IF HEMP IS OUTLAWED, WHY NOT THE POPPY?

Green's article was outstanding. He wrote: "Yet from the 1930s through
the 1980s, many countries, influenced by U.S. policies and persuasion,
banished cannabis from their farmlands." This includes Italy, where
hemp, a flourishing industry since Roman times, disappeared after
World War II.

There is much more than "reefer madness" involved in the U.S.
government's opposition to hemp; there is a lot of heavy lobbying.
Many big industries fear hemp: textiles, paper, oil and energy,
plastics, chemicals and pesticides. Their powerful lobbies contribute
millions of dollars to political parties on a regular basis. This
explains why the stance against both marijuana and hemp is common to
Republican and Democratic administrations.

Giovanni Borla

Milan, Italy