Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2004 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Section: Sunday Magazine Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles Times Contact: http://www.latimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 Author: Doug Buis Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n106/a06.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?330 (Hemp - Outside U.S.) IF HEMP IS OUTLAWED, WHY NOT THE POPPY? This enlightening article points out how truly stupid governments can be. The history of the banning of hemp goes back to the 1920s and '30s, when William Randolph Hearst, who had vast holdings in the pulp and paper industry, fought for the ban because of the threat hemp posed to his empire. The relation to marijuana was just a handy excuse. If hemp can compete with oil and logging interests, do you think it could be legalized? Not likely. In a shortsighted way, the government knows what it's doing. Doug Buis Long Beach - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake