Outlawing hemp had nothing to do with the so-called evils of marijuana, but did effect what was financially best for some wealthy people, the companies they owned and/or worked for, and for certain politicians and government employees. It had to do with greed.
There are a few dozen varieties of the hemp plant. Only its cousin, which we call marijuana, produces leaves and flowers with high concentrations of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the pleasurable psychoactive element. Other varieties of the hemp plant contain only trace amounts of THC. The hemp plant that is grown for industrial uses contains cannabidiol, which blocks the effects of THC. You can smoke as much hemp as you want, but you aren’t going to get high. So why is hemp illegal?
Meanwhile, alcohol, which is clearly addictive for many people, is freely served at political gatherings, and many times the alcohol served at political functions and dinners is purchased with tax dollars.
Today the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) can seize the property of persons involved in so-called marijuana-related offenses. Those charged with marijuana “crimes” can also be fined, put on probation, have their children taken away, be permanently banned from receiving school funding, and sentenced to time in prison. Depending on the amount of marijuana and the circumstances involved, a person charged with breaking marijuana laws can be put in prison for life. Almost every 45 seconds a U.S. citizen is arrested on marijuana charges.
“Since its inception, the War on Drugs driven by the United States has caused misery of incalculable proportions. In the U.S., it has provoked racism, classism, and been used to incarcerate millions; destroyed both inner cities and rural regions; is responsible for thousands of deaths of both law officers and offenders; and given rise to obscene forfeiture laws intended to go after the property of drug lords but used almost exclusively on small-time and otherwise law-abiding drug users. In the name of the War on Drugs we have watched our civil rights and liberties stolen from us, including the right to be secure in our homes and our right to privacy on phones and the Internet.”
– Peter Gorman in the opening paragraph of Do They Know It’s Christmas: How the U.S. Drug War Prevents Peace Around the World, Cannabis Culture magazine, November/December 2006; CannabisCulture.com
The result of these insane laws is that at a cost of billions, many thousands of people are sitting in prison. At times the number of marijuana convictions makes up more than 20 percent of all criminal convictions in the U.S. Many of these imprisoned people are young and in the prime of life. They are unemployed, forced to cancel or delay their life progression, and are separated from their families. Some are serving life terms simply because they broke marijuana laws that should not exist and that were formed based on lies.
“In the United States and many other nations, it is no longer possible to talk honestly and frankly about racism without talking about the War on Drugs. Few U.S. policies have had as disproportionate effect on Blacks, Latinos and other racial minorities than the War on Drugs. Every policy of the War on Drugs – from racial profiling to arrests to prosecutions to length of sentencing – is disproportionately carried out against minorities. It should come as no surprise that the United States government has used the War on Drugs to reinforce the country’s historically racist attitudes towards all minorities and especially Blacks and Latinos. From its very inception the War on Drugs has been laden with racial overtones.”
– The Racial History of U.S. Drug Prohibition; Drug Policy Alliance, August. 2001; DrugPolicy.org
In the U.S. the first serious laws against the use of cannabis were enforced in the cities of El Paso, Texas, and in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1914 El Paso banned the sale and possession of cannabis within its borders. This could be seen as a direct act against the Mexican population that composed the underclass living in poverty and that carried on the traditions and culture of their native country.
In 1927 the Louisiana legislature passed a law that imposed a $500 fine or up to six months in jail. Those arguing for creating the laws used outrageous claims, such as that marijuana causes incurable insanity. These laws were largely enforced against the African American community.
Since the passage of the first laws against marijuana the state and federal laws against marijuana use, possession, and/or sale have magnified, often dispensing false information.
Today there remains a disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos both charged with and convicted of drug crimes. They are in jails and prisons overcrowded with prisoners who have been arrested for minor drug charges. Very often violent criminals are released to make room for those convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. Meanwhile, the government is planning to build more prisons to provide room for the drug offenders.
The state of California was considering an $11 billion increase in funding to expand the prison system. Many thousands of prisoners in the system are there after having been convicted of breaking marijuana laws. This prison expansion is being planned under pressure of a governor who not only has admitted to using marijuana, but also can be seen smoking a joint on a popular video clip on the Internet. In the clip, Arnold reclines on a sofa, takes a big drag off a joint, and slowly exhales the smoke with a most pleasurable expression on his face. The T-shirt he is wearing features the words, “Arnold is Number Uno.”
While the economy is flailing, Americans are buried under debt, tens of thousands are losing their homes to foreclosure, and the auto and banking systems are a mess, billions of dollars continue to be spent on funding the domestic war on drugs. The same amount of money could otherwise improve society through protecting the environment, improving schools, and making the country self-sufficient.
This is done by a country with a history of helping other countries run their drug trade of heroin, opium, cocaine, and cannabis. Numerous books explore these events, including Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras, and the Drug War, by former DEA agent Celerino Castillo. Another is Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina, by Peter Dale Scott.