A little Throwback Thursday tidbit ;) The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 outlawed the growing of hemp. However, during WWII, farmers were encouraged to grow the crop as part of the war program after the countrys supply of imported fibers to make things such as ropes for ships and webbing for parachutes was cut off by the Japanese. Hemp production became crucial once again, and American farmers (and even their sons), who grew marihuana, were exempt from military duty during at that time. In 1942, in typical fashion, the US government reversed itself on The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 with the release of the USDA film entitled Hemp For Victory (video below). In this film, a vintage-voiced narrator extols hemp as the old standby cordage fiber. Not surprising, the federal government subsequently DENIED the film’s existence for many years thereafter until it was discovered around 1989 in the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ARCHIVES by Jack Herer, the late author of the 1985 pro-hemp book The Emperor Wears No Clothes. It is noteworthy to learn that around the time of The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, DuPont funded the anti-hemp effort. A cursory review of that history reveals that hemp manufacturers had created a new machine that could be used to process hemp fibers for a variety of products. This machine would have put DuPont, with its patents on new synthetic fibers, out of business. https://youtube/watch?v=W0xHCkOnn-A
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 21:35:31 +0000
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