http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/iclk?sa=l&ai=BGMBiOYsyR4ahLoXW8wHxjPS5A8eY7BLbioH4AcCNtwHQhgMQARgBIMbjtQYoAzgAUMvEir0HYMmeuIzUpKgQqgEMaGVscC1jb250ZW50sgEIaGVscC5jb23IAQHaATpodHRwOi8vaGVscC5jb20vcG9zdC8xMDg5MzgtbWVkaWNhbC1tYXJpanVhbmEtZG9jdG9yLWluLXJpqAMB6AM26AOpBPUDAAAAAPUDAAEIAA&num=1&adurl=http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html&client=ca-cnet-help-content [size=+1]Why is Marijuana Illegal?[/size] A brief history of the criminalization of cannabis 7000-8000 B.C. First woven fabric believed to be from hemp. 1619 Jamestown Colony, Virginia passes law requiring farmers to grow hemp. 1700s Hemp was the primary crop grown by George Washington at Mount Vernon, and a secondary crop grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. 1884 Maine is the first state to outlaw alcohol. 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, forming the Food and Drug Administration. First time that drugs have any government oversight. 1914 Harrison Act passed, outlawing opiates and cocaine (taxing scheme) 1915 Utah passes first state anti-marijuana law. 1919 18th Amendment to the Constitution (alcohol prohibition) is ratified. 1930 Harry J. Anslinger given control of the new Federal Bureau of Narcotics (he remains in the position until 1962) 1933 21st Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, repealing alcohol prohibition. 1937 Marijuana Tax Act 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 1951 Boggs Amendment to the Harrison Narcotic Act (mandatory sentences) 1956 Narcotics Control Act adds more severe penalties 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. Replaces and updates all previous laws concerning narcotics and other dangerous drugs. Empasis on law enforcement. Includes the Controlled Substances Act, where marijuana is classified a Schedule 1 drug (reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use). 1972 Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act. Establishes federally funded programs for prevention and treatment 1973 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Changes Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs into the DEA 1974 and 1978 Drug Abuse Treatment and Control Amendments. Extends 1972 act 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Establishes oversight office: National Office of Drug Control Policy and the Drug Czar 1992 ADAMHA Reorganization. Transfers NIDA, NIMH, and NIAAA to NIH and incorporates ADAMHA's programs into the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to be a dangerous drug. The actual story shows a much different picture. Those who voted on the legal fate of this plant never had the facts, but were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers. You'll see below that the very first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based entirely on a documented lie on the floor of the Senate. You'll also see that the history of marijuana's criminalization is filled with: Racism Fear Protection of Corporate Profits Yellow Journalism Ignorant, Incompetent, and/or Corrupt Legislators Personal Career Advancement and Greed These are the actual reasons marijuana is illegal. Background For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal. It's not a recently discovered plant, nor is it a long-standing law. Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C. and it was legal as recently as when Ronald Reagan was a boy. The marijuana (hemp) plant, of course, has an incredible number of uses. The earliest known woven fabric was apparently of hemp, and over the centuries the plant was used for food, incense, cloth, rope, and much more. This adds to some of the confusion over its introduction in the United States, as the plant was well known from the early 1600's, but did not reach public awareness as a recreational drug until the early 1900's. America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law "ordering" all farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other "must grow" laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp -- try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements - rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth. The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp "plantations" (minimum 2,000-acre farm) growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton. The Mexican Connection Rest of article here: http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/iclk?sa=l&ai=BGMBiOYsyR4ahLoXW8wHxjPS5A8eY7BLbioH4AcCNtwHQhgMQARgBIMbjtQYoAzgAUMvEir0HYMmeuIzUpKgQqgEMaGVscC1jb250ZW50sgEIaGVscC5jb23IAQHaATpodHRwOi8vaGVscC5jb20vcG9zdC8xMDg5MzgtbWVkaWNhbC1tYXJpanVhbmEtZG9jdG9yLWluLXJpqAMB6AM26AOpBPUDAAAAAPUDAAEIAA&num=1&adurl=http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html&client=ca-cnet-help-content
Wow, what a great time-line. Really helps you see it all in perspective. The time-line needs more hyper links though. Maybe to Wikipedia articles?
i posted a thread from the same website as you used. i found some other websites to that i thought really showed how stupid it was originally feared. the facts about why alot of people are against it is just absurd from todays standards. people really need to know why it was feared to begin with to help get rid of the stigma that its had for so long. heres the link to the thread that i started i dont have a timeline but i added a few good points that i thought would interest people but it didnt get to much responce. http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270716
agreed, marajuana was illeaglized because people did not know alot about it at the time, and made things up about it, and eventually became illegal. you would think that now that research has been done on hemp, that the government would change their minds, but that's not how they work, once they decided something they stick with it.
