Why is marijuana illegal? (History of the criminalization of a plant)

Through this historical essay you will perhaps understand why marijuana is illegal, what were the interests behind this measure and why the school tried to inculcate (unsuccessfully) the idea that use of cannabis is bad.

Probably your are one of the thousands of people that we are still wondering the reason for the prohibition of marijuana. Irrespective of how ridiculous it is, if you look at objectively, that Government systems have auto-asignado the power to prohibit our interaction with a plant, the truth is that if we refer to the effects of cannabis on the physical and social healththe question becomes even more notable.

Why is it illegal to consume marijuana if multiple studies have confirmed that their effects are less harmful than tobacco consumption for the human organism, and its social consequences are significantly less negative than the consumption of alcohol? Why the cultivation of this plant is prohibited if this proved that can bring multiple benefits from a medical level, until the manufacturing of essential products such as paper, clothing, or even provide elements necessary for the construction and the gastronomy?


Then let's review some historical data that highlight the value that they gave to this plant societies prior to his ban. Most of these data, which correspond to United States and that this country was the main promoter of his ban worldwide, can verify through sources of knowledge traditionally legitimized as the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was indeed for 150 years printed on hemp paper:

-All the textbooks, in United States, were printed on hemp paper until 1830.

-The first maps, Bibles, and even the US Constitution were printed with paper from hemp.

-In some States the country was compulsory cultivation of cannabis in the 16 centuries and 17 due to the enormous benefits that this plant involved as raw.

-Hemp was essential for navigation for centuries because 90% of the strings that were used in this practice were made with this material.

-Prior to the introduction of the cotton in 1820, 80% of the clothes and fabrics were generally made from this plant.

-The first records of hemp cultivation dating from at least five thousand years ago in ancient China.

-The majority of the works of Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, and many others, were painted on canvas made from hemp.

In 1916, the U.S. Department of agriculture predicted that by 1940 all books would be printed on hemp which would imply that they would not have to cut down more trees.

This confirmed that one hectare planted with hemp produces 4 times more paper than the same area planted with trees, and the extraction process requires from 4 to 7 times less effort in machinery which translates in turn into less pollution.

Some paints and varnishes of highest quality were made from the seeds of cannabis until 1930.

Henry Ford, founder of the shipping of cars of the same name, built his first car model using hemp as a main raw and was designed to operate with fuel also generated from this plant.

Criminalization

The criminalization of marijuana in United States had his first record in 1906, in the District of Columbia, with the first regulation on the cultivation of this plant. Later followed by Massachusetts (1911), New York (1914) and Maine (1914). While in 1913 California passed the first law of prohibition of marijuana and Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927) followed. Already in 1932, The Uniform State Narcotic Act was created to invite the Governments to join, without exception, to this national campaign by criminalizing or at least regulate the use of marijuana.

Four years later, in 1936, during the Convention for the Suppression of the Illicit Traffic in Dangerous Drugs carried out in Geneva, United States promoted to the rest of the world, through its Federal bureau of narcotics, a Treaty of criminalization of any activity relating to marijuana, coca, and opium (including their cultivation, production, manufacturing, and distribution) with the exception of medical and scientific contexts. Article 2 of this Convention urged all signatories to punish severely, in particular with penalties involving the deprivation of liberty, to any person involved with these illegal neo activities. However, many countries present refused to sign certain paragraphs of the Treaty and United States, leading proponent of the Convention, refused to sign claiming the weakness of the rest of the Nations especially in matters relating to extradition and confiscation of property linked to drug trafficking.

To analyze the history it can be perceived as a gesture quite rare, even schizophrenic, the transformation of American position on marijuana. United States suddenly went from living an idyllic romance with cannabis, to vigorously promote their prohibition, punishment, and quasi demonization. Undoubtedly there is a missing link that does not appear in the official history and that has to do with the pressure of the corporations (abstract and all-powerful entities that now control much of the planet and that already at the beginning of the 20th century began to establish itself as a force even more influential than the Government itself).

Corporations VS Cannabis

As we can see the cannabis is a flexible plant, multifaceted, and with different attributes. From this they can be generated from fuels and oils, to clothing and all kinds of fabrics, passing strings and, of course, role. However, precisely these benefits of the plant were that more incomodaban to the corporations that were frantically monetizing markets such as the supply of industrial paper, cotton, and hydrocarbons. Apparently, originally were mainly two corporations which turned completely to promote the prohibition of this plant: DuPont and the Hearst Company (owned by William Randolph Hearst who inspired the film Citizen Kane).

The banker Andrew Mellon, who became the Treasurer of the Government of President Hoover, was one of the major investors of DuPont, currently one of the largest corporations in the world and that in the period from 1920 to 1940 it was consolidating in the business of petrochemicals and polymers. For both branches of market cannabis was a serious threat because of this plant both natural fibers to reduce the consumption of nylon, one of the key outputs of DuPont in those years, as of vegetable fuel threatening its bid for the oil they could arise. In this sense DuPont was clear that one of the premises of its market strategy had to cancel the presence of hemp. Being Secretary of the Treasury Mellon he influenced to make his nephew Harry j. Anslinger was appointed in 1930 as the first Federal bureau of narcoticsCommissioner. And while lobbying against the cannabis was already little more than two decades the truth is that it was not until that Anslinger reached the FBN when the real war began.

On the other hand, the other industry that feel seriously threatened by the presence of hemp was trash. The Hearst Company controlled much of the production of paper and even was the main supplier of the paper products area of the multinational today Kimberly Clark. Hearst, a ruthless business man didn't realize, like DuPont, of the need to eliminate hemp on the market and along with other businessmen they pressured the Government, through the FBN to criminalizara completely the cultivation of this plant. Even Hearst, the legendary Tycoon of print media, made available to his army of newspapers to promote a cultural campaign against cannabis and as part of this initiative was adopted for the first time the name of marijuanaa Word with recordable, brief and precise Phonetics to designate this now diabolical plant (by the way a term which until then was only used in the popular slang of Mexico).

Another actor who played a key role in this process was already then consolidated the tobacco industry. At that time the American culture had already adopted integrally the daily consumption of cigarettes. However, the major tobacco companies had proven that tobacco consumption among people who smoked cannabis was lower than in those who consumed only your product. On the other hand this plant never smokers of put to an industrial market that it was relatively easy to cultivate caseramente and self-sufficient personal consumption without resorting to an industrial brand. On the contrary, the planting of tacabo was much more complex and required an extension of sufficient land to be cultivated and not only of a couple of pots. Taking into account this, and before the little commercial future that was perceived in the field of cannabis, the big tobacco companies not hesitated to support the crusade against marijuana.

Finally we cannot mention the always dark pharmaceutical industry, known as Big Pharma, and that aware of the medicinal properties that the marijuana provided to the population also her perceived as a threat to its commercial interests.You have confirmed multiple health benefits that contains cannabis, among them the fight against glaucoma, aiding the prevention of Alzheimer's disease, and reduce the pain of the syndrome menstrual pre among women, to mention but a few. Against all these evils the Big Pharma has developed synthetic drugs in many cases have proven less effective, or at least much more expensive to deal with marijuana. In fact this same position from drug refers to a current phenomenon with the campaign that seeks to return illegal the use of medicinal plants in Europe as a substitute for medications.


Although it has not been proven, it is said that Anslinger was meeting with some of the most powerful businessmen of the time, among them obviously representatives of tobacco companies, DuPont and the own W.R. Hearst, to agree a head-on war against marijuana and design a media campaign that printed the collective imagination with a new idea: marijuana is a harmful to health and to society, and its consumption, cultivation and distribution should be tenaciously disqualified, denounced, and persecuted.

One of the major crusades of media history manipulation was established then. Dozens of newspapers are telling in stress the "horrors" of marijuana and the population learned that this plant was responsible for live all kinds of negative events, from murders and car accidents, up to the loss of morale. The mainstream cinema also joined the campaign with Films like 'reefer madness' (1936), ' marijuana: Assassin of Youth' (1935) and ' marijuana: The Devil's Weed' (1936), all of which promote the demonization of marijuana and, although they did so in a way that today seems comical or highly cartoonIt is true that was a fairly efficient move to generate a deeply negative perception among the population. Basically the speech revolved around fairly rudimentary concepts but for the society of that time were more than enough: "a violent narcotic", "multi-destructivos effect", a "public enemy", etc.

Our days

Shortly after he took that mobilizing media in United States against cannabis would begin to impact the people of other countries. And this, together with the dominant political influence of USA in the international arena, has led to that eventually the vast majority of countries were adopting measures and similar speeches. Over time the anti-marihuana legislation was caseras is and tightening, to this day. Now, while it is already impossible to convince a person with primitive arguments that the smear campaign against the ganja was originally founded, the truth is that the legal framework has been tuned to interfere with the possibility of legalizing her and also propaganda has been "refined" but at no time has ceased (is enough to recall the) (past voting in California where even against all the odds did not legalize).

Propaganda to discredit the 19 proposal that came close to legalize marijuana in California (November 2010).

But also over time add a new character grim agendas behind the criminalization of marijuana: the enormous amount of money generated by drug trafficking. And without going so far as to consider some theories that assert that this market in the end is a monumental network of money-laundering orchestrated from institutions such as the CIA or the Vatican, the truth is that in a completely dump system to the marketwhere the useful or harmful nature of a social or environmental phenomenon is measured solely from a financial criterion, it is objectively obvious that the large market of drugs around the world in the end should not disturb the main promoters of this system: Governments, corporations, and religious institutions.

Historical x-rays around the criminalization and marijuana, as that just read, perhaps not contribute significantly is redesign legal stance on this plant, but at least if they favor the balance in the cultural perception that we have forged through what we are taught in schoolthe cynical anti-drug campaigns, and in mainstream films. And in any case, the next time that you questions how it is possible that marijuana is illegal, your question will not longer be unanswered.