For Lilian and the Indigos - Above Top Secret

Back in the 1930's, as Prohibition (alcohol) was being repealed – it was causing violent
crime, gangs, and law abiding citizens became "criminals" overnight. Money was "easy"
in trading in alcohol and police were becoming corrupt (sound familiar?) – the head of
the Federal enforcement agency charged with enforcing Prohibition was about to lose his
job. His name was Harry J. Anslinger.
Also, William R. Hearst was facing the threat to his paper production facilities from
hemp. Hemp was cheaper to produce, could produce four times the paper per acre than
trees could, needed less processing (dioxins would not be an issue), and was vastly more
renewable.
And Harry and William put together a plan. If Harry could make something illegal, he
could make a cause for being selected to enforce the law and thereby keep his job, and if
William could outlaw hemp, the acres and acres of forest he had invested in would stand
to make better profits.
So William, who as we know owned many a newspaper, began publishing "facts."
Marijuana caused "brother to kill brother." Marijuana caused "black men to rape white
women." Amongst the white, educated folk, who voted and pressured Congress, a panic
was born. Dear God! A black man might smoke that stuff and leap out of a bush in the
park and kill me and rape my women and children!
So they wrote to Congress (many of whom had been reading the same stuff and getting
panicky themselves). Harry even addressed Congress with these same allegations, lying
through his teeth, but whipping up racial fears in the white group. The Congressional
Record is available.
And Congress took the first step to illegally empower. For, by the Constitution and its
Amendments, Congress had no legal way of making marijuana illegal. This was
understood from the beginning in the Prohibition of alcohol. This is why a Constitutional
Amendment had to be passed to make alcohol illegal on the Federal level.
But Federal laws against marijuana were – and still are! – unconstitutional. Through the
years, some mumbo jumbo was concocted based on provisions relating to interstate
commerce. But what did the Constitution, Bill of Rights and other Amendments
matter???
Our women are being raped by black men, and we are killing our brothers because of
marijuana!
So, from that dishonest base with shaky support, we allow Prohibition (cannabis) today.
And William's forest investments were safe from hemp, and Harry was assigned to lead
the Prohibition enforcement agency – merely switching from alcohol to marijuana.