worst day in history of mankind

[scooberu]

can anyone tell me why cannabis was made illigal in the first place?

[mazdog]

what?

edit: ahhhhhhh, now it makes sense i thought i was still stoned from last night and not reading it right or something.

I don't know why it became illegal worldwide, but here in the states it basically became illegal because of prejudice, fear of the unknown, religious banter and general misinformation.

[scooberu]

nope, just me being toasted when writing. I'd heard it was something to do with egypt, but it was probably bs

[Lemming]

I think you're right about an Egyptian connection. I can't remember the full story but it was sometime in the early part of the 20th century when a convention was organising a treaty against the opium trade and the Egyptian delegate got cannabis included. Something like that anyway ...

[scooberu]

u gotta luv those polititions

[buddy]

I think it also has something to do with cotton and other industries. Hemp is a very useful and beneficial product and certain politicians and industrialists didn't want it to intefere with their profits. What better way to scare the public than by falsely claiming it as a dangerous and addicting drug. Drug companies are also reluctant to admit the medical benefits of cannabis. What can I say...don't trust your leaders

[snapperhead]

In the states marijuana was made illegal due to pressure and paranoia created by government and perpetuated by the media. The great William Randolf Hearst(probably one of the most corrupt and evil cocksuckers of all time) media empire went to work and the politicans followed suit banning it (Marihuana Tax Act). The entire scam was funded by the Timber Industry. These fuckers knew that hemp made easier and better paper than trees and they were scared as shit for their little empire/monopoly. So, to ensure their little place at the trough they paid off politicans to get worked up and create the negative proaganda (Reefer Madness etc) about the evils of smoking marijuana. Media boys took the ball and ran with it and pretty soon the entire country was in an uproar about what maybe a few jazz musicians were smoking before their gigs. So they banned it. And we've been struggling to reverse that for the last 75 years.

[scooberu]

heard a little about that . apparently there was a time in the u s when it was illegal for farmers NOT to grow hemp as it had so many uses. now thats a trip

[T MON€Y]

There's two really interesting books that need to be checked out: Spliffs 1 and 2, (You can get them in HMV)

Spliffs 2 provides a timeline from 6000BC right up to the present regarding the state of marijuana legislation through the ages for example in 1883 there were hashish smoking parlours in every major city in America, 500 in new york alone.

Anyway, do a search on Harry Anslinger if you haven't heard of him, (you'll instantly dislike him) he was appointed director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1931 and is remembered for such quotes as:

"There are 100,000 marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”

Anyway, i'm not blaming the States for the current situation, but I do believe they have a large part to play.

[Tommy G]

Yeah, bloody americans they always spoil things 4 every1 else. I`ve visited the states twice and I wouldn`t go again

[Tommy G]

When I say bloody americans I mean the governments not the citizens

[scooberu]

just did some research on that harry dude. what a prick. he's quoted saying that if a black man smokes weed it makes him insane because it makes him think he is equal to the white man. again, what a complete fuckwit.

[T MON€Y]

Yeh, A 30 year reign of terror! before that he was involved in alcohol prohibition, so when that didn't work out...he just turned his attention to weed.

He's responsible for the crazy reefer madness campaign of the 30's and the subsequent Marijuana Tax Bill. He was eventually forced into retirement by JFK, who apparently used marijuana for "back trouble" and APPARENTLY was going to legalize it in his second term, before his assassination. Ah well....

Oh yeh, the FBN that Anslinger was director is now more commonly known as the DEA. Isn't that a kick in the teeth!

[Alaskan Biker]

For over 75 years now the people of the U.S. and much of the world have been lied to and used simply so that a few industrial families can get just a little bit richer. This all mainly began with the textile industry fearing that hemp would cost them profits and back at that time they had just come out with some new products that they were investing heavily in and they did not want any competition from any hemp products of any kind that are easy to produce almost anywhere. So the propaganda and lies went forth and government and industries sent their men to the schools, churches, newspapers and radio and spread fear and some really outrageous lies into the population to get marijuana / cannabis outlawed during the 20th Century . Even to this day the lies and games and damage continue now mostly in the form of political lobbyist that represent the Textile, Lumber, Alcohol and Pharmaceutical Industries and Well meaning religious groups who just don't know all the facts about cannibis or anything about it's benefits. These all represent powerful political and business groups who spend money sending their Lobbyist to meet with politicians and basically buy their votes . They are allowed to spend so much money per trip legally and they can hold the meeting anywhere like at a nice cozy hotel in say the Caribbean or Hawaii or anywhere and as long as they meet and have just one so called business lunch the lobbyist then can pay the bills for everyone airline tickets, hotel, food the whole trip and as long as it does not exceed a certain amount (not sure on the current but about 10 years ago it was more than $25,000) the whole thing is a tax right off for the business that the lobbyist represents this is a nice way for a legally paid free luxury vacation for some politician.....also lets not forget they also have the election year campaign contributions. This is a circle of corruption all nice and legal to insure that these businesses do not lose ANY percentage of their profits to the legalization of a wonderful plant that could do so much good . The Textile crowd fear their losses because hemp makes wonderful fabric, Lumber would lose because hemp makes fine paper and cardboard hemp just happens to be one of the strongest natural fibers known to man. The Alcohol Industry would have competition that they do not want and the Pharmaceutical industry alone would lose billions a year if marijuana was to cost them say only 5% of their business (I personally think it would be far more than 5%)and I am sure all of you know the many uses that this wonderful natural substance has that could replace so many legal drugs that are both addictive and have a whole range of side affects (just a few being severe depression, sexual dysfunction, aggressive mood swings.....).What a crock that our so called caring, compassionate and wonderful government says you can not have what does work and helps end so much needless pain and suffering but that you can have a whole list of legal drugs that can cause these side effects in 22% - 27% of the population that they are prescribed to also many of them are highly addictive. The side affects are so bad for many that eventually at some point they will quite the legal medication once they realize it is the cause of the new problems in their life that is the ones who are alive because in those who become severely depressed there is up to 11% suffering suicidal thoughts. For many they have no real recourse for an alternative because just a few reasons being that so many have been so lied to from birth they do not think of it as an alternative or they are afraid of it for being against the law or they have no real access to cannibis or they simply just can not afford a regular supply of high quality cannabis or they have no SAFE and SECURE location where they could grow their own and in the U.S. the government and courts besides giving you prison time for growing can also with a court order confiscate all of your property including your home and auction it off and with that kind of fear and intimidation many who could help them selves growing their own have to choose not to and just take their pain as best they can. It is an extremely sad thing and a down right crime that millions must suffer world wide needlessly just so a handful of wealthy and powerful industrial families can make even more money at the expense of our lives. So many people out there if marijuana was legal could just plant a seed and get what they need for free at no cost, no addiction and the worst side effects may be that you smile through and through and sleep really good. No Government has the right to make anyone suffer and this one is just doing it because it is convenient for their good business friends.[/img]

[RADAR]

I have to agree with all of the above comments. The U.S. government seems incapable of learning from history. They spend millions of dollars annually to try to stop the importation of pot into the country when they should be spending the money on social programs (such as education) to alleviate the problems inherent in this society. If they would only look to the "Great Social Experiment" of the 18th amendment (prohibition) and how it transformed the country, they might become enlightened. It provided a means for organized crime to make millions each year from sales of illegal booze, thereby creating a whole sub-culture devoted to crime, much of it very violent. Seeing what the crime families turned to with the passage of the 21st amendment repealing Prohibiton, trafficing in hard drugs like heroin and cocaine, you would think they might come to the realization that making pot illegal is as unenforcible a law as prohibition was. Instead, they continue to blindly follow a stupid policy that forces otherwise decent law abiding folks to participate in what should not be a criminal activity, but is. Washington continues to put out misinformation about pot saying it leads to the use of harder drugs and violent activity. Have you ever seen a stoner pick a fight or attack someone, like drunks at bars, or crack heads do? You probably never will as they are just too laid back. In the early years of this country (colonial and post-colonial) hemp was grown all over the country for the production of rope for our merchant fleet and navy. Many of these hemp plantations still exist in a wild form as they reseed themselves each year. I know people who have found them in parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Unfortunately, this is not a worthwhile smoking form of weed so don't bother looking for it. The DEA's efforts to stop the influx of weed from outside the country has, in recent years, made the growing of it here one of the great cash crops. Newer laws have given the government the power to confiscate the property of anyone found cultivating it and with the ability to use helicopter mounted infrared sensors to detect the plants growing outdoors (weed grows at a significantly higher temp than most surrounding indiginous plants) it has led to indoor cultivation on a staggering scale. So, enjoy it where you can outside the U.S. and hope the government comes to its senses sometime soon and at least decriminalizes it. Better yet, hope they don't convince other countries to crack down on its use.