The Real Reason They Made Marijuana Illegal

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The Real Reason They Made Marijuana Illegal https://youtu.be/vA5ePpp2k4I What if entire plant made illegal not because dangerous but because competed with petroleum products and richest family America used government eliminate competitor by criminalizing alternative? 1937 Congress passes Marihuana Tax Act outlawing cannabis agriculture including industrial hemp. Before this hemp major American crop rope/textiles/paper/oil. George Washington grew hemp Thomas Jefferson grew hemp Declaration Independence drafted hemp paper Henry Ford built 1941 car hemp fiber panels ran hemp ethanol. Then suddenly 1937 illegal. Years right before prohibition: DuPont patented nylon 1935 competing hemp textiles, patented plastics/paper from petroleum 1937 competing hemp, Standard Oil developing petrochemicals competing hemp oil/ethanol, Hearst owned timber for paper competing hemp paper. How corporate monopolies criminalized hemp 1937 to protect petroleum/chemical/timber profits: - Hemp threatened multiple industries 1937: textiles/rope stronger than cotton lasting decades, paper (1 acre hemp = 4 acres trees annually vs 20-50 years), plastics biodegradable stronger than petroleum, fuel/oil (hemp ethanol hemp oil diesel engines), grows easily minimal water no pesticides enriches soil, 50,000 acres cultivated annually before prohibition, George Washington/Thomas Jefferson grew it, Henry Ford 1941 hemp car body panels 10x stronger than steel ran hemp ethanol; - Corporate timing reveals monopoly protection: DuPont patented nylon 1935 (competing hemp fiber billions invested), patented petroleum plastics/paper processes 1937, Standard Oil Rockefeller family developing petrochemicals competing hemp fuel/oil (Rudolf Diesel 1900 engine designed run vegetable oils so farmers not dependent petroleum monopolies), Hearst owned 800,000 acres timber for paper (hemp paper cheaper per ton required less chemical processing 1 acre = 4 acres trees), within 2 years all these patents/investments hemp became illegal; - Racist propaganda sold corporate prohibition: Harry Anslinger Federal Bureau Narcotics (appointed by Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon DuPont/Gulf Oil investor) testified Congress "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men," spread stories Mexican immigrants marijuana violent criminals, term "marijuana" strategically chosen (hemp was American term "marijuana" Mexican Spanish associated immigrants during Depression anti-Mexican sentiment), Hearst newspapers ran hundreds stories "killer weed" "marijuana-crazed negroes" raping white women, American Medical Association OPPOSED prohibition testified cannabis had medical value claims violence unfounded but racist propaganda worked Jim Crow era Congress passed with minimal debate; - Decentralized hemp broke corporate control: DuPont nylon required massive chemical plants millions to build petroleum feedstock patented processes (high barriers), hemp fiber required farmland decorticators farmers could own, Rockefeller petroleum required refineries tens of millions distribution networks, hemp oil produced farms simple presses, Hearst wood pulp required 800K acres forests large mills expensive chemicals, hemp paper grown any farmland simpler processing, prohibition eliminated decentralized competitor ensured textiles/plastics/paper/fuel came from centralized corporate sources requiring massive capital monopolized; - Modern prohibition same corporate interests 90 years later: cannabis federally illegal Schedule I (no medical value high abuse potential) despite 24 states medical marijuana evidence therapeutic benefits, pharmaceutical companies oppose, police departments oppose (asset forfeiture $3B annually drug enforcement grants equipment), 650,000 arrested marijuana possession 2023 (MORE than all violent crimes combined) generating revenue police/courts/prisons, 1937 prohibition protected DuPont/Rockefeller/Hearst today protects pharma/prisons/police same mechanism corporate profits depend criminalization; The Empire Economy exposes how Standard Oil (Rockefeller) DuPont and Hearst criminalized hemp 1937 to protect petroleum/chemical/timber monopolies because hemp threatened profits through cheaper fuel/plastics/paper that farmers could grow locally breaking corporate control requiring massive capital investment. Corporate interests funded racist propaganda (Harry Anslinger "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men") through Hearst newspapers sold prohibition as public safety when American Medical Association opposed. Prohibition continues 90 years serving pharmaceutical companies protecting $40 billion opioid profits, private prisons generating $0.23/hour convict labor, police protecting $3 billion asset forfeiture proving corporate monopoly protection through criminalization not drug policy. #standardoil #empireeconomy #economicsexplained #agriculture