cannabisnews.com: Some Marijuana History Some Marijuana History Posted by FoM on November 30, 2000 at 16:32:41 PT Letter To The Editor by Ray Titus Sanborn Source: Ukiah Daily Journal The only similarities between tobacco and marijuana is they both burn and taxes. Tobacco may be gifted; gifted marijuana will land several or more people in prison for up to 20 years in some places. A room full of tobacco smoke will make you sick; full of marijuana, a feeling of well being.The prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s was the gateway for substantial commercial trade in marijuana for recreational use. By the 1930s there were said to be 500 tea pads for smoking marijuana in New York City alone. Today, the alcohol industry spends more lobby dollars than anyone other than the Department of Corrections to keep marijuana illegal.Between 1850 and 1937, marijuana was quite widely used in American medical practice for a wide range of conditions. The United States Pharmacopoeia admitted marijuana as a recognized medicine in 1850 under the name Extractum Cannabis and listed it until 1942. The National Formulary and the United States Dispensatory also included marijuana and cited recommendations for its use for numerous illnesses to include neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, tetanus, epidemic cholera, convulsions, hysteria, mental depression, insanity and uterine hemorrhage.In 1937 the Treasury Department sent to Congress the draft of a bill that became the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This bill on its face did not actually ban marijuana. It fully recognized the medicinal usefulness of the substance, specifying that physicians, dentists, veterinarians and others could continue to prescribe cannabis if they paid a license fee of $1 per year, that druggists who dispensed marijuana pay $15, growers pay $25, importers, manufacturers and compounders should pay a fee of $50 a year. Only the non-medicinal, untaxed possession or sale of marijuana was outlawed. Only 38 American physicians paid their tax under the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, in 1970.On January 1, 1932 the newly established Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a unit in the Treasury Department, took over from the alcohol unit the enforcement of the federal antiopiate and anticocaine laws; and former Assistant Prohibition Commissioner Anslinger had no legal jurisdiction over marijuana, but his interest in it was intense. The Bureau's first annual report under his aegis warned that marijuana, dismissed as a minor problem by the Treasury one year earlier, had now "come into wide and increasing abuse in many states, and the Bureau of Narcotics has therefore been endeavoring to impress on the various states the urgent need for vigorous enforcement of the local cannabis laws."California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are the 'many states' across which our southern neighbors pass as illegal immigrants even to this day. Antimarijuana legislation has 'slowed the tide!' In other related news, ATF of the Treasury Department planned, equipt and executed Waco.During his first year as commissioner of narcotics, Anslinger secured from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Drug Laws the draft of a "Uniform Antinarcotics Act," designed for adoption by state legislatures. The conference failed to include a ban on marijuana; but it did supply to the states an "optional text applying to the restriction of traffic in Indian hemp." Anslinger urged on the states the adoption of this "optional text" as well as the basic act; and state after state complied.Today, the people in California, Arizona and New Mexico are slowly reversing often unusual and cruel penalties for marijuana offenses through ballot initiatives.The people can protect themselves by drafting legislation in good old Roberts Rules, colonial style town meetings. How about you Redwood Valley; remember, 'the revolution is not over.'Ray "Titus" SanbornRedwood Valley Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA) Author: Ray "Titus" SanbornPublished: November 30, 2000Copyright: 2000, Ukiah Daily Journal Address: 590 S. School St. Ukiah, CA 95482 Fax: (707) 468-5780 Contact: udj saber.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by jeremy adams on February 03, 2001 at 07:11:52 PT: marijuna I think marijuana should be legal in all of the states the only reason the united states government see's marijuana as a dangerous drug is because they risk the danger of not being able to control the taxiation of marijuana .... sincerely jeremy adams dawsonville Ga. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by freedom fighter on December 01, 2000 at 16:55:24 PT We all can do alot! Dan B. is right in many ways..It starts at local.Work the way up to the State.Then it will head for good ole Washington D.C.To the people of Colorado, it has been said that there are more potheads in this state, it is time to start legalizing the cannabis! I hope others will start doing the same! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Dan B on December 01, 2000 at 09:44:23 PT: I Understand Completely, Phaedrus. It is difficult to know what to do. On the one hand, there are powerful lobbies with tons of money running the show inside the beltway. On the other hand, we have those same companies lobbying for public opinion outside the beltway. What's a pro-drug-reform activist to do?One important thing to remember is that while "they" have money on their side, we have Truth on ours. And while many politicians listen to bribes, the big companies can't bribe everyone outside the beltway. If enough American voters know the Truth that we know, we can effectively eliminate the crooked pols with their Constitution-altering, Bill of Rights-demolishing, money-making schemes.The answer, then, is to get the word out. That is how we have passed medical marijuana reform in nine states plus D.C. That is how we have passed drug forfeiture law reform measures in other states, and how we passed sweeping drug policy reform measures providing treatment instead of jail in states like California and Arizona. We are quickly dismantling America's trust in its government with regard to the War on Some Drugs because we have an ally much stronger than the alcohol companies, the tobacco cpompanies, the pharmaceuticals companies and the petrochemical companies combined, and that ally is the Truth.What, then, can we do? We can write letters to the editors of our local newspapers explaining the Truth about the War on Some Drugs (WoSD). We can expand to writing letters to other major newspapers, encouraging truthful reports on the WoSD and dismantling false logic and innacuracies. We can also write to our elected representatives. Some of them are willing to listen, and your letters do get read by many of them. Remember, in order to keep bilking money from the American people, they have to remain in power. And the only way they can remain in power is if they are re-elected, so they must listen to their constituents at some point. Some have already begun to listen; more will follow.We can send letters to politicians who have expressed opposition to the WoSD, applauding their efforts and encouraging them to continue speaking out on behalf of the wrongly imprisoned. Governors Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota (whatever you may think of them otherwise) are two great examples of outspoken leaders who are not afraid to express opposition to the WoSD. We can organize or participate in local chapters of activist groups, and we can verbally and (if one has the means) financially support groups like NORML, The Lindesmith Center, Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet), The November Coalition, MAP Inc/DrugSense, and a bunch of others that are working diligently to change policy, free the prisoners, and end the WoSD.No one person has to do all of these things, but I think everyone can find something in this list that suits his or her personality/budget/lifestyle. Many of us work long hours or go to school full time (or both), so we cannot devote as much time as we would like to these causes. But if everyone does something--spends an afternoon on a signature drive for a drug reform ballot measure, writes a letter to the newspaper or politician, sends a letter of hope and encouragement to a drug war prisoner--then we can win this thing. The tide is already turning in our favor.Most importantly, we must remain informed by continuing to follow the news through sites like Cannabis News, Marijuana News, DRCNet, Cannabis.com, etc. After all, we can't inform unless we ourselves have been informed.I hope this provides some encouragement to you. We can make a difference. We are making a difference.Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Phaedrus on December 01, 2000 at 08:17:53 PT: You May Say I'm a Dreamer... Maybe you're right, Dan; I still have small jerks and fits of idealism once in awhile. After posting, I looked to see what I could find on the alcohol lobby opposing marijuana legalization efforts (along with MMJ and ind. hemp). Sure enough, I read that in an appropriations meeting convened for the purpose of funding Herr McCaffery and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's advertising campaign. Someone asked why they weren't including anti-underage drinking themes (since alcohol is the most abused drug in all age groups)along with the anti-underage illicit drug themes. The alcohol lobby, with the help of majority whip Tom Delay and appropriations committee member Anne Northup, contended that the underage drinking piece would "cloud" the drug issue and send the wrong message. If the Republicans were really for what they claim to be for, I'd register and vote as a Republican every time. Unfortunately, you cannot believe them when they claim to want smaller government and want government to stay out of people's lives. So maybe you're right. Maybe a backwater web-based effort wouldn't even make Budweiser blink. But if you use the standard political channels in Washington, you're up against an extremely powerful lobby, and I just don't see that sort of power on our side of the fence, George Soros notwithstanding. So what is the right path to take? What can I do, at my level (while remaining out of jail and employed)? What's the best way to get this to the forefront, where it can be argued and decided sensibly?Thanks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dan B on December 01, 2000 at 03:43:09 PT: Sorry to be the Naysayer, but... Anheuser-Busch is so well-engrained in our society that it would take a lot more than a few letters to convince them that they'd lose profits if we boycotted them. It's kind of like the time the Southern Baptists boycotted Disney because they allowed (but did not sponsor) a Gay Pride day at their theme parks. Disney said, "big deal," and profits went up, not down. Part of the problem with trying to boycott Budweiser is that chances are a switch from Bud to another beer would still be a switch to another Anheuser-Busch beer. They're even getting into microbreweries now, buying established local names and bottling them under Anheuser-Busch labels (case in point, Ziegenbock, a Texas beer, is now owned and bottled by Anheuser-Busch). No, I think that the best way to win this war is politically--getting the word out to everyone we know so that they can make informed decisions as citizens and as voters. We're doing that, and it's working.And when cannabis is finally legal, we'll have the last laugh at the beer companies.Sorry to be the naysayer, but I did try to put a positive spin on it at the end there.Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Phaedrus on November 30, 2000 at 21:48:07 PT: The Liquor Lobby Today, the alcohol industry spends more lobby dollars than anyone other than the Department of Corrections to keep marijuana illegal.Does anyone know where to find supporting documentation for the statement above? I don't know a whole lot about grassroots web-based efforts, but I would guess that if a Budweiser or Seagrams were to receive petitions vowing to boycott their products until such time as they stopped their ridiculous lobbying efforts, they might pay attention. If someone could make them understand that this could lead to a loss of revenue for them, they might well think twice. My two cents' worth. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on November 30, 2000 at 18:51:04 PT Not bad of an idea! The people can protect themselves by drafting legislation in good old Roberts Rules, colonial style town meetings. How about you Redwood Valley; remember, 'the revolution is not over.'Ray "Titus" SanbornCalling out to leaders of all cities of this world, start a group and legalize the cannabis! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: