posted January 19, 2011 07:11 PM            

Contents:

* Marijuana Since the Beginning of Time
* Marijuana equals Freedom in the New World
* The Importance Of Marijuana And The War Efforts
* Marijuana Production In The 19th & 20th Centuries
* Summary of History

Marijuana Since The Beginning Of Time

Cannabis, family Cannabaceae; species: Cannabis indica, Cannabis ruderalia, and Cannabis sativa L., has been found on every continent in this hemisphere, it was used long before its' first recorded uses. It's safe to believe, that no historian knows which peoples were first to experience her treasures.

In every society where people discovered Cannabis Hemp, they often discovered the five uses for Marijuana which include; hempen fibers, oil from the seeds, the seeds for food, a medicine, and for its narcotic properties. Cannabis use has existed for over ten thousand years, and is one of the oldest crops used for cultivation. It was cultivated in China as early as 4000 BC. Most cultures viewed Marijuana as a gift, or treasure, from the Divine Sprit, to be used during ceremonials, at which time it was either burned as incense, ingested for deep meditative and heighten awareness, smoked for pleasure, or worn for clothing during these ceremonies. Marijuana has been mentioned in many important documents over its recorded history, The Zend-Avesta, a sacred book used by the peoples of India dating back to 600 BC, spoke of Hemp's' intoxicating resin. The Chinese emperor and herbalist, Chen-Nung wrote about Hemp's medicinal uses 5000 years ago, his pharmacoepia recorded its effects on malaria, female disorders, and many other illnesses, Marijuana was referred to as, Ma-fen "Marijuana fruit", said; "if taken in excess, will produce hallucinations". The Anatomy of Melancholy, published in 1621 recommended Marijuana for depression. The New English Dispensatory, of 1764 suggested applying Marijuana roots to the skin for inflammation.

A western physician by the name of W.B. O'Shaughnessy published in 1839 of the benefits of cannabis for the treatment of rabies, rheumatism, epilepsy, and tetanus. He also reported that a tincture of Marijuana and alcohol taken orally was found an effective analgesic.

Henry VIII required the cultivation of one quarter acre of Marijuana for every sixty acres of land under tillage, for maritime purposes in England.
The British began cultivating Marijuana in its Canadian colonies in 1606, cultivation began for Virginia in 1611. The Pilgrims introduced cultivation to New England as early as 1632, they learned about the cultivation of Marijuana from the Native Americans people.
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Marijuana Equals Freedom In The New World

Marijuana was already in the new world when the first European colonist arrived, thought to have been introduced from China by explorers, migrating birds from across the Bering Strait, or possibly drifting shipwrecks.

It is reported that the colonist were not eager to grow Hemp, however the European motherland wanted hemp, and cultivation was deemed mandatory. The Puritans at Jamestown grew hemp, as part of their contract with the Virginia Company. Jean Talon at the order of France Quebec colony minister, confiscated all thread the colonist possessed and forced them to buy it back from him with hemp. Talon supplied the seeds to farmers, which had to be reimbursed after Marijuana crops were harvested. Mandatory cultivation of Marijuana continued throughout the New World, the General Court in 1637 at Hartford Connecticut, and the Massachusetts courts in 1639 ordered all families to plant one teaspoon of Marijuana seed. "that we might in time have supply of linen cloth among ourselves." Several colonies passed legal tender laws, Marijuana was so valued it was used to pay taxes.

Until 1776 many colonies passed laws to encourage farmers to produce Hemp, Virginia designed laws to compel farmers, fining those who did not comply. Lobbyist were hired to promote, and education the public about the importance of Hemp. Books were published that wanted to establish Marijuana as America's trademark product.

Colonies under the crown, were banned from spinning and weaving Hemp, this fostered dependence to England, which was demanding raw materials from the colonies as a way to increase its labor forces. The exported fibers were then bought back as finished products from England. As the market was flooded with Hemp, immigrant weavers from Ireland arrived in Massachusetts, setting up shop and passing their skills to the peasantry. What may have seemed like a small movement, grew into self-sufficiency from the British Crown, to the extent of a boycott of English fabric products. These were some of the conditions which lead into the War of Independence from the British. The American paper industry was born of hemp, linen, and cotton rags which provided writing materials throughout the war, essential for communication.
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The Importance Of Marijuana And The War Efforts

In preparation of war, mandatory cultivation laws were passed, and colonist increased their production of Hemp, for paper and clothes. Colonist were convinced to take up arms, as they read pamphlets published on Marijuana paper. Thomas Paine in 1776 encouraged colonist to fight for freedom with Common Sense he writes "in almost every article of defense we abound. Marijuana flourishes even to rankness, so that we need not want cordage."

The founding fathers of this nation George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both promoters of Hemp, as noted in their farm diaries spoke of their experiences as Marijuana farmers. Throughout Washington's' farm diary he spoke about the quality of seeds, always taking care to sow seeds in best areas on his farm. He documented the importance of cultivating seeds at the proper time taking care to pull the male plants from the females. In 1790's Washington began cultivating "Indian Hemp" which he said produced the best quality of plant, and noted its superior quality to common Marijuana mostly grown during that time. Both Washington and Jefferson disliked tobacco, and on occasion they would exchange gifts of smoking mixtures, Washington reportedly enjoyed smoking Marijuana flowers, however there is no hard evidence.

Jefferson, was also a promoter of Hemp, and during his tenure as Governor of Virginia he kept reserves of Hemp, and in May of 1781 used Marijuana as currency when money from the government was in short supply.

Jefferson believed Marijuana to be a superior crop to tobacco, which he said exhausted the soil, used to much manure, provided no nourishment for cattle. Marijuana on the other hand "was of the first necessity to commerce and marine, in other words to the wealth and protection of the country." Around 1815 Jefferson received the first US patent for his Marijuana breaking machine, which reportedly did the work of ten men.

Kentucky was a large supplier of Hemp, primarily because the soil would not sustain a grain crop. In 1792 its legislature levied a tax of twenty dollars per ton on imported Hemp, this worked to Kentucky's' advantage and by 1850 domestic Marijuana crops increased and the amount of imported Marijuana dramatically decreased.
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Marijuana Production In The 19th & 20th Centuries

The belief that Marijuana was one of the most important crops to the common wealth, continued throughout the 19th century. As production increased, more states like Illinois, California, and Nebraska began to grow Hemp, with more domestic Marijuana available, creative ideas for Marijuana use increased. In 1841, Congress ordered the Navy to buy domestic Hemp, and in 1843 they appropriated fifty thousand dollars to purchase American Hemp.

Marijuana Production was a hard and tedious process, its production was always relegated to the slaves in this countries. After the Civil War when labor was no longer free, there was a great decline in the domestic cultivation of Hemp. In 1861 G.F. Schaffer of New York patented the Marijuana Dresser, used to prepare Marijuana for manufacturing. After Schaffer invention, many improvements to his machine followed.

By the early 20th century, industrialization, lead to inventions, of machines that would do the work of many, this was caused by the abolition of slavery. One of the most important inventions to the Marijuana industry was the Decorticator machine, it was hailed as the invention to revolutionize the Marijuana industry. In an article from Popular Mechanics magazine dated February 1938 spoke of Marijuana as a cash crop soon to be worth a billion dollars. [See the Popular Mechanics article "New Billion Dollar Crop."]

Unfortunately its praises came one year to late, the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act HR 6385 was enacted, this required a $100 transfer tax on the sale of marijuana. The issue for those in opposition of this tax related to the underhanded manner in which this tax was enacted. Those thought to gain the most were Hearst who owned large timber holdings which feed the paper industry. DuPont who dominated the petrochemical market, which manufactured plastics, paints, and other products of fossil fuels and the Secretary of the Treasury and owner of Gulf oil Andrew Mellon who pushed legislation through congress giving tax breaks to oil companies. The Conspiracy was against Hemp, it threaten certain vested financial and industrial interest especially those in the paper and petrochemical industries.

Through the Hearst newspaper chains racist propaganda messages were abound, it was Hearst that coined the phrase "Marijuana Madness". Marijuana Madness is the belief to which the use of marijuana by colored people was said to cause excessive sex and violence, and threatened the safety of white women and children. Following this campaign against Marijuana it was not long before the complete prohibition of Marijuana was enacted.
http://marijuanatoday.com/marijuanahistory.php

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No..I am not a Virgo.

posted January 19, 2011 07:18 PM            

For the first 162 years of America's existence, marijuana was totally legal and hemp was a common crop. But during the 1930s, the U.S. government and the media began spreading outrageous lies about marijuana, which led to its prohibition. Some headlines made about marijuana in the 1930s were: "Marijuana: The assassin of youth." "Marijuana: The devil's weed with roots in hell." "Marijuana makes fiends of boys in 30 days." "If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marijuana, he would drop dead of fright." In 1936, the liquor industry funded the infamous movie titled Reefer Madness. This movie depicts a man going insane from smoking marijuana, and then killing his entire family with an ax. This campaign of lies, as well as other evidence, have led many to believe there may have been a hidden agenda behind Marijuana Prohibition.

Shortly before marijuana was banned by The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, new technologies were developed that made hemp a potential competitor with the newly-founded synthetic fiber and plastics industries. Hemp's potential for producing paper also posed a threat to the timber industry (see New Billion-Dollar Crop). Evidence suggests that commercial interests having much to lose from hemp competition helped propagate reefer madness hysteria, and used their influence to lobby for Marijuana Prohibition. It is not known for certain if special interests conspired to destroy the hemp industry via Marijuana Prohibition, but enough evidence exists to raise the possibility.

After Alcohol Prohibition ended in 1933, funding for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Drug Enforcement Administration) was reduced. The FBN's own director, Harry J. Anslinger, then became a leading advocate of Marijuana Prohibition. In 1937 Anslinger testified before Congress in favor of Marijuana Prohibition by saying: "Marijuana is the most violence causing drug in the history of mankind." "Most marijuana smokers 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." Marijuana Prohibition is founded on lies and rooted in racism, prejudice, and ignorance. Just as politicians believed Harry J. Anslinger to be a marijuana expert in 1937, many people still believe law enforcement officials are marijuana experts. In reality, law enforcement officials have no expert knowledge of marijuana's medical or health effects, but they do represent an industry that receives billions of tax dollars to enforce Marijuana Prohibition.

Before the government began promoting reefer madness hysteria during the 1930s, the word marijuana was a Mexican word that was totally absent from the American vocabulary. In the 1930s, Americans knew that hemp was a common, useful, and harmless crop. It is extremely unlikely anyone would have believed hemp was dangerous, or would have believed stories of hemp madness. Thus, the words marijuana and reefer were substituted for the word hemp in order to frighten the public into supporting Hemp Prohibition. Very few people realized that marijuana and hemp came from the same plant species; thus, virtually nobody knew that Marijuana Prohibition would destroy the hemp industry.

Bolstering the theory that marijuana was banned to destroy the hemp industry, two articles were written on the eve of Marijuana Prohibition that claim hemp was on the verge of becoming a super crop. These articles appeared in two well-respected magazines that are still published today. The articles are:

Flax and Hemp (Mechanical Engineering, Feb. 1937)
New Billion-Dollar Crop (Popular Mechanics, Feb. 1938)

This was the first time that billion dollar was used to describe the value of a crop. These articles praise the usefulness and potential of hemp by stating "hemp can be used to produce more than 25,000 products" and "hemp will prove, for both farmer and public, the most profitable and desirable crop that can be grown." Marijuana Prohibition took effect within one year after both these articles were written.
http://www.thc-ministry.net/untoldstory/hemp_5.html

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No..I am not a Virgo.