Are we the real dopes?
Is the ban on Hemp more corporate trickery?

 
The market for Hemp products

Read on for important historical background.

From 'The Marijuana Trick'
by Doug Yurchey - 2005

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be
no more consumed with hunger in the land. -- Ezekiel 34/29

Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the Hemp plant ... as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopaedia Britannica which was printed on Hemp paper for 150 years.

All schoolbooks were made from Hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.

It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1800s; LA Times, Aug. 12, 1981.

REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow Hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers GREW HEMP. Jefferson smuggled Hemp seeds from China to France, then to America; Washington and Jefferson Diaries.

Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed Hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over Hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow's export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.

For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from Hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for Hemp; Webster's New World Dictionary.

80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc., were made from Hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.

The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from Hemp; U.S. Government Archives.

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; Kentucky State Archives.

Oldest known records of Hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although Hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt.

Rembrandt's, Gainsborough’s, Van Gogh’s as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on Hemp linen.

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; Department of Agriculture.

Quality paints and varnishes were made from Hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of Hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on Hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his Hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had Hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.

Hemp called 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.

Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb., 1938) published an article entitled, 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if Hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The following information comes directly from the United States Department of Agriculture's 1942, 14-minute film encouraging and instructing 'patriotic American farmers' to grow 350,000 acres of Hemp each year for the war effort:

... (When) Grecian temples were new, Hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850, all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with Hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, Hemp was indispensable ...

... Now with Philippine and East Indian sources of Hemp in the hands of the Japanese

... American Hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as of our industries ...

... the Navy's rapidly dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American Hemp will go on duty again; Hemp for mooring ships; Hemp for tow lines; Hemp for tackle and gear; Hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the days when Old Ironsides sailed the seas victorious with her Hempen shrouds and Hempen sails. Hemp for victory!'

Certified proof from the Library of Congress; found by the research of Jack Herer, refuting claims of other government agencies that the 1942 USDA film, 'Hemp for Victory,' did not exist.

Hemp cultivation and production do not harm the environment. The USDA Bulletin #404 concluded that Hemp produces 4 times as much pulp as wood with at least 4 to 7 times less pollution.

From Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938: 'It has a short growing season ... It can be grown in any state ... The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, chokes out weeds.

... Hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.'

In the 1930s, innovations in farm machinery would have caused an industrial revolution when applied to Hemp. This single resource could have created millions of new jobs generating thousands of quality products. Hemp, if not made illegal, would have brought America out of the Great Depression.

William Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane) and the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division of Kimberly Clark owned vast acreage of timberlands. The Hearst Company supplied most paper products. Patty Hearst's grandfather, a destroyer of nature for his own personal profit, stood to lose billions because of Hemp.

In 1937, Dupont patented the processes to make plastics from oil and coal. Dupont's Annual Report urged stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical division. Synthetics such as plastics, cellophane, celluloid, methanol, nylon, rayon, Dacron, etc., could now be made from oil. Natural hemp industrialization would have ruined over 80% of Dupont's business.

THE TRICKS

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

Secret meetings were held by these financial tycoons. Hemp was declared dangerous and a threat to their billion dollar enterprises. For their dynasties to remain intact, Hemp had to go. These men took an obscure Mexican slang word, 'Marihuana,' and pushed it into the consciousness of America.

MEDIA MANIPULATION
A media blitz of 'yellow journalism' raged in the late 1920s and 1930s. Hearst's newspapers ran stories emphasizing the horrors of Marihuana. The menace of Marihuana made headlines. Readers learned that it was responsible for everything from car accidents to loose morality.

Films like 'Reefer Madness' (1936), 'Marihuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and 'Marihuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936) were propaganda designed by these industrialists to create an enemy. Their purpose was to gain public support so that anti-Marihuana laws could be passed.

Examine the following quotes from 'The Burning Question' aka 'REEFER
MADNESS':

a violent narcotic.
acts of shocking violence.
incurable insanity.
soul-destroying effects.
under the influence of the drug he killed his entire family with an axe.
more vicious, more deadly even than these soul-destroying drugs (heroin, cocaine) is the menace of Marihuana!

'Reefer Madness' did not end with the usual 'The End.' The film concluded with these words plastered on the screen: "TELL YOUR CHILDREN."

In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the Baby-Boomers.

On April 14, 1937, the Prohibitive Marihuana Tax Law or the bill that outlawed Hemp was directly brought to the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is the only one that can introduce a bill to the House floor without it being debated by other committees. The Chairman of the Ways and Means, Robert Doughton, was a Dupont supporter. He insured that the bill would pass Congress.

Dr. James Woodward, a physician and attorney, testified too late on behalf of the American Medical Association. He told the committee that the reason the AMA had not denounced the Marihuana Tax Law sooner was that the Association had just discovered that Marihuana was/is Hemp.

Few people, at the time, realized that the deadly menace they had been reading about on Hearst's front pages was in fact passive Hemp. The AMA understood Hemp to be a MEDICINE found in numerous healing products sold over the last hundred years.

In September of 1937, Hemp became illegal. The most useful crop known became a drug and our planet has been suffering ever since.

Congress banned Hemp because it was said to be the most violence-causing drug known. Anslinger, head of the Drug Commission for 31 years, promoted the idea that Marihuana made users act extremely violent. In the 1950s, under the Communist threat of McCarthyism, Anslinger now said the exact opposite. Marijuana will pacify you so much that soldiers would not want to fight.

Today, our planet is in desperate trouble. Earth is suffocating as large tracts of rain forests disappear. Pollution, poisons and chemicals are killing people. These great problems could be reversed if we industrialized Hemp. Natural biomass could provide all of the planet's energy needs that are currently supplied by fossil fuels. We have consumed 80% of our oil and gas reserves. We need a renewable resource. Hemp could be the solution to soaring gas prices.

THE WONDER PLANT
Hemp has a higher quality fiber than wood fiber. Far fewer caustic chemicals are required to make paper from Hemp than from trees. Hemp paper does not turn yellow and is very durable. The plant grows quickly to maturity in a season where trees take a lifetime.

ALL PLASTIC PRODUCTS SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP SEED OIL. Hempen plastics are biodegradable! Over time, they would break down and not harm the environment. Oil-based plastics, the ones we are very familiar with, help ruin nature; they do not break down and will do great harm in the future. The process to produce the vast array of natural (Hempen) plastics will not ruin the rivers as Dupont and other petrochemical companies have done. Ecology does not fit in with the plans of the Oil Industry and the political machine. Hemp products are safe and natural.

MEDICINES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. We should go back to the days when the AMA supported Hemp cures. 'Medical Marijuana' is given out legally to only a handful of people while the rest of us are forced into a system that relies on chemicals. Hemp is only healthy for the human body.

WORLD HUNGER COULD END. A large variety of food products can be generated from Hemp. The seeds contain one of the highest sources of protein in nature. ALSO: They have two essential fatty acids that clean your body of cholesterol. These essential fatty acids are not found anywhere else in nature! Consuming Hemp seeds is the best thing you could do for your body. Eat uncooked Hemp seeds.

CLOTHES SHOULD BE MADE FROM HEMP. Hemp clothing is extremely strong and durable over time. You could hand clothing, made from Hemp, down to your grandchildren. Today, there are American companies that make Hemp clothing; usually 50% Hemp. Hemp fabrics should be everywhere. Instead, they are almost underground. Kentucky, once the top Hemp producing state, made it ILLEGAL TO WEAR Hemp clothing! Can you imagine being thrown into jail for wearing quality jeans?

Hemp can be very helpful to mankind.
Hemp is illegal because billionaires want to remain billionaires!

Now you know!