people will fly into a delirious rage, and they are temporarily irresponsible and may commit violent crimes. Other people will laugh uncontrollably. It is impossible to say what the effect will be on any individual. Those research men who have tried it have always been under control. They have always insisted upon that.

MR. MCCORMACK: Is it used by the criminal class?

MR. ANSLINGER: Yes, it is. It is dangerous to the mind and body, and particularly dangerous to the criminal type, because it releases all of the inhibitions.

MR. ANSLINGER: I think it makes them irresponsible. A man does not know what he is doing.

MR. ANSLINGER: As to these young men I was telling you about, one of them said if he had killed somebody on the spot he would not have known it.

In Florida a 21-year-old boy under the influence of this drug killed his parents and his brothers and sisters. The evidence showed that he had smoke marihuana.

In Chicago recently two boys murdered a policeman while under the influence of marihuana. Not long ago we found a 15-year-old boy going insane because, the doctor told the enforcement officers, he thought the boy was smoking marihuana cigarettes. They traced the sale to some man who had been growing marihuana and selling it to these boys all under 15 years of age, on a playground there.

and so on and so forth....... All either intentional lies or gross misunderstanding...... why?

To protect some big industries pockets

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Hemp harvesters on the 1914 $10 bill:

10-Dollar-Bill-Hemp.jpg

Hemp has been used as a fiber for making things since prehistoric times. Almost all heavy-duty ropes, canvas and burlap used to be made out of hemp up until the 20th century, because hemp has really long fibers which gives it superior strength over cotton or linen. When used in clothing it is usually blended with cotton or linen to make it softer.

Hemp was such a useful fiber that in 1619 America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, VA. All farmers were ordered to grow Indian hemp seed. Mandatory cultivation laws were enacted in MA in 1631, in CT in 1632, and in the Chesapeake colonies in the 1700’s.

Cannabis hemp was even used as legal tender in most of the Americas from 1631 until the early 1800’s. The reason for making it legal tender was to encourage farmers to grow more. You could then pay your taxes with cannabis hemp throughout America for over 200 years. If a farmer did not grow hemp during periods of shortages, they could be jailed.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson used enslaved African labor to grow this crop on their plantations.

Edited by Slate
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hemp was banned due to the big oil family's, and I'm sure a few other reasons.

Yes Ford had a car that he made 80-95% OUT of hemp AND ran on hemp. France and an other country were going to unveil their hemp fuled cars at the next worlds fair after the bane was signed.

Hemp vs Marajauna--you don't get high from hemp.

You can make an entire car out of hemp except for the windows and have it run pin hemp too.

Hemp gas would sale for approx $00.12-$00.15 per gallon-hemp desile $00.25.

And neither have emissions to pullote the air.

You can make an entire house AND furnish it except for glass.

Paper can be made from hemp-again for a fraction of current costs AND with out fouling the earth.

In 10 years or less hemp can transform sandy ground, nuked, poisioned with anthrax to rich farming soil. And still use the plant.

Hemp has no bugs, fungis, virues, ect - so no chemicales need to be put on or sprayed.

You don't have to dig rows or holes to plant-just tossing is fine.

You don't have to water hemp.

6-10 harvest a year.

1 1/2 teaspoons - 2 TABLESPOONS of husked seeds will have all the vitamines, minerals and caloires for 2yr olds - active adults.

So far there have been zero cases of food allergies to hemp seeds.

It can be fed to live stock.

Made into: dipars, formulia, clothes, cleaners, shoes, hygene iteams, make up, tofu, peanutbutter, and so much more.

The above can be found in:

The Great Book of Hemp by Rowan Robinson

Hemp by Renee Johnson

Hemp by Jason Merrill

The Reign of Law by James Lane Allen

U of Kentucky &

U of MI

Reasearch

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Thankfully, this is the last generation that will see hemp/cannabis as a schedule 1 narcotic. The word is out, smokers and non-smokers alike are all calling it for what it is. What scares me, however, is the power of propaganda. Think about how many decades it took to even get to the point where it's reconsidered, let alone legalized. It's a no-brainer issue! (Comparatively,) it's not dangerous, lethal, addictive, etc etc. and yet the propaganda managed to keep weed up there with heroine for yeeeaaarrrrsssss

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post-86645-0-97492000-1399681331_thumb.j

http://abriluno.com/...ana-cigarettes/

Phillip Morris Introduces Marlboro Marijuana Cigarettes

Phillip Morris, the world’s biggest cigarette producer, announced today that they will join the marijuana legalization bandwagon and start producing marijuana cigarettes. Marketed under the brand “Marlboro M”, the cigarettes will be made available for sale through marijuana-licensed outlets in the state of Colorado, and the state of Washington when it becomes commercially legal there later this year.

* * *

Phillip Morris shares hit an all-time high on the marijuana news and shot up to $420.00 from $83.03 just a few hours after the announcement went public.

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