I think the lumber industry had something to do with the downfall of hemp also.
J.P. Morgan had bought the lumber in the Mexican Baha California. He wanted to sell it for paper pulp to make paper. Hemp made a superior paper and was the standard at the time. (The Declaration of Independence is written on hemp paper.) He used his position as an owner of a major newspaper to plant yellow journalism stories painting hemp as a dangerous drug that was corrupting our youth. His money backed the short film Reefer Madness which depicted people smoking it and acting like they were on crack or PCP and becoming violent and deranged. At last it was outlawed and J.P. stripped the Baha of the forest where it turned into the desert that it still is today.
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