The Re-Legalization Of Cannabis Hemp

The American public has been bombarded with propaganda delivered by the government and special interest groups that prosper by keeping marijuana illegal. The amount of tax money spent on keeping marijuana illegal during the last 60 years makes legalizing almost impossible, even though countless studies have proven marijuana to be less harmful then Alcohol. Legalization would reduce illegal drug trade and reinstate almost one million people back into society (Armentano 1). Still, even with these positive studies, drug enforcement agencies use up 50% of their funding toward marijuana. Marijuana has been proven, time and time again, to aid the sick and mentally ill. Yet the government still outlaws even controlled research to be done. Cannabis hemp is also a major protector of our ever fading ozone. The Greenhouse effect wouldn't have ever happened if cannabis hemp had not been outlawed (Bock). One of these Ð''prosper by keeping marijuana illegal groups' is DuPont.

In 1937, DuPont created new patents for making wood pulp into paper, and plastics from oil and coal. Just before this, around 1935 state-of-the art mechanical hemp fiber stripping machines and hemp-pulp conserving machines became affordable for cannabis farmers. This made the processing time of hemp-to-pulp decreased from 300 hours to just two or three hours. (Herer 25) Mr. Schlichten, the designer of the machines, grew five tons of hemp on one acre in 100 days. He had only two tons less then the United States previously had annually (Chase). United States Dept. Of Agriculture Bulletin No. 404 reported that one acre of hemp in a rotation over 20 years would produce the same amount of pulp as 4.1 acres of trees being cut down over the same 20 years (Dewey). This presented a problem for DuPont; since this machine would lower the demand for lumber it would also reduce the cost of building houses, which was a huge percent of lumber exports. DuPont turned to their chief financial backer, Andrew Mellon of the Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh. Mellon, as President Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury, and knowing that machinery for fast hemp processing was being crafted, appointed Harry J. Anslinger, Mellon's future nephew-in-law, in 1931 to be head of the FBNDD, Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (Chase). This is the equivalent of the Drug Enforcement Agency today. In appointing him, America now had an anti-cannabis leader of the FBNDD. Along with this, William Randolph Hearst's nationwide chain of wood-pulp made newspapers began printing an extreme amount of negative cannabis propaganda. For example, if a marijuana cigarette was found in a vehicle that had crashed, headlines would write on that for weeks, while literally 10,000 times the amount of alcohol-related vehicle accidents would only get published in the back pages of the newspaper (Chase). After a few years, Anslinger had created enough credibility to speak out to congress about illegalizing marijuana.

Medically, marijuana has been proven through Jamaican and Costa Rican studies to help with pain (Herer 114). Studies aren't done in the USA because the western society will simply not allow the studies to be done. In November of 1996, 56% of California and other state voters have voted to legalize medical marijuana through the California Compassionate Use Act (A PoliceÐ'...). Just recently Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri vetoed a medical marijuana bill but shortly after the veto was over-ruled by high-courts (Zeese). Cannabis is considered a safe alternative to antidepressants such as Paxil and Prozae (Armentano). The article also states that THC compounds, specifically cannnabidiol, appear to fight programmed cell death and malignant cell growth. It is said that 60% of epileptics/MS patients find relief in marijuana. UCLA Tashkin studies suggest that cannabis smoke effectively dilates the passages into the lungs and that cannabis is the best overall bronchial dilator for 80% of the population (Herer 47).

Physical anomalies to the human body have been recorded as well, such as that Cannabis THC stimulates brain cell growth in the hippocampus region of the brain (Armentano). This region partly controls transferring information into memory and emotions (Phelps). Tobacco smokers suffer less airway damage when they've smoked a marijuana joint with the tobacco rather then pure tobacco smokers. Jamaican smokers report happiness and positive spirituality. Costa Rican and Jamaican studies show less stress, therefore reducing wrinkles, and extending their lives. Some people describe it as a spiritual awakening (Herer 114).

A common negative cannabis belief that is being taught to families across America through countless anti-marijuana commercials is that marijuana smokers are brain dead. This is proven to be wrong through a Harvard MRI study that showed no brain differences after three months of smoking abstinence. Similarly studies at UCLA showed no I.Q. differences between cannabis smokers and non-cannabis smokers. Vera Ruben, an anthropologist, produced a study across many different world cultures that shows marijuana smokers are just as motivated to work as well as, if not better then non-smokers (Herer 114).

All of this prohibition has caused a major rise in the prison population. Eight hundred thousand of the 1.2 million drug related convicts are associated with marijuana. Even more interesting is that 80% of the 800,000 are convicted