The Devil’s Harvest

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Cannabis. It’s been called everything from “Weed from the Devil’s Garden” to “the happy little herb”. Cannabis, which is also called Marijuana, has a known history that dates back over 10,000 years. The oldest remnant of the industry of mankind is a little piece of hemp cloth/fabric that dates back to around 8,000 B.C. (website, HIA: Resources: Education: FAQs & Facts: Facts).

Cannabis was used by almost every ancient civilization for, but not limited to, ropes, clothing, medicine, and recreation. Marijuana has only been illegal for the past 73 years. The interesting thing about it’s illegality is the fact that Cannabis used to be very legal in the United States. Prior to 1937, cannabis was the largest agricultural crop in the United States. Hemp was, and still is, considered the most durable fiber on the face of the earth for it’s wide variety of uses. The first Marijuana law in the United States ordered farmers to grow it. During the years where slavery was prominent, cannabis was cultivated and produced by the slaves, but when slavery was abolished in 1865, the production of cannabis became difficult because efficient hemp processing machinery didn’t exist. Thus, it’s prominence in the agricultural economy dropped significantly. In the late 1920’s, a machine called the decorticator was invented. This machine was able to process hemp fibers efficiently and easily. At this time, cannabis started making its comeback as an agricultural phenomenon. Ropes, paper, clothes, medicines, and other textiles made from hemp textiles were just starting to be processed, and economists predicted that cannabis was a going to bring in billions of dollars in new revenue. A magazine called Popular Mechanics prepared an article about Cannabis call...

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...Quote with Comments

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Harry.Anslinger.Quote.846A

© 1998 - 2008 Liberty-Tree.ca / testimony to US Congress supporting Marihuana Tax Act, 1937.

Source 7. The First U.S. Marijuana Arrest (Ever): Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer

http://blog.austindefense.com/2007/10/articles/marijuana-controlled-substance/the-first-us-marijuana-arrest-ever/

Copyright © 2010, Jamie Spencer, Attorney at Law

Source 8. 14 Legal Medical Marijuana States - Medical Marijuana - ProCon.org

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881

© ProCon.org, a 501©(3)nonprofit, All Rights Reserved.

Source 9. Senators want to fight Mexican drug cartels’ expanding influence - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/17/mexican.drug.war/index.html

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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