How Cannabis became Illegal and why it should be Legal

[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 so easy to produce almost anywhere. So the propaganda and lies went forth and government and industries sent their representatives to the schools, churches, newspapers and radio and spread fear and some really outrageous lies into the population to get cannabis (marijuana / hemp) outlawed. 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 also Well meaning religious groups that have been raised for over 75 years believing the old lies who just don't know the facts about cannabis 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 . Lobbyist 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 they choose and as long as they meet and have just one so called business lunch the lobbyist then can pay all the bills for everyone their airline tickets, hotel, food the whole entire 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 (nice way to be remembered when the politician is casting their vote). 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 stop taking 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 up to 11% suffer suicidal thoughts from these legal medications.
For many they have no real recourse for an alternative because just a few reasons being are.....
(1) so many have been so lied to from birth they do not think of cannabis as an alternative.....
(2) they are afraid of it for being against the law.....
(3) they have no real access to high quality cannibis.....
(4) they simply just can not afford a regular supply of high quality cannabis.....
(5) they have no SAFE and SECURE location where they could grow their own.....
In the U.S. the government and courts besides giving you prison time for growing they 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 and suffering as best they can.
It is an extremely sad thing and a down right crime that millions must suffer world wide everyday 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 cannabis 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.

[Stygian23]

This is true, but you left out some stuff. They helped push the Marijuana Tax Act through in record time by first calling it the Marijuana Tax Act (most people knew what hemp and cannabis was, but never heard the Mexican term Marihuana). They then went on to make claims (by they I mean a coalition headed by Anslinger) such as smoking ONE joint causes blacks and Mexicans to enter homocidal rages and go on raping sprees. It was this that really got the laws changed... racism. The one card they knew they could play in the late '30s that would cause people to vote through the act without really researching it. One of the leading companies (then as now... having the biggest anti-Marijuna lobby in America) was DuPont Chemicals. If the herb were to be legalized 60-75% of their patents would become worthless as the same products (or products with the same functions) would be cheaper to produce, more environmentally safe, and in some cases outright better substances using hemp.

You are dead on about the rest. I have a severe case of Bipolar Disorder. Severe enough that when I was taking chemical meds I was taking 16 pills in the morning and 18 pills at night. Depakote, Zoloft, Welbutrin, Seroquel, and Lithium. After a year of being on these pills I went from being extremely thin and in shape to the worst shape I had ever been in (and no I didn't stop working out or increase my eatting habits). Every other month I was getting my blood checked for the levels of the chemicals in my blood, and continual liver checks to see if I had recieved any damage from the pills. And you know what those pills did to me? Turned me into a zombie. Completely. As if my very personality was wiped clean. I no longer got depressed or manic, but I also never laughed, never truly enjoyed myself, nothing. I became as much of the walking dead as the Zombies in any George Romero film. Finally I decided to take care of things they way I had for years before being 'convinced' by family that it was the cannabis that had exacorbated my BP and that I should take the medicines approved and supplied by the Government Dopedealers themselves. Since reverting back to my 'self-medication' I lost my weight, I smile again, and life holds a taste that I hadn't known since allowing myself to be told what is 'right'.

If you want to read some interesting books on this topic, I suggest:
The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer (a little dated, and some info in here is not exactly pristine but it was written at a time when Cannabis research was verboten ALL over the world).
Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts by Zimmer and Morgan

The following is just a damn good book, as are all Wilson's books:
Sex, Drugs, and the Occult by Robert Anton Wilson (this is just a generally good book, not specifically about Cannabis. Lots of interesting info, but must be taken with a grain of salt.)

There are countless others, but these are good starters.
Hemp for Victory.
Do what thou wilt.

[Alaskan Biker]

Thanks Stygian23 any addition of the Facts to post and pass on to others is most welcome.....knowledge is what I truly believe one day will change these backwards laws. There will unfortunately most likely never be any big money behind a cannabis reform movement and there will surely be big money against it so a large percentage of the population pushing for it one day is our only real hope.


Very Glad for you that you discovered the truth and things are better now and you have your life back I have heard and witnessed nearly word for word what you described from so very very many people.

[Lemming]

Excellent posts guys and nice to see RAW mentioned on the forum.

- The Mgt.

[Lemming]

For the uninitiated, Robert Anton Wilson wrote a brilliant trilogy called "Illuminatus". One of the many wonderful characters was a guy called The Midget who posted signs saying things like "Don't look over your left shoulder in here" and signed them "- the Mgt.". People would assume this meant The Management.
Hmm, I’m not explaining this very well. Go read the book.

[Stygian23]

That is one of his best books. Although a friend of mine once opened my copy up to the page where what's-his-nuts is fucking the giant Golden Apple, and since then thinks there is something wrong with me.