FrankRep
09-01-2010, 12:47 AM
Very Interesting.
Also, dare I say...... Conspiratorial?
Wikipedia: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937)
The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 (Aug. 2, 1937), was an United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Act is now commonly referred to using the modern spelling as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
Overview of the Act
The Act levied a tax equaling roughly one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp, or marijuana. The Act did not itself criminalize the possession or usage of hemp, marijuana, or cannabis. It did include penalty and enforcement provisions to which marijuana, cannabis, or hemp handlers were subject. Violation of these procedures could result in a fine of up to $2000 and five years' imprisonment.
Background
Some parties have argued that the aim of the Act was to reduce the size of the hemp industry [1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-1)][3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-under-influence-55-2)] largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Mellon), Randolph Hearst (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Hearst), and the Du Pont family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Pont_family).[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-under-influence-55-2)] With the invention of the decorticator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorticator), hemp became a very cheap substitute for the paper pulp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_pulp) that was used in the newspaper industry.[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-3)] Hearst felt that this was a threat to his extensive timber holdings. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in America, had invested heavily in the Du Pont families new synthetic fiber, nylon, which was also being outcompeted by hemp.[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)]
The bill was passed over the last-minute objections of the American Medical Association. Dr. William Woodward, legislative counsel for the A.M.A. objected to the bill on the grounds that the bill had been prepared in secret without giving proper time to prepare their opposition to the bill.[5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-ReferenceA-4)] He doubted their claims about marijuana addiction, violence, and overdosage; he further asserted that because the word Marijuana was largely unknown at the time, the medical profession did not realize they were losing cannabis. "Marijuana is not the correct term... Yet the burden of this bill is placed heavily on the doctors and pharmacists of this country." [5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-ReferenceA-4)]
The bill was passed on the grounds of different reports[6 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-5)] and hearings [7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-6)]. Anslinger also referred to the International Opium Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention) that from 1928 included cannabis as a drug, and that all states had some kind of laws against improper use of cannabis. Today, it is generally accepted that the hearings included incorrect, excessive or unfounded arguments.[8 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-7)] By 1951, however, new justifications had emerged, and the Boggs Act that superseded the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed.[citation needed] See History of United States drug prohibition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_States_drug_prohibition).
The background also included a report about the commercialized hemp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp), reporting that from 1880 to 1933, the hemp grown in the United States had declined from 15,000 acres (61 km2), to 1,200 acres (5 km2), and that the price of line hemp had dropped from $12.50 per pound in 1914 to $9.00 per pound in 1933.[9 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-8)]
More....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937
Also, dare I say...... Conspiratorial?
Wikipedia: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937)
The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 (Aug. 2, 1937), was an United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Act is now commonly referred to using the modern spelling as the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
Overview of the Act
The Act levied a tax equaling roughly one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp, or marijuana. The Act did not itself criminalize the possession or usage of hemp, marijuana, or cannabis. It did include penalty and enforcement provisions to which marijuana, cannabis, or hemp handlers were subject. Violation of these procedures could result in a fine of up to $2000 and five years' imprisonment.
Background
Some parties have argued that the aim of the Act was to reduce the size of the hemp industry [1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-1)][3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-under-influence-55-2)] largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Mellon), Randolph Hearst (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Hearst), and the Du Pont family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Pont_family).[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-under-influence-55-2)] With the invention of the decorticator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decorticator), hemp became a very cheap substitute for the paper pulp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_pulp) that was used in the newspaper industry.[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)][4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-3)] Hearst felt that this was a threat to his extensive timber holdings. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in America, had invested heavily in the Du Pont families new synthetic fiber, nylon, which was also being outcompeted by hemp.[1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-nafta-neocolonialism-129-0)]
The bill was passed over the last-minute objections of the American Medical Association. Dr. William Woodward, legislative counsel for the A.M.A. objected to the bill on the grounds that the bill had been prepared in secret without giving proper time to prepare their opposition to the bill.[5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-ReferenceA-4)] He doubted their claims about marijuana addiction, violence, and overdosage; he further asserted that because the word Marijuana was largely unknown at the time, the medical profession did not realize they were losing cannabis. "Marijuana is not the correct term... Yet the burden of this bill is placed heavily on the doctors and pharmacists of this country." [5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-ReferenceA-4)]
The bill was passed on the grounds of different reports[6 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-5)] and hearings [7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-6)]. Anslinger also referred to the International Opium Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Opium_Convention) that from 1928 included cannabis as a drug, and that all states had some kind of laws against improper use of cannabis. Today, it is generally accepted that the hearings included incorrect, excessive or unfounded arguments.[8 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-7)] By 1951, however, new justifications had emerged, and the Boggs Act that superseded the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed.[citation needed] See History of United States drug prohibition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_United_States_drug_prohibition).
The background also included a report about the commercialized hemp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp), reporting that from 1880 to 1933, the hemp grown in the United States had declined from 15,000 acres (61 km2), to 1,200 acres (5 km2), and that the price of line hemp had dropped from $12.50 per pound in 1914 to $9.00 per pound in 1933.[9 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937#cite_note-8)]
More....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937