Until the 1930’s the cannabis plant was widely grown and utilised throughout the world for at least 5000 years. Although nowadays the plant name is synonymous with the drug it actually has an enormous number of uses. In the middles ages cannabis plants were widely farmed and used to create clothing, ropes, paper, canvases and innumerable other practical products. The active chemical found in certain cannabis plants (tetrahydrocannabinol; or THC) which gives the psychoactive effects was also used as an effective form of pain relief for sufferers of glaucoma, MS, arthritis, etc. In the 1930’s however a massive media blitz on the negative effects of cannabis resulted in its criminalisation, which is still in effect today. At the time there was so much negative hype created around the drug that the bill was uncontested, but when looking back there are some interesting details that should be noted.
There were 3 major players in the campaign against marijuana that ran from the late 20’s through the 30’s: William Randolph Hearst, Harry J. Anslinger and the DuPont Chemical Company.
William Randolph Hearst ran some of the most popular newspapers in America and was also one of the biggest paper supplies in North America. As such he owned thousands of acres of timberlands that would be used to manufacture the paper. When techniques were patented for the efficient cultivation of hemp in the 1930’s Hearst empire was severely threatened.
The DuPont chemical company found themselves in a very similar position to Hearst, having heavily pushed their new petrochemical division, which created a wide range of synthetic products from oil and coal. However if cannabis plants were able to be cultivated easily they would provide an easier (and sustainable) alternative to the fossil fuels and lose DuPont up to 80% of its business.
Harry J Anslinger was the newly appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Anslinger and Hearst were notoriously close, with Hearst providing funds to Anslinger’s campaigns. In the 30’s prohibition had just ended which left many of Anslinger’s men facing redundancy, taking up Hearst’s anti-marijuana campaign not only helped his friend but kept his staff in employment.
Together these people were able to manipulate the public perception of cannabis to such a degree that it was completely criminalised, and remains that way today. In some countries it is illegal own THC producing
cannabis seeds (such as
Sensi Seeds) or to grow even the THC-free hemp plants without permission from the government.
