Campaign For Liberty — The Deceit of the Drug War

Campaign For Liberty — The Deceit of the Drug War: "The movement against marijuana, hemp, and cannabis was pushed forward by special interest groups who saw hemp specifically as a competitive threat. DuPont had recently patented nylon and jumped on the opportunity to take hemp out of the picture. Hemp was also a legitimate force in the paper industry and represented a threat to that area of the lumber industry. Pharmaceutical companies didn't appreciate the fact that they couldn't control the cannabis market, given the fact that people could grow it right in their backyard and didn't rely on the commercial market."

"Dr. William Woodward of the AMA would explain in Congress that the AMA opposed the legislation, did not recognize any of the violence that the government linked with marijuana, and generally questioned the whole approach that the government was taking with the proceedings. In short, there was little to no medical evidence or support from the medical community that marijuana induced violence, one of the primary reasons for the government's incessant attack on the substance.

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt on August 2, 1937, after several years of racist, medically unsupported, and exaggerated propaganda. Of course, in WWII the Department of Agriculture produced a video, "Hemp for Victory," encouraging farmers to grow as much hemp as possible for the war effort. I can't help but get the feeling that when the government needs it, it is okay to farm hemp. But when the government doesn't have the urgent need for it, hemp is off the table."

"Hemp is currently one of the most (if not the most) efficient prospects for renewable fuel. Hemp is an extraordinary plant that could easily cut down our dependence on oil, reliance on trees to produce paper, and expand the vital element of choice and competition in various areas of the economy. Over 25,000 products can be made with hemp. There is nothing remotely dangerous with hemp that the states and the market can't work out that justifies prohibiting it from freely competing in the marketplace."

"We can't forget the lessons of alcohol Prohibition in the 1920s. People did not suddenly stop consuming alcohol, alcohol did not disappear, and as a result it was the gangs and criminals who ran the industry. It is a nearly identical situation we are in today with drugs. As with Prohibition, we are trying to control individual behavior, and the only way to bring it about is through increased government force and infringement on personal freedom."