In the theme of 4/20 I decided to talk a little about the 1936 propaganda film "Reefer Madness". The story is that in the 1930's newspaper tycoon, William Randolph Hearst, who also had huge financial interests in paper production, financed this highly, pardon the pun, exaggerated film about high school kids that try marijuana and are hooked and their lives, of course, ruined. There are two different theories as to why he would want marijuana made illegal. One is that Hearst thought that hemp would compete with his paper investments and secondly, he thought that prohibiting pot would curb Mexicans from moving into California. At any rate, politicians were shown this film in the 30's and voted to make marijuana a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 is what heroin is scheduled as.  Hardly in the same category, right?  So, eighty-two years later it is still illegal under federal law.  Slowly but surely, states are starting to come around, realizing the medical benefits and tax revenue possible from the legalization are reason enough to legalize it. Lately there have been threats from our Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, to shut down all sales, using federal law to override state laws. I am confident total legalization will happen soon.

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