Full Thread: Marijuana Discussion.
View Single Post
Old July 21st, 2007 #4
banjo_billy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: San Jose, California
Posts: 3,032
Default Start with some facts and then expand your consciousness

FACTS ABOUT MARIJUANA
from the Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer (1985)
THE HISTORY: The hemp industry is one of the oldest businesses on Earth. Hand-processed hemp was more cost effective than machine-processed cotton, flax, timber and petroleum until late in the nineteenth century. It has so many vital uses that farmers have, at times, been legally required to grow hemp. America was founded on the "unalienable rights ... life, liberty, and the pursuit of' happiness", and the Constitution was first drafted and approved on paper made of hemp. Several U.S. presidents used and/or cultivated hemp. It was our nation's biggest cash crop!
Why, then, did it disappear? Because technology had made cotton, wood, and petroleum competitive with hemp by the turn of the century. So, when comparable hemp processing equipment was developed and introduced in the mid-1930's, newspaper chain owner William Randolph Hearst saw hemp as a threat to his profits from vast timber holdings. His intense and wholly fabricated campaign of yellow journalism led to national hysteria over one relatively minor hemp product: marijuana. The result? ... widespread disinformation, corporate protectionism, and a new era of prohibition.
Research now shows that his claims were patently untrue and that marijuana is, in fact, the safest recreational drug known, including alcohol, coffee, tobacco and sugar. Hemp extracts have long been used to make powerful medicines and treatments for a wide range of health problems. But the pharmaceutical firms and other special interest groups have worked together to limit America's options and inflate their own profits by holding competition hostage.
SOME FACTS:
(1) In 1619, America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia, ordering all farmers to grow Indian hemp seed. You could even be jailed in America for not growing Cannabis during several periods of shortage!
(2) Cannabis hemp was legal tender (money) in most of America from 1631 until the early 1800's. You could pay your taxes throughout America with Cannabis hemp for over 200 years!
(3) United States presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and. most recently, Kennedy, smoked hashish and marijuana as did Benjamin Franklin and Mary Todd Lincoln. Many of our Founding Fathers, including George Washington, grew hemp.
(4) The War of 1812 between America and Britain was fought primarily over Russian hemp. For over 200 years, 80% of our hemp consumption had to be imported from Russia.
(5) In 1942, after the Japanese invasion of the Phillipines, cut-off the supply of manila hemp, the U.S. government dropped it's controls on the "killer weed" and distributed 400,000 lbs. of cannabis seeds to American farmers which produced 42,000 tons of hemp rope annually for the war effort until 1946.
USE FOR PAPER:
(1) 75% to 90% of all paper in the world was made with Cannabis hemp fiber until 1883, including the first and second drafts of the Declaration of Independence. US. government papers, by law, were written on hemp until the 1920's.
(2) " One acre of Cannabis hemp could replace 4.1 acres of trees being cut-down for paper, and hemp is a quickly renewable resource ", US. Department of Agriculture Special Bulletin #404-1916.
(3) Laws against marijuana were passed a year after the development of a machine to harvest and process hemp so it could compete commercially against businesses owned by the Hearsts, DuPonts and other powerfully rich families.
MEDICAL USE:
(1) Marijuana leaves and flower tops were the first, second, and third most important and used medicines by two-thirds of the world's peoples for at least 3000 years.
(2) Marijuana was a major active ingredient in 40-50% of patent medicines before its ban. It could replace 10-20% of prescription drugs currently in use, with no toxic side effects.
(3) Studies show that marijuana would medically benefit 80% of all asthmatics, 90% of all glaucoma victims, 60% of epileptics, and most cancer patients suffering intense nausea from chemotherapy. It is the best muscle-relaxant short of morphine. It is also an excellent appetite stimulant for those with eating disorders. Marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency.
(4) In 1937, Dr. James Woodward (both an MD. and a Lawyer), testified on behalf of the A.M.A. against passage of the federal marijuana laws. When congress asked about the A.M.A. testimony before voting on these laws, they were misinformed that the A.M.A. supported the laws. Disinformation, i.e. lying, to is nothing new.
FABRIC USE:
(1) Hemp is the strongest, most durable, longest-lasting natural fiber on the planet.
(2) 80% of all fabrics for over 2000 years were made from Cannabis fibers. "Old Glory", the first American flag, was made of hemp fibers.
(3) The word "canvas" is the Dutch pronuncian of the Greek root word "Kannabis".
(4) The original "Levi's" (jeans) were made from hemp.
(5) Virtually every shoemaker on Earth until the 1950's used Cannabis hemp thread in the manufacture and repair of shoes.
(6) By the late 1820's thanks to the cotton gin, cotton became the most-used fiber, but until it was made illegal in 1937, hemp continued to be the second most-used fiber. After becoming illegal, it was replaced by (surprise! surprise!) DuPont plastic fibers.
FOOD.
(1) Marijuana seed protein was mankind's #1 source of complete vegetable protein. It was used in soups by virtually all peoples of the world until this century.
(2) Australia survived two prolonged famines in the 19th century by using nothing but marijuana seeds for protein and leaves for roughage.
(3) Until 1937, hemp seed was the world's #1 bird seed. Songbirds would not sing without it. Hence, sterilized Cannabis seeds were allowed to be imported until the 1970's.
PAINT:
(1) For thousands of years. all good paints, varnishes, and shellacs were made from hemp seed oil. When hemp was made illegal, all the business went to DuPont Petrochemicals.
FUEL USE:
(1) 90% of all fossil fuel used in the world today can and could have long ago been replaced with methane and methanol, made from cellulose from Cannabis, corn stalks, waste paper, etc., at 10% of the current cost of oil, coal, etc. Cellulose is a renewable resource and does not produce the toxic by-product gases as does the fossil fuels.
---------------------------------------------------------
Revolutionary History
1619 America's first Hemp/marijuana law enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia "ordering" all farmers to grow Indian hemp.
1620's The General Court of Massachusetts Colony urged production of Hemp to make clothing to prevent freezing of the population during the harsh New England winters.
1629 Shipbuilding started in Salem, the demand for Hemp for sails and riggings became so great that it had to be imported. (Note: The average ship carried 50-100 tons of hemp rigging, sails, net, etc., which had to be replaced every year or two due to salt rot.)
1635 The first "Ropewalk" factory for making Hemp into rope is established in Salem.
1639 The Massachusetts Court passes a law requiring every householder to cultivate Hemp.
1640 The General Assembly of Connecticut asked its colonists to grow Hemp to generate a supply of linen cloth to prevent deaths due to exposure during the cold months.
1642 John Harrison arrives from England and starts a Ropewalk business in Boston in an open lot next to his house on Purchase Street.
1699 British Parliament passes the "Wool Act", depriving American colonists the right to import wool, circumventing the creation of independent clothing manufacture. This created a strong impetus for colonists to "grow their own" raw materials to process.
1700-1800's Hempseed oil is the most commonly used lamp lighting oil in America (Abraham Lincoln used it! )
1716 Pamplet is published on the art of papermaking urging manufacturers to return to the use of Hemp as the raw material with detailed instructions for preparation.
1718 Professional spinners and weavers arrive in Boston from Ireland, setting up "spinning schools", professionalizing the manufacture of threads/cloth.
1763-67 Colonial Virginia could jail farmers for not complying with a "must grow" order for Hemp cultivation during a shortage.
1765 The "Stamp Act" is passed by British Parliament causing outright rebellion in the colonies. Americans began to refuse to buy any products or clothing made in England. The cultivation and processing of Hemp becomes essential in creating Independence for the colonies
1765 English paper manufacturer Jacob Christian Shaffer wrote a text on papermaking proposing the use of Hemp and actually printed portions of the text on Hemp paper.
1766-71 The "Daughters of Liberty" held gatherings known as "spinning bees" or "spinning crazies" which patriotically increased the production of cloth and clothing in the colonies. (Eventually, Hemp cloth was used for many American projects - it was the sturdy canvas that covered the Westward bound wagon trains and the material used for the original Levi-Strauss Jeans, originally created for the gold-panning 49ers' of California! )
1774 Robert "King" Carter, an aristocrat who owned 300,000 acres in Virginia, wrote " I apprehend that tobacco which may be here next summer will be in little demand...in place of tobacco -- hemp and flax will be grown." In addition to his own Hemp crops, he bought 500 additional pounds in 1774 and two tons more in 1776 -- mainly to be spun into osnaburg -- a fabric for shirts and trousers for workmen and revolutionary soldiers.
1775 Hemp production starts (late!) in Kentucky.
1776 "Old Glory" made from Hemp cloth. The 1st and 2nd drafts of the Declaration of Independence are written on Hemp paper. (70-90% of all paper in the world was made from Hemp until 1883 -- Bibles, maps, money, stocks & bonds, newspapers, and books as well as the canvas used by most artists, such as Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh.)
1778 Thanks to the Daughters of Liberty, revolutionary soldiers at Valley Forge had warm Hemp clothing to prevent them from freezing to death in the disastrous winter of '78.
1780-82 The Revolution's need for Hemp products causes the price to rise from 27 to 35 shillings per hundredweight. 18 Ropewalks were in business in Virginia supplying the Colonial Navy.
1781 Benedict Arnold led a force of British Infantry up the Jones River, penetrating as far as Richmond, destroying the "public Rope Walk" in Warwick, one objective of his mission.
1781 Govenor Thomas Jefferson was obliged to pay for war goods with Hemp, money not being available from the Revolutionary Government.
1782 A Philadelphia businessman notes that "hemp, tar, pitch, and turpentine command cash in preference to any other goods."
1792 Import tariffs levied against Hemp by Congress at $20 per ton, due to the urgings of Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, to stimulate domestic production of Hemp, becoming independent from foreign Hemp to protect an essential military need. Imports average about 3400 tons yearly.
1810 Hemp has become "the Grand Staple of Kentucky".
1812 Import tariff s on Hemp rise to $40 per ton. Imports rise to 4200 tons a year to meet demand.
1824 William Hayden -- one of many slaves brought to work in the Hemp industry – purchases his freedom with money saved from profitable work with Hemp.
1828 Import tariffs on Hemp rise to $60 per ton, with imports rising to 5000 tons yearly to meet needs. Russian Hemp is thought to be far preferable to Kentucky Hemp, the rope products made from it being more resistant to salt rot.
1840"Prohibition … goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes ... a prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." – Abraham Lincoln -- December 1840.
1843 Cannabis is first mentioned as a medicinal agent in a "formal" American medical text. Marijuana/Hashish extracts became the 2nd or 3rd most prescribed medicines through the 1890's and continued in use until the 1930's. Extracts were produced and sold by Eli Lilly, Parke-Davis, Tildens Smith Brothers, Squibb, and others ( Queen Victoria used Cannabis resins for menstrual cramps and PMS during her reign from 1837 to 1901
1850 There are 8,327 Hemp plantations (minimum of 2,000 acres in size or more) in the United States, most located in Kentucky, the remainder spread throughout Tennessee, Missouri, and Mississippi.
1905 An advertisement for a Cannabis medical preparation appears in the Sears, Roebuck & Company catalogue -- at 69 cents per bottle.
1914 The Harrison Act is passed requiring medical doctors to track prescriptions of narcotics and Marijuana, and pay special taxes levied against them. Government harassment begins.
August 3,1937 –"President Roosevelt signed today a bill to curb traffic in the narcotic, Marijuana, through heavy taxes on transactions." - New York Times.
1942 The U. S. Government distributes 400,000 pounds of Cannabis/Hemp seeds to American farmers from Wisconsin to Kentucky after the Japanese Invasion of the Phillipines cuts off the supply of Manila Hemp. 42,000 tons of Hemp fiber was produced annually for the war effort until 1946.
***Most data from "THE EMP0RER WEARS NO CLOTHES"by Jack Herer and "MARIJUANA. THE FIRST 12,000 YEARS" by M Aldrich