The real reason marijuana is illegal

 Marijuana was a mexican slang term the government overexposed to promote fear of the hemp plant

Thanks to http://www.tpuc.org/content/marijuana-conspiracy

Here's some fun facts about Marijuana:

* Up until the 1880s all schoolbooks were made from help or flax paper.

* It was legal to pay your taxes(in America) with hemp from the 1630s until the 1800s

* During the 17th and 18th centuries it was against the law to refuse to grow hemp. You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow marijuana from 1763 to 1769.

* Many of the founding fathers grew hemp including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

* One of the first paper mills in America owned by Benjamin Franklin processed Hemp.

* The war of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow’s export to England.

* 90 percent of ships' sails and rope were made from hemp for thousands of years. The word canvas is Dutch for Cannabis.

* Until the introduction of the cotton gin in the 1820s 80 percent of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc.,were made from hemp

* The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp

* The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons.Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th century.

* In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs.

* In 1938, hemp was called ‘Billion Dollar Crop.’ It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars.

Now how it got its bad name.

Kimberly Clarks division for Hearst Paper Manufacturing ran by William Randolph Hearst owned acres of timberlands. The company was the main supply for paper products. The grandfather of Patty Hearst(whom destroyed natural habitats for riches) could have lost billions due to hemp.

DuPont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal in 1937. They encouraged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division in their Annual report.

Plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron and other synthetics could now be made from oil. Over 80% of DuPont’s business would have been ruined by Natural Hemp industrialization.

Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury and DuPont’s primary investor, Andrew Mellon appointed his future nephew-in-law,Harry J.Anslinger, to head the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

These financial tycoons held secret meetings and determined hemp was a "dangerous" because it was bad for their big-business and their dynasties. They took an obscure Mexican slang word ‘marijuana’ and emphasized and exaggerated it into the consciousness of America.

For more information use the link at the top of the post.

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