LeenahMaenza

One of the first things that strikes most people as odd when looking into the cannabis plants current dilemma – is how very legal it once was. Truth be told, it wasn’t just legal, it happened to be one of the largest agricultural crops grown worldwide, Including the United States. As most already know – cannabis can also be known as hemp. And what is hemp? Well, it’s by and large the most robust growing, durably soft, plant fiber on the face of the planet. Up until 1883, and for thousands of years before, cannabis hemp was the largest agricultural crop in the world. Cannabis had thousands of uses and created even more products. The majority of fabric, lighting oil, medicines, paper, and fiber came from the hemp plant, during the birth of our nation. Ironically, the first marijuana law ever enacted in the United States happened in the Jamestown colony, in the state of Virginia, in 1619. When farmers were mandated to set aside an acre of their prime farmland for the cultivation of hemp. As a matter of fact, Benjamin Franklin used hemp in the start-up of one of America’s first paper mills. The first two draft copies of the Declaration of Independence were both written on hemp paper – only to lose out to parchment for the final draft. Up until the late 1800s most of the textiles made in the United States were made of hemp, while 50% of the medicine marketed in the last half of the 19th century was being made from cannabis. Yes indeed, it was heady times for cannabis acceptance. Even Queen Victoria had found relief from menstrual cramps with a simple consumption of cannabis resin extracts. The not so funny thing about industrial hemp… Was that despite the fact that you couldn’t get high from it, hemp had somehow been lumped in with its black sheep cousin, marijuana? Then, in the early 20th century a blight on American reporting spring to the forefront under the aptly named moniker “yellow journalism.” Articles depicted minorities such as blacks, and Hispanics as “frenzied beasts” who would smoke marijuana, play devil’s music, and heap insolence and savagery on the white majority. Some of these egregious offenses included looking at a white woman twice, laughing at a white person, or even stepping on a white man’s shadow. Eventually leading to the birth of the marijuana tax act. The marijuana tax act was not exclusive to just marijuana… As it also included and made prohibitive all hemp production and cannabis-based medicines. Politicians of the time, backed by special interests and big business, speculated that the cannabis hemp plant would be in direct competition with the likes of big oil, big paper, big plastics and a host of other industries which would rather not compete with the readily available, and easily renewable hemp plant. Once the political greed feast began – the campaign of intolerance against one of Mother Nature’s greatest gifts, the cannabis hemp plant was well underway. It was the perfect storm of monetary gluttony, political malfeasance, and fearless environmental pillaging, which began the downfall of this life-saving plant. RIP common sense – till we meet again. - See more at: http://www.kottonmouthkings.com/kronicles/downfall-cannabis-america-yellow-journalism-fear-and-greed#sthash.ddISJynQ.YgVyXvei.dpuf