When Cannabis Became Bad
The real reasons behind the prohibition of cannabis are unknown to the majority. This wonderful plant, just like its quasi-miraculous qualities, has a long history, a journey that runs hand in hand with the history of mankind.
It can be used to produce top-quality oil, and it is a precious resource for the textile industry. Plus, it grows rapidly, and it can provide fuel and paper. And these are only few examples of the many ways men and women have adopted hemp, which is basically one of the historical cornerstones of innumerable human economies and societies. So, what’s the problem with cannabis? Precisely its exceptional adaptability: that’s the real “danger”.
The modern industrial apparatus considers oil and coal the main source of fuel, turns forests into paper and uses artificial fibers to make clothes. But nothing can really compete with hemp: easy to grow, cheap and accessible. What a dangerous product! So it was that Pierre Dupont (leader of the textile sector), John d. Rockefeller (the oil king) and William Randolph Hearst (paper manufacturer) joined forces in the war against this ancient plant. Their products just couldn’t win against marijuana. Therefore, there could no battle or competition: cannabis had to be eliminated, nipped.
The only way to do so was to declare cannabis illegal. Hearst, who also owned some of the major newspapers, oversaw the demonization-process. Once criminalized, marijuana became much easier to ban. The plan succeeded, and manipulated information reached the general public.
It was then, in 1937, that the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, the legal act that officially turned hemp into an illegal alien. The ignorance of those who participated in the operation is quite evident when you consider that 3/4 of the senators who voted were not even aware of the fact that cannabis, hemp and marijuana are, in fact, the same thing.
After this business coup, the market was flooded with synthetic fibers and the automobile (which was conceived and invented by Diesel as something meant to function on plant-based fuel) was converted to run on oil. All this created the foundations of the post-modern life: from pollution to wars, from increased inequality to the destruction of forests. After all, it doesn’t seem crazy to claim that cannabis prohibition marked the beginning of all the major problems of our modernity.
If all this makes you sad, relax and try some of the best cannabis ever. Visit http://greenhouseseeds.nl and, for a moment or two, forget about all the problems we have because too many people are still afraid of this wonderful gift of nature.
