Speech
Cannabis, or more commonly referred to as marijuana, has has a long history and even
longer and brighter future ahead of it. Now for those of you that don’t know cannabis or MJ, it
is a plant dating all the way back to 26,900 BC and was used in various ways to help human
basic needs, states Joe Martino in “MJ outlawed?”. In todays society I think it is fair to say that
some, or the majority of people associate MJ and cannabis to “lazy pot smoking hippies” that
don’t contribute to society. And this is why I am here today. I am going to try and convince you
all that MJ and cannabis have several beneficial properties compared to several products and
medicine that is frequently used today. But before we dive into that I want to tell you some of
the history behind the plant and the reason it became illegal in the first place.
(first slide) The history behind the cannabis illegalization goes as far back from Herbert
Hoover’s presidency in 1929. His manipulation was driven in order to best financially benefit
himself. A quote from Zach Reichard, author of “Exposed: the full story behind why MJ is
illegal” also says this in his piece, “Hoover appointed Andrew Mellon as the Secretary of
Treasury, he owned much of the Gulf Oil Corporation; a company who had just recently opened
their first drive through gas station, He was a lead investor of DuPont who had just patented a
new form of making paper out of timber products and was creating different forms of synthetics
with fossil fuels.” Mellon appointed his nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger, as the head of the
Federal Bureau of Narcotics in order to help keep his financial gains at the highest with the
elimination of the competition cannabis was bringing to the industry. DuPont was not the only
company creating different forms of synthetics. Henry Ford was also working on his own
innovations and created a new fuel using hemp a product of cannabis. This new discovery was
sensational as Ford was not only using cannabis to build his cars but also to run them. This new
fuel would have been detrimental to the Gulf Oil Corporation as Ford’s fuel was cheaper and
more efficient. Thus the three financial tycoons: Hoover, Mellon, and Anslinger took it upon
themselves to keep this new discovery from reaching the public. They held secret meeting in
order to develop a plan to keep their billion dollar enterprises on top and they created the perfect
scheme. Anslinger began testifying before congress on the dangers of Marijuana and ordered the
Treasury Department to draft a bill that would ban cannabis. And of course it was passed.
Although The bill was criticized for being passed, some believe had to do with secrecy, and
some say there just wasn’t enough time for an opposition to be made. The government was able
to pass the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 with ease but why was the public okay with this decision
when they knew all the benefits cannabis carried? There is a simple answer to this and it is many
citizens were misinformed on the new law and thought it only regarded marijuana not non-
