The Hemp Report

I just finished reading the story "The Colonel's Weed" by Stephen Young about the Chicago Tribune's experimental hemp farm. I had previously read the documents in the Shaffer Drug Library about the farm. I am not yet completely convinced that the Anslinger/Du Pont/Hearst hemp conspiracy is real. It's plausible, especially considering what else was going on at the time, but it just does not seem probable. Mr. Young noted something interesting that I never knew before "McCormick controlled even more timberland than Hearst." My personal theory is that, just like DEA now, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was protecting its budget and searching for ways to increase it.

From what I understand the forerunners to the DEA were the Bureau of Internal Revenue (1915-1927), Bureau of Prohibition (1927-1930), Federal Bureau of Narcotics (1930-1968), and Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (1968-1973).

Harry J. Anslinger was appointed to the newly created position of Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) on August 12, 1930 and he served in the position until 1962. He had previously served as Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition. So, the Bureau of Prohibition became the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Anslinger knew that he would need to find a way to keep the FBN from becoming obsolete like the Bureau of Prohibition had. Over 70 years of misinformation. It seems to be working pretty well.

For more background information please read Unraveling an American Dilemma: The Demonization of Marihuana - by John C. Lupien.