NOT MORALITY ISSUE

The debate over the legalization of marijuana, complete with worn out
talking points on both sides, fails to address a central key issue.

Unlike alcohol, the prohibition of marijuana has nothing to do with
morality or public health.

Alarmed by the invention of the hemp gin in 1927, newspaper mogul and
lumber baron William Randolph Hearst saw mass production of hemp as a
threat to his business interests. Because hemp could replace both
petrol chemicals and trees to make products cheaper, the Dupont
Chemical Corporation and Hearst, the father of yellow journalism,
lobbied for the prohibition of marijuana and hemp production.

Playing on ethnic fears and medical ignorance, the petro-chemical
corporate conspiracy protected their own interests against hemp
production. Over the past 80 years since the prohibition on marijuana
and hemp production, millions of lives have been destroyed, countless
families shattered and billions of tax dollars wasted solely to
subsidize and protect the lumber and chemical corporations.

Just another tale of the American culture of corruption and corporate
tyranny.

Mark Larson

Fort Myers