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“The democrats made hemp illegal in 1937 and the republicans re-legalized it in 2018.”
Yes, back when the theory of marijuana was best summed up by Harry J. Anslinger, who said “Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men,” hemp, by its very nature of being so close to marijuana, was caught up in that start of the insane war on cannabis.
However, peeling the onion back a little, you will find that the main protagonists against hemp production were William Randolph Hearst who would go on to argue that with the invention of the “decorticator,” hemp was an economical replacement for paper pulp in the newspaper industry. Hearst realized cheap, sustainable, and easily-grown hemp threatened his extensive timber holdings. Hearst, originally a democrat, became a republican, and was so at the time hemp was outlawed.
Further against hemp was the DuPont family and company, who had begun to make nylon rope.
Not to be outdone, but also at this time Andrew Mellon, a republican, who was the then Secretary of the Treasury, and who was also the richest man in America had heavily invested in the DuPont Company.
“It was Hillary Clinton that popularized the term "super predator" in 1996 in reference to pushing mandatory minimum sentencing for repeat drug offenders. Filling the jails in this manner stopped when a republican president signed the First Step Act in 2018. Because some components were retroactive, approximately 30,000 people have been freed as a result.”
Hillary did not popularize the term. She used it once at a campaign rally for her husband in 1996. Let’s not forget, the 1994 crime bill passed with overwhelming support from BOTH parties. Now, as we can all agree, the crime bill, for the most part, was a colossal failure – on many fronts. But the crime bill focuses on violent crimes, mostly arresting violent offenders but who did not commit the crime they were accused of doing. Such as The Central Park Five.
What really failed in the crime bill in 1994 was that it interacted with—and reinforced—an existing and highly problematic piece of legislation: The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, enacted during a republican administration, created huge disparities in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine. Under this bill, a person was sentenced to a five-year minimum sentence for five grams of crack cocaine, but it took 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same sentence. Because crack is a cheaper alternative to powder cocaine, it is more prominent in low-income neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are more likely to be predominately Black and in urban areas that can be over policed more easily than suburban or rural areas. While the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, enacted under a democratic administration, reduced the crack/powder cocaine disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, the damage had been done, and its effects continue to this day.
And yes, the First Step Act was a good way of dealing with these unjust prison sentences. As was a democrat president who pardoned those convicted federally for simple marijuana possession which freed and/or cleared tens of thousands of people as well.
Additionally, under a democratic administration, it looks seriously that marijuana will be reclassed from a Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 drug.
But let’s not forget – that under a republican president, the war on Drugs was born in 1971. While it smoldered and fumbled and ruined hundreds of thousands of people with no real gain of good, come the 1980’s when another republican first lady opened up the gas valve and fueled the War on Drugs into what we saw right here in our own back yard, where green harvest made the ice/meth epidemic we have today.
“In the interim, a majority Republican-nominated Supreme Court justices threw out Timothy Leary's marijuana conviction in 1969, Leary v. United States, which was predicated on the 1937 democrat bill.”
As they should have. It was a bad, dumb and stupid law. But let’s not forget that this very same republican majority Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Roe V Wade.
In fact, I would welcome that same Supreme Court from the 1970’s here today in a heartbeat in comparison what we have now. I wonder how Justice Burger would answer the question as to if the president of the United States has immunity if he orders the assassination of a political rival?
“I've never heard the barefoot and pregnant thing used to describe democrats before.”
Well, let’s see. A republican majority Supreme Court has overturned settled law of 50 years. A republican congress discussing a federal ban, under zero exceptions. Republican state after state enacting restrictive no exception laws – even looking to punish women driving from one state to another. And now a republican contender for president in 2024 says he’s considering restrictions on birth control.
And then of course, we have the esteemed Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and his recent speech where the most rewarding job for a woman is having babies.
To be honest, the conservative approach to all of these restrictive laws being enacted was laid out back in 1987 by author Ben Wattenberg in a book entitled “The Birth Dearth.”
However, none of this matters really. Why the fact that marijuana legalization is such a hard hurdle to climb is really beyond reason.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go smoke my “medicine” for my “ailment(s)” which I am in 100% legal compliance with!
Oh, yeh, I don’t think it’s fair to say that barefoot and pregnant is term used to describe democrats.
