Ok, did a little research, a little longer than what I thought it was gonna be....


Some cannabis history and facts:

-In the colonial days, farmers were fined for NOT growing hemp.
-George Washington was a hemp farmer.
-Hemp was a cash crop well after the civil war, but because of its availability and ease of manufacturing, price dropped so farmers switched to more lucratice crops, like tabacco.
-The United Stated Pharmacopeaia recognized cannabis for its medicinal value as early as 1850.
-Mexicans,Native Americans, and Black minorities were the main recreational cannabis users.
-The mexicans who worked in the feilds used cannabis at the end of the day as a means to relax and allowed them to forget the long hours, their surroundings and the pay while being away from their famalies.
-The use of cannabis among Black jazz musicians became more popular as it enhanced their musical skill.
-1930 Harry J. Anslinger is appointed as the first Commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics.
-Americans that had heard of marijuana, (to be sure, a very small group at the time) typically could care less about the drug, much less about laws regarding its use.
-Anslingers boss that appointed him to his position, who was also his Father-In-Law, was a prime backer (through his Mellon Financial Corporation) of the DuPont petrochemical company, viewed hemp as a major threat from the article "New Billion-Dollar Crop" (Popular Mechanics, publication date: February, 1938).
-William Randolph Hearst, a poerfull newspaper magnate, sympathized with Anslinger in his war against marijuana. His paper empire (he owned hundreds of acres of timber forests) was threatened by hemp, which could be regrown yearly. He published many of the stories that Anslinger fabricated.
-In his first few months, Ansliger requested reports and details of cannabis use. The results: limited use among minorities in border towns.
-Southern states pressed for a federal law against marijuana to persecute Mexicans that saturated the workforce with cheap labor during The Depression.
-Anti-cannabis sentiment grew, spread by journalistic sensationalism rather than by personal observation of the dangerous effects of the drug. Selling newspapers required stories that grabbed people's attention.
-In an article published in The American Journal of Police Science by EUGENE STANLEY, District Attorney, Parish of Orleans, New Orleans, La
"...the action of Cannabis is similar to that of alcohol and morphine. Its toxic effects are ecstasy, merriment, uncontrollable laughter, self-satisfaction, bizzare ideas lacking in continuity, and its results are extreme hyperacidity, with occasional attacks of nausea and vomiting. It has also been described as producing, in moderate doses, anything from a mild intoxication to a dead drunk, a drowsy and semi-comatose condition, lapsing into a dreamy state, with a rapid flow of ideas of a sexual nature, ending in a deep sleep, interrupted by dreams. On awakening, there is a feeling of great dejection and prostration. Large doses produce excitement, delusions, hallucinations, rapid flow of ideas, a high ,state of ecstasy, psychomotor activity with a tendency to wilful damage and violence, with a temporary amnesia of all that has transpired. In cases of prolonged addiction, especially in the Malays, the somnolent action of Cannabis is replaced with complete loss of judgment and of restraint-the effect so frequently observed in alcoholic intoxication...Its use sweeps away all restraint, and to its influence may be attributed many of our present day crimes. It has been the experience of the Police and Prosecuting Officials in the South that immediately before the commission of many crimes the use of marihuana cigarettes has been indulged in by criminals, so as to relieve themselves from the natural restraint which might deter them from the commission of criminal acts, and to give them the false courage necessary to commit the contemplated crime...."
-Dr. Walter Bromberg (a real DOCTOR, not just a district attorney) had this to say in regard to allegations that marijuana created psychopaths and was a criminal breeder:
"...where 2,216 criminals convicted of felonies were examined psychiatrically, not one case of confirmed marihuana addiction was noted....Of the 361 individuals diagnosed as psychopathic personalities in the routine examination, thirty-two (9 per cent.) were drug addicts, and of these, only seven had smoked marihuana for any period of time......None of the assault cases could be said to have been committed under the drug's influence. Of the sexual crimes, there was none due to marihuana intoxication.....It is clear from this study that in this region the drug is a breeder of crime only whe used by psychopathic types in whom the drug allows the emergence of aggressive, sexual or antisocial tendencies....It is quite probable that alcohol is more responsible as an agent for crime than is marihuana..."
-Arguments by Anslinger to congress
"...Here we have a drug that is not like opium. Opium has all the good of Dr. Jekyll and all the evil of Mr. Hyde. This drug is entirely the monster Hyde, the harmful effect of which cannot be measured...."
-Dr. Munch testified to congress about the dangers of cannabis use on humans, but never tested it on humans, using dogs instead, admitting he wasnt a dog psychologist.
-The entire presentation consisted of a few letters, some tabloid news articles and the study of dogs.
-Dr. William C. Woodward of the American Medical Association calls into question the lack of evidence:
"...We are told that the use of marijuana causes crime. But no one yet has been produced from the Bureau of Prisons to show the number of prisoners who have been found addicted to the marijuana habit. An informal inquiry shows that the Bureau of Prisons has no evidence on that point.

You have been told that children are great users of marijuana cigarettes. No one has been summoned from the Children's bureau to show the nature and extent of the habit, among children.

Inquiry of the Children's Bureau shows that they have no occasion to investigate it and know nothing particularly of it.

Inquiry of the Office of Education-and they certainly should know something of the prevalence of the habit among the schoolchildren of the country, if there is a prevalent habit-indicated that they have had no occasion to investigate and know nothing of it..."

-Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed.......
chiqo76 Reviewed by chiqo76 on . Need help on legalizing cannabis argument Ok, I started a thread in another forum (@clubrsx) asking if people think cannabis should be legalized and if theyknew the history behind its prohibition. Ive read many sites on the racism and corruption behind it all but I cant seem to get my point across well. Anyone with educated, intelligent reasons?!?!?! Rating: 5