RE: Weed
February 25, 2012 at 12:16 pm
(This post was last modified: February 25, 2012 at 12:21 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(February 24, 2012 at 11:30 am)Faith No More Wrote: Weed is illegal because when it started to become popular cotton was a huge cash crop. Hemp threatened to put a huge damper on the cotton business, therefore the cotton barons spent their money and influence making the whole plant illegal. It had nothing to do with weed's psychoactive effects and everything to do with money.
EDIT: I don't have time right now to look for sources, but I have seen this metioned several times in various descriptions of marijuana's history. will source later.
Hemp was always there. Cotton was an upstart, as were a few others. Some individuals who may have had their business interests in mind rode a wave of ignorance, migrant fear, and racism (fueled by a media machine that was directly involved in creating the stigma surrounding weed) to legislation that may have had some economic benefit for them (both in the control of public opinion and related markets). Not only was hemp hugely important but cherished scraps of Americana are made primarily of hemp, and there was a long standing legal requirement for landowners to enter into textile production for various entities (the crown or the state, depending on the time frame), often going so far as to single out hemp over other textiles. We needed canvass and rope and stationary etc for our politics, our markets, and our war machines.
If weed were legalized in today's ag climate the humble american farmer would crush any market operated by a cartel or criminal entity. That would be one less source of funding for people who have consistently shown no regard for human life.
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