mentioned how they never busted black and brown people for alcohol . The Mexicans were already known for their use of “ loco weed .” Black people “ smoked their reefer ” instead of consuming alcohol .
This room full of old white racist guys decided they could use this information . In conjunction with the House Ways and Means Committee ( which consisted of only nine members of the House of Representatives , all with a stake in big oil ), the companies ’ PR teams went to work . With Hollywood ’ s help , they brought us the movie Reefer Madness , and this , ladies and gentlemen , is the history we are still living under today .
For Arnslinger ’ s reward — he was made a “ government official .” He took it upon himself to create the U . S . Treasury Department ’ s Federal Bureau of Narcotics , appointing himself commander in chief of the organization . He remained so during the presidencies of Hoover , Roosevelt , Truman , Eisenhower , and Kennedy , whispering the same lies to each one like the Dark Lord Sauron in Tolkien ’ s Lord of the Rings . It is hard to wrap our heads around the destruction these men wrought on our planet . To know climate change was 100 % preventable with hemp , well , it makes me cry .
According to Deel ’ s February article , “ cannabis somehow blossomed to the 5th largest crop in the U . S ., and Forbes projects the market will reach $ 41 billion in annual sales by 2026 ….” We have an entire economy built around an illegally legal crop with an unknown number of men and women still locked away in prison for its use and a cash business to boot , excluding banks . I find this stunning . No one needs to buy a car wash to launder money these days .
Herer first published The Emperor Wears No Clothes in 1985 , 37 years ago and before climate change was upon us . On page 43 , Herer writes about the article in Popular Mechanics :
If Harry Anslinger , DuPont , Hearst and their paid-for ( know it or not , then as now ) politicians had not outlawed hemp — under the pretext of marijuana ...— and suppressed hemp knowledge from our schools , researchers , and even scientists ; the glowing predictions in these articles would already have come true by now — and more benefits than anyone could then envision — as new technologies and uses continue to develop .
As one colleague so aptly put it : “ These articles were the last honest word spoken on hemp ’ s behalf for over 40 years .”
As we prepare for Kansas City , MO , to host the 15th National Patients Out of Time , Cannabis Education Conference , let us all remember , we are also a Planet Out of Time . Hemp and cannabis can still save us .
We absolutely must educate more than we are . My vision is to send a copy of Jack ’ s book to all 545 members of the Congress of the United States . They need to know what we know . Life on earth depends on it !
Dolores Montgomery Halbin , RN , BSN , and Ordained Nurse Minister resides in SW Missouri . After her husband passed in 2015 , she retired from nursing . She worked with the 2014-2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana . She continues as a cannabis reform activist volunteering with Canna Convict Project and working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism . Dolores Halbin ,
doloreshalbin @ gmail . com .