INDUSTRIAL HEMP

DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

HEMP FOR VICTORY (the untold story)

HEMP FOR VICTORY

FORWARD
In February of 1942, a national magazine “The Woman’s Digest” published a story containing the following:
“. . . a hotel room in Spokane, Washington was turned into a shambles by a ruthless slayer.   An old harmless man was battered to death ----so battered that his body was almost unidentifiable.   The murderer, 26-year old Joseph Mines, after committing the crime, leaped to an alley about 30 feet below without injury.   It was revealed that a short time prior to the crime Mines had smoked two marijuana cigarettes.   He claimed at his trial that they had crazed him and that he had no memory of the deed.   -- THE WOMAN (with woman’s Digest) – Feb. 1942
A story, without a doubt, based on information provided by the D.E.A., then knows as the Federal; Bureau of Narcotics.   Yet, a mere matter of days after its publication, this very same federal government which had in previous years had been demonizing Marijuana now did a complete about face.   Now this same government was appealing to American farmers to actually, “GROW MARIJUANA INSTEAD.”

Staring in mid-February 1942, or soon after our entry into the war, relying mainly on calls to patriotism, was virtually Begging American Farmers to start growing Marihuana; --- A call which was answered by tens-of-thousands of American Farmers.   What only a few weeks earlier had been labeled “The Assassin of Youth,” and “The Killer Drug”, was now considered so safe and benign that agricultural youth organizations were not encouraged to grow it.   Even boys (as young as sixteen) were being asked to work in hemp processing plants.
    BUT WAIT;

    --- Wasn’t Marihuana AGAINST THE LAW?

      --- Weren’t our Narcotics Police warning us about the DANGERS OF ITS USE?

        --- Weren’t the newspapers telling us about Sex Crimes, Brutal Murders, and Bestial Acts; ---all occurring while UNDER ITS DEADLY INFLUENCE?

          --- Weren’t various governmental agencies, just weeks prior too seeking to Eradicate this Terrible Scourge?

So, given those dangers, WHY ON EARTH was our government asking (again begging) our farmers to grow yet more?

This book seeks to answer that question, but be aware that the answer; while simple to comprehend, is also actually rather complex.   Requiring the reader to devote some energy into the study of various sub-subjects, baring little if any relevance to the topic at hand yet necessary in order to have an understand of it.


CHAPTER I
EXPLORING SOME NEEDED CONCEPTS
      Deliver Us From Evil
      The forces that lead to its creation of the Hemp For Victory program . . .
        1.0   – EXPLORING SOME NEEDED CONCEPTS:
        1.1   – LIVING IN FEAR:
        1.2   – BLIND FORESIGHT:
        1.3   – A BRIEF (Very Brief) HISTORY OF REEFER MADNESS:
        1.4   – WHY HEMP FOR VICTORY?


CHAPTER II
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
      The historical and economical importance of Industrial Hemp Growth . . .
        2.0   – GENERAL REFERENCES:
        2.1   – WHY WAS HEMP SO IMPORTANT TO THE WAR EFFORT?
        2.2   – ITS HISTORICAL ROOTS:
        2.3   – INDUSTRIAL HEMP IN THE COLONIES
        2.4   – ITS PRE-WAR IMPORTANCE:


CHAPTER III
ITS ECONOMIC DECLINE:
      AMERICA'S HOME GROWN HEMP INDUSTRY -- ITS ECONOMIC DECLINE . . .
        3.0   – CHAPTER SUMMARY:
        3.1   – THE FORCES THAT LEAD TO DECLINE
        3.1.1   – KING COTTON:
        3.1.3   – PULP PAPER MFG.:
        3.1.4   – PLASTICS:
        3.1.5   – LABOR COSTS:
        3.1.6   – THE PHILIPPINES & CHEAPER IMPORTS:
        3.2   – ENTERS THE REEFER MADNESS CAMPAIGN


CHAPTER IV
ON THE EVE OF THE WAR:
      Our Home Grown Hemp Industry on the eve of the war: . . .
        4.0   – ON THE EVE OF THE WAR
        4.1   – THE EARLY DAYS OF THE WAR:
        4.2   – REEFER MADNESS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE:
        4.3   – AMERICA’S HEMP CZAR:
        4.4   – THE FARMERS:
        4.5   – THE OPERATIONAL HEMP MILLS:
        4.6   – THE MILL WORKERS:
        4.7   – EVEN THE BOY SCOUTS WERE EXPECTED TO CHIP IN:


CHAPTER V
AFTER THE WAR:
      AFTER THE WAR WHAT BECAME OF THE INDUSTRY . . .
        5.0   – WHAT BECAME OF THE INDUSTRY:
        5.1   – YET NONE DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY
        5.1.1   – THE END OF WAR-TIME SUBSIDIES:
        5.1.2   – THE RESUMPTION OF CHEAP IMPORTS:
        5.1.3   – ANSLINGER’S BUREAU REAPPEARS
        5.2   – WAS THERE A CONSPIRACY?
        5.3   – POST WAR AMERICA BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL:
        5.4   – POSTSCRIPT: (Personal Opinions)

ADDENDUM'S

ADDENDUM A - Advertisements for Hemp merchandise (mostly from old Sear's Roebuck Catalogs). . . more . . .

ADDENDUM B - THE OPPONENTS - Dealing with those who openly opposed America’s Hemp For Victory program . . . their views were ). . . more . . .

ADDENDUM C - FULL PAGE AD - Mr. Farmer, grow Hemp for the War Effort . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM D - AMERICA’S HEMP CZAR: No doubt there are those in today’s world who would like us to forget the whole thing. But YES America, we really did have a Hemp Czar throughout . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM E - THE FARMERS: Those who actually grew the Hemp crops during the war. . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM F - THE HEMP MILLS - As previously brought out, due primarily to cheap imports (not to mention the hysteria campaign), our Home Grown Hemp Industry had fallen on such hard times that 72 new government owned processing mills had to be built from scratch. These mills . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM G - HEMP WORKERS WANTED Various Help Wanted (Newspaper) Want Ads of interest. . . more . . .

ADDENDUM H - LABOR DISPUTES . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM I -   THE BOY SCOUTS - All were expected to do their part in the war effort . . . more . . .

ADDENDUM J -   After the war America's Home Grown Hemp Industry was purposely destroyed by Anslinger and his Bureau of Narcotics. . . . more . . .



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