Billion Dollar Crop
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
This surprising video explains the environmental interest in the non-drug variety of hemp as a versatile industrial fiber, and documents the history of its prohibition.
Backed by years of worldwide research, BILLION DOLLAR CROP exposes the political and industrial manipulations, which outlawed one of the most valued plants in history. Hemp once provided the paper on which US banknotes were printed, the cloth for the original Levi jeans, as well as the sails and rigging of ships. During World War II it was of such strategic importance that the US Government encouraged farmers to convert to hemp cultivation.
BILLION DOLLAR CROP shows how the recently developed, non-drug variety of hemp is being researched and cultivated internationally because of the plant's versatile qualities and environmental friendliness. This program takes the audience on a world tour from Australia to the United Kingdom, and from The Netherlands to France and the US. It illustrates how hemp is being cultivated as an industrial fiber for use as an alternative to wood for paper production, to cotton for clothes, and to plywood for construction. We all benefit, especially our forests and topsoil.
'As brilliant and hard-hitting a piece of TV journalism as I've ever seen...provides irrefutable evidence that this versatile, easily grown, environmentally friendly crop could provide thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in export and major reductions in our present-day environmental destruction.' Eden Institute
'Once again, our muddle-headed prejudices are costing us.' SMH The Guide
Citation
Main credits
Chobocky, Barbara A. (film director)
Chobocky, Barbara A. (film producer)
Chobocky, Barbara A. (screenwriter)
Cordell, Michael (film director)
Cordell, Michael (screenwriter)
Bruer, Jeffrey (screenwriter)
Bruer, Jeffrey (cinematograper)
Bruer, Jeffrey (editor of moving image work)
Thompson, Jack (narrator)
Other credits
Camera & editing, Jeffrey Bruer; music composed by Charlie Chan.
Distributor subjects
Agriculture; Australia; Crops; Environment; Forests and Rainforests; History; Humanities; Local Economies; Narcotics; Natural Resources; Social Studies; Sustainable AgricultureKeywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
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[music]
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[music]
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Marijuana, Cannabis, grass,
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pot, different names for the same plant
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Cannabis sativa or hemp.
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For 50 years, hemp has been
categorized as an illicit drug.
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But it was once one of the world\'s
largest agricultural crops.
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Last century, hemp fiber was a major
source of paper, cloth and rope.
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The seed provided food
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and oil for lighting, the flower in tops
were an important source of medicine.
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Today, a new strain of hemp
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with no drug content has the potential to
reinstate cannabis in main stream agriculture.
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It could help reverse the planet\'s
environmental degradation.
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But hemp, even the non-drug variety
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remains illegal throughout most of the world. Discovered
in Florida was marijuana plant scattered over…
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(inaudible) has become the Australia\'s new marijuana
capital. Biggest marijuana crops was discovered after…
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150 million dollars worth of cannabis…
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Destroying the plants and spraying
to prevent the re growth.
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This is the story of hemp\'s renaissances
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and the untold history of marijuana.
How did it become demonized?
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Has the drug hysteria blinded us
to the myriad uses of this plant?
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In our zeal to prohibit cannabis
are we denying our souls
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a legitimate billion dollar crop?
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Cannabis has not been responsible for a single
drug death in Australia or in the world,
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stars were… were informed.
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Alcohol is responsible for a
lot of deaths in this country
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both from the acute effects of intoxication and the
longer effects of toxicity. Uh… Why they treat it as
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very different way from being promoted in the
electronic media and all the rest to being uh…
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demonized and prohibited uh… people
have to ask that question themselves.
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Dr. Andrew Katelaris is a
registrar in forensic medicine
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but his part time crusade has been
to restore the status of a plant
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the world has been trying to eradicate for most
of this century. It\'s entirely hypocritical
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that uh… cannabis is not available
to trade a multitude of human
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uh… problems uh… such as the wasting
disease associated with HIV.
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Uh… Hemp drug should be available to all
those who may benefit and who need them.
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There is a thousand of acres
uh… in the (inaudible)
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just crying out for a high value added crop and I think hemp
is the ideal crop. I really do think it could rejuvenate
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real Australia and Australia as a whole.
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Andrew\'s conviction is shared by a number of farmers who
are looking seriously at the viability of growing hemp
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as an alternative crop to cotton.
We think that\'s a good opportunity
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to introduce rural employment
and export dollars as well.
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There is phobia and inhibitions of people
of (inaudible). Marijuana can be put aside,
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as the recognition that this is…
this is not a drug related crop
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once… it\'s a change respectability
that we all systems go I\'m sure.
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The drug content of him is
found only in the leaves
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and flowering heads. Much work has
been done in Europe to breed varieties
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with very low levels of the psychoactive
chemical tetra hydro cannabinol
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or THC. It\'s these strains
which are forging
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hemp\'s return into mainstream agriculture.
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These plants might look
like other cannabis plants
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but you could smoke an entire field
and get nothing more than a headache.
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But the law does not
differentiate between varieties
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and even non-drug strains are
still prohibited despite
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the huge industrial potential. The usefulness
of hemp comes from the long strong fiber
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which is found on the outside of the plant
and it\'s the strongest of all natural fibers
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and uh… that\'s what\'s used for the uh… the fabric.
Uh… It\'s also used for the more traditional uses of
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ropes and twines and it can be used in
the manufacture of best quality paper.
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The short fiber in the inside of the plant
the hood is composed about 77% cellulose
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and it can be used in uh… the production
of alcoholic fuels such as ethanol
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turning our vehicles in a nonpolluting way. It
can be used as a base for biodegradable plastic
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such as cellophane and other more recent
biodegradable plastic based on cell… cellulose.
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It\'s an extremely useful plant.
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Hemp has served mankind for
over twelve thousand years
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and was once one of the world\'s
most traded commodities.
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In the early American colony
hemp was such an important crop
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farmers were directed to grow the plant.
It was legal tender
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and could be used to pay taxes.
In England Queen Victoria
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took cannabis extract to relieve
the pre-menstrual tension.
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For centuries the canvas sails
and rigging of the world ships
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were made from hemp. Wen Gao like
most artists painted on hemp canvas.
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The original Levi jeans were made from hemp
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even the U.S. flag.
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[sil.]
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Today in the state of Tasmania,
Patsy Harmsen and her husband Fritz
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are working to revive hemps forgotten uses.
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Today hemp for paper consortium is one
of the few organizations in the world
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legally permitted to grow cannabis.
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The way that we\'re doing
things is very primitive
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and tailored purely to a trial crop.
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People watching us do this would just
probably throw up their hands in horror.
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And in fact it is (inaudible)
low take and uh…
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close to nature and human
foible as you could get.
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(inaudible) was search crop
is the only legal cannabis
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under cultivation in Australia.
Despite being a non-drug variety
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the Harmsen\'s have been restricted to a
plot a little larger than a tennis court.
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Although Patty\'s made great progress
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her ambitions for hemp as a major source of paper
have been hindered by a nervous state government.
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I\'ve been very frustrated with
the delays and affected its
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tied asses up and prevented us from going
ahead at the pace that we think is needed
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because we think the sooner we start reducing
the pressure on the forests the better.
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We have small business interest
we have big business interest
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even though it\'s not a firm
commitment there is certainly uh…
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a call on the part of big industry
for the research to continue.
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So it is very surprising that the
government and the officials concerned
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saw fit to make it almost impossible
for us to go ahead this time.
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While Patsy and Fritz have been battling
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bureaucratic obstacles in Australia, hemp
growers in the U.K. have been enjoying
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the full support of the British home
office. After just one research crop
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a commercial harvest totaling fifteen
hundred acres of a non-drug variety
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was licensed to some thirty
growers in the south of England.
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The first legal cannabis to be grown in
the British Isles for almost fifty years.
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The story started here at
Harlow agricultural merchants
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where Ian Lowe is managing director.
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Well Harlow agricultural merchants is
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a private limited company
it\'s owned by its staff
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and by a few pharma shareholders and
we\'re trading uh… chemicals, seed,
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fertilizer and grain in a… This corner
of England in East Anglia really
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and Harlow always had a an interest
in new crops and new ventures
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uh… we are near the number of new
crops in England sunflower, linseed
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umm… thing like durum wheat we were the first
people into so it\'s not the first new crop
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we\'ve got into that might
be the most challenging.
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The background why we got into the hemp
originally was coming across a horse product,
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horse bedding was made from the hemp plant
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and we saw this product and this intrigued us
and really that started a whole chain of events
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where we researched into the crop then leading on
from that obviously we found out about textile use
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about the interest from the paper
industry as a raw material for paper pipe
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(inaudible) so one… one
thing led to another.
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Ian\'s company is so confident of hemp\'s future.
It has invested over a million dollars
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developing specialized
technology to process this crop.
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After careful market research
they are convinced of the world
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shortage of cannabis fiber will help
them reap a handsome profit despite
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the plant\'s cloudy legal status.
Obviously the… the fact that
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the crop is a banned substance uh… and
you have to be licensed to grow it.
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This has made life more complicated this year.
Umm… you know, it\'s added the challenge to it.
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Its… it\'s also added a lot of headaches.
Umm… I think if it would…
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If it wasn\'t an illegal crop,
life would be much simpler.
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The world wide prohibition of cannabis
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began around the turn of this century in
the United States where hemp was already
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in decline as a farm crop. The Age of Steam
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had seen a full on demand for hemp
ropes and sails and the tough fiber
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also resisted attempts at
mechanized harvesting.
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But it was the growing hysteria about the
use of the plant as a recreational drug
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that would ultimately seal its fate.
This harmless looking cigarette
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is cloaked in many innocent disguises.
But light the match,
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inhale or smoke man and it becomes
an invitation to your own murder.
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This killer and the man who sells
it has no respect for anyone.
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The use of cannabis as a relaxant and
mild intoxicant was not a new phenomenon.
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The practice has been traced back
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thousands of years to India where hemp was
revered as an aid to self enlightenment.
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The custom spread through the
Middle East and into Africa
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from where the slave trade
brought it to the Americas.
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By the turn of the century Mexican immigrants
were bringing the custom into the United States
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they use the same plant American
farmers grew by the tongue
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but smoking it was a foreign practice which
was regarded with suspicion and fear
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fueled by ignorance.
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[music]
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In 1914 El Paso on the Mexican border
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passed the first anti marijuana laws in the
United States. There was as much an excuse
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to crack down on the large number of Mexican
immigrants as they were an attack on the drug itself.
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[sil.]
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This period also saw the start of the
Temperance era when drugs of all kinds
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were increasingly vilified with
alcohol as public enemy number one.
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A huge law enforcement bureaucracy
was created to wage the war
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but with little success.
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By the end of prohibition
in 1933 US law men
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and moral crusaders were looking for another
scapegoat to blame for what they saw
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as a nation\'s moral and social decay. They
found a new target in marijuana smoking.
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[music]
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This is the man who did most to demonize
cannabis commissioner Harry Anslinger
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former assistant commissioner of
alcohol prohibition then head of
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the Federal Bureau of
Narcotics from 1930 to 1962.
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Harry Anslinger was the
single most important person
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in Federal Drug Control Policy in the
United States. Uh… It was Anslinger
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more than any other individual who is responsible
for the… for the repressive punitive nature of
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drug enforcement during the
past half century or so.
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Anslinger campaigned hard for
federal laws against cannabis.
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The laws guaranteed the continued existence
of his narcotics bureau to police them.
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[music]
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Waiting in Washington Narcotics
commissioner Anslinger and coordinator Grey
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(inaudible) bye.
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I guess that cleans up
New Orleans for a while.
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That\'s well Harry. Dr. John
McWilliams spent five years
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researching a biography on
Harry Anslinger. He believes
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Anslinger deliberately exploited public
ignorance to preserve his bureaucratic empire.
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Anslinger perpetuated uh… much of the myth
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around marijuana for example, he exaggerated
the effects of marijuana, uh… characterized
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as a killer weed. Uh… In fact even
referred to it as the assassin of youth
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uh… and claimed that it could lead the
user to commit heinous violent acts
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
and even lead to insanity. The
attacks on marijuana displayed
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
a strong element of racism they
were anti black and anti-Hispanic.
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In 1937 Anslinger told Congress
that marijuana smoking
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was propagated by Negroes,
Mexicans and entertainers.
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Victor Licata, a young Hispanic
is one of Anslinger\'s favorite
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
uh… stories from his (inaudible) and
others are referred to as his glory file
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that he use to impress congressional committees
if there is any question about… about the…
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the deadly effects of marijuana.
Uh… Licata, in 1933
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as the caption reads (inaudible) under the influence
of marijuana murdered his mother, father, sister,
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and two brothers with an axe while
they were asleep and Anslinger was
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correct about his… his
relating the story that
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Licata did murder his family with an
axe but he uh… omitted the fact that
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Licata was suffering from mental illness
and was later institutionalized.
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The American tabloid press particularly
Randolph Hearst\'s newspaper chain
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
supported Anslinger\'s propaganda. In the
company\'s own words its crusaded unceasingly
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
against the narcotic evil in
all its vicious fallings.
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
Anslinger began to demonize marijuana
uh… recognize it as… as this evil drug
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
to his way of thinking. Hearst picked
up on this, published dozens and dozens
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
if not hundreds of load stories about
marijuana and people who smoked marijuana
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
committed these horrible heinous acts while under
the influence allegedly. Uh… That fit very well
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
with… with the sensationalistic nature of… of a
lot of the Hearst newspapers when it was splashed
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
across the front pages and a public would read
this form their conclusions are very limited
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
uh… with limited information about… about this
drug and that in fact supported Anslinger
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
and it was kind of uh… a
circular sort of nexus
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
or relationship between
Hearst and Anslinger.
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
In 1937 against the wishes of the American
hemp industry and the medical profession
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
Anslinger succeeded in convincing
Congress to pass legislation
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
that effectively outlaw the plant.
Incorrectly classified as a narcotic
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
as dangerous as heroin and
cocaine, hemp was condemned
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
without any balanced study into its effects. Well
probably science has always been manipulated.
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
Umm… There were scientists who told us
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
that cannabis caused people to kill
in 1937 they were bad scientists.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
Uh… There are scientists who now tell us
that cannabis causes changes in motivation
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
or changes in brain function
they also are bad scientists
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
because they have no proof what they have
was sort of retrospective speculations.
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
Identifying individual who\'s been
in trouble, who\'s had problems
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
and then discovering that that individual is a
cannabis user and then engaging in this kind of
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
foolish causal association you know
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
my son used to be a wonderful person and then he
smoked cannabis and now he\'s failing in school
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
it must be the cannabis wrong. It may not be
the cannabis he may be smoking the cannabis
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
because he failed in school and he\'s unhappy.
In fact the studies in which we\'ve looked at
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
the long term use of cannabis in a cohort of people
and then compared them to people in their culture
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
who are not long term cannabis users has shown
basically no difference in intellectual
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
or cognitive functioning. Dr John Morgan
is a physician and clinical pharmacologist
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
at the City University of New York
Medical School His specialty is
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
the evaluation of illicit
drugs including marijuana.
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
I\'m interested in marijuana toxicity.
Umm… Because I would like to see
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
uh… the American people and
others be able to think about
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
the use of a substance that
has some risks and… and
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
but still can be thought of in a rational proper
fashion instead of an evangelical terrified one.
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
I\'m not interested interesting enough
in marijuana as a recreational drug
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
because (inaudible) my personal use of it
but all of these other things intrigue me.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
Dr. Morgan points to a recent survey
conducted by Harvard University
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
of one thousand leading
US cancer specialists.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
They asked these specialists
if they had heard of
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
uh… cannabis as an anti-nausea and as a
drug to prevent nausea and vomiting.
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
Umm… They asked them if they had ever recommended
to their patients and they asked them
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
if umm… they thought it should be
available. The outcome was quite surprising
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
I think to many people over
half of those respondents
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
umm… stated that they would like cannabis
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
to be available and that they would prescribe
it to their patients if it were available
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
and furthermore half of them said they had
already recommended it to their patients.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
The American government has
effectively prevented most research
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
in terms of marijuana particularly in… in
hopes of finding a therapeutic application.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
One could get funding for marijuana research if
one\'s interested in trying the drug as harmful.
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
Then there\'s uh… significant amounts of money
available and that constitutes most marijuana
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
research in United States. We\'re only
beginning to try to obtain funding
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
to do therapeutic marijuana trials.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
We\'re talking about one of the most valuable
medicines natural plant medicines in the world
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
marijuana good for
glycoma, epilepsy, asthma,
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
menstrual cramps, insomnia,
eating disorders, muscle spasms
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
and the… the pharmaceutical industry
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
is allowed to run propaganda
saying that it\'s no good.
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
And no one is presenting the other side of the
story we\'re the only source of information
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
about the benefits of the plan.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
Steve DeAngelo is editor of High
Times the only magazine in the world
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
devoted to challenging the
conventional view of marijuana
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
High times is the front lines of the
opposition against the drug war
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
and really what the government fears is
the… the information about marijuana
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
the real information about it. To a
certain extent we do glorify the plan
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
but at the same time we don\'t
want to mislead people.
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
Uh… Marijuana stimulates the learning
and uh… memory centers of your brain
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
it\'s a very sensitive part of your brain.
It\'s not something I think children
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
should be engaging in. Some
people abuse marijuana
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
you know if you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do
is roll a marijuana cigarette and you smoke marijuana all day long
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
unless there\'s a real medical
reason for you doing that,
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
then that\'s abuse.
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
Perhaps the most important thing to talk
about is that the drug can as other drugs
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
that into the brain affect behavior,
reflex time and perception
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
it\'s a mild intoxicant but
an intoxicant nonetheless
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
so that an individual who ingests it
may make mistakes he may be clumsy
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
uh… he probably should not drive
a car but I think it wrong
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
politically and morally that hundreds
of thousands of young people
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
are arrested for marijuana possession and I think the law
is a greater danger to them than the dangers of the drug.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
One of the few countries
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
to challenge the prohibition of
marijuana is the Netherlands.
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
Here in Holland the hemp fiber industry
is being revived by the government
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
which has invested more than fifteen million
dollars in researching non-drug varieties of hemp.
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
It\'s no coincidence this policy came about
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
in a country with Europe\'s most tolerant
attitude to the recreational use of marijuana.
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
We cannot win the war on drugs
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
and we don\'t want to
criminalize the uses of drugs
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
especially the uses of soft drugs.
In Holland we have… uh…
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
we have seen uh… no increase when we… uh…
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
we… we regulated soft drugs.
So as you\'re always to…
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
to uh… suspect politicians
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
making too much point
of this drug uh… issue.
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
(inaudible) is a senior agronomist
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
with the Dutch agricultural
technology organization.
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
He\'s among forty scientists who have spent
three years researching the viability of hemp
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
as a solution to a number of problems
caused by Holland\'s intensive agriculture.
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
I\'m… I\'m very enthusiastic about hemp
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
because hemp is a little bit
of a crop which has been
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
of declining importance for two or
three hundred years and it\'s very nice
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
to be able to help a revival
of such old and useful crop.
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
This is the seed little
things proteins and oil.
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
Proteins can be used as a food
stuff for humans or animals.
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
Uh… one month ago I was in
(inaudible) institute of the Ukraine
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
and my salad dressing was hemp
oil, and it can be used as a drier
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
for making paint or things like that.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
But the Dutch found hemp\'s greatest potential
in paper making and have been testing the fiber
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
using various pulping methods.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
In this process the raw fiber is placed
in a grinder where heat and pressure
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
pulverize it into a fine pulp.
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
The fiber is then mixed with water
in the scaled down demonstration
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
of the paper making process.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
As the water drains the fibers coalesce
producing a sheet of hemp pulp.
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:43.000
[sil.]
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
Anything made from wood pulp can be made
from hemp from cardboard to newspapers
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
from tissue to Bible paper.
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
Holland recycles an
impressive seventy percent
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
of its waste paper but the more paper
is recycled the weaker it becomes.
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
The inherent strength of hemp
fiber makes it an ideal pulp
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
to reinforce recycled papers.
It\'s a market niche
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
worth billions of dollars annually.
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
[sil.]
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
A saw miller\'s daughter Patsey Homson also
looks to hemp as a viable substitute for trees
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
in paper making. She sees it as a
potential savior of Tasmania\'s
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
fast disappearing old growth forests.
Dad went into the bush to get saw logs
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
everything was left intact
he couldn\'t uh… tell
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
where they had been to get the logs and the
undergrowth thrived and the animals thrived
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
and there was very little disturbance.
So the love of the forests was
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
a very very important starting point
for me and the next one was outrage
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
when I realized that in fact wood wasn\'t
the best material for making paper.
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
It\'s certainly been turned into a wonderful paper
about people who\'ve poured heaps of energy
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
and heaps of chemicals into it but
it is not a natural fiber for paper
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
and the base natural fibers are in
fact umm… annual farm crops like
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
and especially hemp and
(inaudible) I can\'t believe that
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
anyone could ban a plant that\'s absolutely
natural and… and wonderful and…
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
and put here for everyone to
use it with thousands of uses.
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
With the harvest of their third
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
experimental crop, Patsy is
determined to prove hemp can be used
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
as a replacement fiber in
Tasmania\'s massive pulp industry.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
Harvest is a family day with sons,
daughters and friends, all helping out.
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
Despite the crop\'s negligible THC content,
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
the drug squad insisted the flowering heads be
destroyed for fear they might be passed off
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
as high THC cannabis on the illegal market.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
Part of this crop is earmarked
for the research laboratories
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
of Australian newsprint mills. Australia\'s
largest supplier of newsprint paper.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
[sil.]
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
ANM consumes over half a million
tons of trees every year
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
but that\'s only a fraction of the nine million tons
felled in Australia annually for pulp and wood chips
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
in fact the timber in this
yard is only enough to fill
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
Australia\'s newsprint needs for one day.
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
With the controversy surrounding
the logging of old growth forests
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
ANM has recently moved to
plantations for its fiber import.
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
But Pine and Eucalypt pulps
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
need a stronger fiber to reinforce
them and the company spends
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
twenty million dollars each year importing
bales of cropped pulp made from spruce trees.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
This particular one comes from…
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
Ling Johnson ANM\'s technical manager believes
locally grown hemp may have the potential
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
to replace this expensive import. Fibers showing up
here now that you have to add that to the newsprint
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
to make it strong enough to handle.
Obviously hemp can
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
contribute to this sort of uh…
strength or that would be costing
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
pretty special treatment, and some special
equipment you know don\'t come… don\'t come cheap.
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
Well originally we wanted to see hemp thing
that would replace all grades of paper
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
but really we have to be realistic so we were
wondering if it could start off an industry
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
perhaps by replacing this very
expensive craft soft wood pulp
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
because of its extremely long fiber
and strength characteristics.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
Uh… believe me, it is possible and
this sort of material can be made
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
uh… a material somewhat like
this can be made from hemp
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
and it can be added to our pulp and it would be an asset. And
it would be an asset to Tasmania too by the way, wouldn\'t it?
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
Hmm… That would. Be… be great boom
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
While ANM has shown considerable interest
investigating hemp as an alternative to craft pulp,
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
their research is still
in its early stages.
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
The short term problem for hemp is
that global prices for wood pulp
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
are artificially low, making
competition difficult.
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
Many (inaudible) sustainably
and well it\'s a cheap way
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
uh… of cutting down natural forests
and replacing them with nothing
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
or with a tree plantations but it
means that in fact wood is too cheap
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
and the real environmental (inaudible)
in the price of pulp and wood.
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:08.000
[music]
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
When you pulp hemp you need
less uh… harmful chemicals
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
to obtain a similar quality done with the wood
from trees and I think the way to go forward
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
is to market hemp products using
these environmental advantages
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
trying to convince the consumer
that paper made from hemp
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
is worth more because it\'s less harmful.
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
That\'s exactly what English printer
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
and paper maker Peter Messenger has
done opening up a booming market
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
for his tree free papers. Peter can\'t
produce enough hemp paper to meet demand
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
but that\'s only because of a global
shortage of cannabis fiber for pulping.
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
It took a little while to uh…
find a source of hemp pulp.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
Umm… There are very few sources
available in the world and
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
it was in only in the summer of ninety one that we can
cross a source who agreed that they would supply us.
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
Uh… Since then we\'ve been making
batches of five tons at a time.
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
Umm…Which have found a ready market people have
seen the quality of the paper that we\'re making
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
and from what I\'ve seen and from what people told me it
is the best hemp based paper in the world at the moment.
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
Uh… This year we have
secured the sole agency
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
for the UK hemp crop for
paper and we will hopefully
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
be producing somewhere in the region of
two thousand tons of hemp base paper.
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
Since 1990 Australia has imported
over a billion dollars worth of
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
wood pulp and paper products every
year with the right development
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
many believe paper made from locally grown
hemp could replace many of these imports.
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
[sil.]
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
The state of Oregon in the north
western United States is home to
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
some of America\'s oldest redwood forests as well as some
of the country\'s biggest wood chip and fiber mills.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
[sil.]
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
Bill Condie owns the largest
Redwood lumber yard in the state.
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
He is convinced of hemp\'s potential not just
for paper but as a replacement for wood
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
in the massive building industry.
Uh… We are in the lumber industry
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
and have been for many years and they are
literally chewing up millions of acres of trees
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
for the fiber content of the tree and
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
the major portion of the trees are actually used
for fiber rather than for building materials
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
and we need to be able
to replace trees with..
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
With another product with something that
is sustainable. If we bring on hemp crop
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
as… as… as a fiber crop and start
growing it in a massive quantities
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
that we need it then the price of it will
come down and farmers will be able to sell it
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
uh… to the mills at a… at a price
that would be cheaper than wood
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
just give it a couple of years and the
price of hemp will be cheaper than wood
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
because it is… it\'s one hundred twenty day
crop as opposed to several hundred years no…
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
there\'s no comparison really isn\'t.
Bill\'s faith in the plants future
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
is backed up by these hemp particle boards
produced by his company by the highly regarded
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
wood products division of
Washington State University.
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
We made these boards which are world class.
These are as good as anything that they make
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
in any of the factories down here. We have
factories uh… here in the state of Oregon
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
one for instance down south
of here uh… uses a little
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
over seven hundred tons of fiber a day and
they sell three billion dollars a year
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
worth of this one product here and one
of the important things about this is…
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
is that we have these factories that are
set up all over the Pacific Northwest.
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
Some of them cost one hundred to one hundred
fifty million dollars to build these
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
it\'s very important that we be able to
continue to use this thing technology.
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
What… what we found by working with Washington
State University is that not only does
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
hemp work is a wood substitute make these wonderful boards
here that are just as good as anything made out of Douglas fir
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
and even better is that using
the exact same technology
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
that\'s in place today.
Washington State University
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
use the exact same technology that
they\'re using right now with wood chips
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
and it works. We have not
only proven that hemp works
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
but we have contacted and have
people that are in the industry
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
that are willing to now use
and would use hemp right now
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
if we could get it to them and we have
customers that would buy the product
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
the whole thing is there we need
only one last part of the puzzle
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
and that is to be able to grow
the hemp fiber here domestically
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
so that we can supply the mills. And the truth of
the matter is that\'s what we need to do worldwide
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
we need to grow hemp
worldwide and to supply
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
the fiber need of the planet
through annual fiber crops
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
rather than through cutting down
hundreds of year old trees.
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
Amongst the thousands of products made
from hemp one of the most extraordinary
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
is Henry Ford\'s plastic car, built in 1941
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
it contained cellulose
fibers derived from hemp,
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
sisal and wheat straw. The
plastic was lighter than steel
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
it could withstand ten times
the impact without denting.
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
[sil.]
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
Forgotten facts like these were revealed
by Jack Herer in his landmark 1986 book
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
The Emperor wears no clothes.
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
Today Jack continues his passionate crusade
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
spreading the word of hemps little known
benefits. The hemp seeds dissolve
00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
all the cholesterol or plaque in your arteries and we
made that illegal that\'s what our smart politicians.
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Now obviously they didn\'t know this information because
if they knew this information and made it illegal
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
then politicians would have to be jailed for being
criminally insane. Not many people in the world knew that
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
hemp was marijuana when I started
out in 1973 it was the news to me
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
I\'d heard that sort of thing called hemp but I… I never
really understood that and I never got any connotation
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
in my minds that bring pictures
of what that meant. And the hemp
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
is always been marijuana but
when the government out law it,
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
they didn\'t out law as hemp they out law
as marijuana. Mexican colloquialism,
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
a slang is low class word for marijuana and
they use as an official English language word
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
and they didn\'t even tell the
people they were outlying hemp.
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
It\'s legal in some countries to grow hemp
for fiber and in… in France all these woman
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
whose name is France Perrier Madame France Perrier,
she builds about three hundred houses a year
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
using hemp and cement lime
and she makes a thing
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
called (inaudible) and she mixes
the lime with hemp preserves
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
the leftover parts of the hemp plant after the fiber
has been extracted and hemp does this amazing thing
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
it turns to stone, it petrifies.
And so when you mix the lime…
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:45.000
lime in hemp preserves together you get something
stronger than cement at one sixth the weight.
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
[sil.]
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
Madame Perrier has had thousands of
prospective orders for her houses
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
from all over Europe but like so many others
she is held back only by the restrictions
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
on hemp production.
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
But hemp for paper and building
materials are just two aspects of
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
the plants rediscovered uses.
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
They may not be haute couture but all these
clothes have been made from cannabis fiber
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
and it\'s in the fashion and kickstart
markets that hemp is predicted
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
to make a highly profitable comeback.
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
[sil.]
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
These bales of hemp cloth are some of the first
to be imported into Australia from China
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
one of the few countries still
growing and weaving cannabis fabric
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
on any scale. So just make sure
you match with the right batch.
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
Hemp as many times harder
wearing than the toughest denim
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
yet the fabric can be just as
soft and comfortable as cotton.
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
Right this is the new pattern block we\'ve been working on,
which is one of the things I wanted to discuss with you.
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
Along with Melbourne fashion label
slam Andrew Katelaris has produced
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
a range of hemp jeans and street
wear, the first step in satisfying
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
a growing retail demand. Well,
this has been washed, 123 times…
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
120? 123 and… Let me tell people that it\'s
sort of made out of cannabis (inaudible)
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
people have no idea that it was ever used for garments
before that… I think it\'s a completely new thing
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
so when you tell them you know that even Levis
were made all from… from cannabis originally
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
they… they usually a fairly shocked
reaction to it. It\'s got a huge potential
00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
because it can be used in really high quality
umm… designer garments strike through to
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
umm… every day garments as well as
straight wear umm… day wear, everything.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
We\'ve had such a… we had a really really
good response and as far as selling
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
they are selling very very very well I mean
I can\'t put it this way we can\'t supply
00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
as much as we could sell.
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
In the sprawling plains of western New
South Wales Andrew Katelaris sees
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
the potential for a hemp industry that
could rival the massive cotton industry
00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
which is beset with environmental problems.
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
Andrew\'s views are backed
up by Hans Woldering
00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
a cotton grower and agronomist with
Australia\'s largest agricultural consultancy.
00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
We\'re… we\'re pretty happy with their cotton
gross margins and we really… we know the…
00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
Woldering estimates the gross margins of hemp
could be four times greater than cotton.
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
Spoke to a number of clients who are
irrigators, broad acre irrigators
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
and they are pretty excited about it
really. Will… will head out there tomorrow
00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
will (inaudible) see what they think. Good.
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
Well, we\'ve probably got the expertise to grow out
it really well Yeah we\'ve… we\'ve got good gear
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
and we\'re pretty efficient industry that
will take the cotton and (inaudible)
00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
are pretty efficient (inaudible) be quite a simple matter
to grow the stuff I don\'t think you having trouble
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
getting blokes to switch if you can so gross margin
say three or four times as much profit as cotton
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
or so events you have no problems
in getting people to grow it.
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
The cotton industry is one of the largest
consumers of agricultural chemicals in the world
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
while cotton profits are volatile,
strains on the environment
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
a growing with each crop.
00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
(inaudible) the pesticide issue. Uh… hemp will
be of benefit. Uh… A lot of irrigated crops
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
do have a fairly high
dependence on chemicals
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
and hemp it would appear as a very
low to nil requirement for chemicals
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
and a lot of farmers look forward to that
(inaudible) reduction in cost aspect
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
and also to reduce the chemical load on
their… their farms and on the environment.
00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:28.000
[music]
00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
There are various reasons
for the decline of
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
the hemp industry but the
only good reason now
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
that I can really think and it certainly
isn\'t a good reason that the only reason
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
must be that there are various
vested interests and…
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
and industries that exist today that do not
want to see the revival of a hemp industry
00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
because it completes it\'s a natural
and the synthetic companies
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
and the companies that are using nonrenewable
resources are not going to be too happy
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
with that sort of competition.
Some speculate it was precisely
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
these commercial fears as well as
the drug phobia that saw the plant
00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
prohibited in the first place.
By the mid 1930\'s
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
after years of decline the
cannabis industry was poised
00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
for a revival with new machines that could
make hemp production vastly more efficient.
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
Popular Mechanics predicted that hemp
could soon become a billion dollar crop
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
providing thousands of jobs and
supplying a vast range of products
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
from Dynamite to plastics. We
know that a machine was invented
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
that was the hemp what the cotton gin was the
cotton. Now when the cotton gin was invented
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
cotton went from being the most
expensive fiber in the world
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
worn by only rich people to the cheapest
fiber in the world worn by everybody.
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
Now if a machine was invented
it would have revolutionized
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
hemp the way the cotton gin did the cotton.
00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
Why is it those two months later
that this plant is made illegal?
00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
And is there a connection
between those two events.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
Some believe there was a connection at that
time the giant DuPont Chemical Corporation
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
was doing big business selling
chemicals to make paper from trees
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
it was also perfecting synthetics
it hoped would make natural fibers
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
redundant in textiles and cordage.
Jack Herer argues that
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
a revived hemp industry would have
encroached on DuPont\'s potential profits
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
DuPont came up with nylon and
nylon was going to be big
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
and they were gonna make everything out of it.
They build synthetic hemp, its synthetic linen
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
any time you want nylon you had to go to DuPont, any
time you want the plastic fiber you had to go to DuPont.
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
They had the hold on the world
and the world loved nylon.
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
Look watch here girls, nylon,
thousands of spools of nylon thread.
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
You guessed it all going in to stockings.
(inaudible) running night and day.
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
Gentlemen where ever seem
or lovely (inaudible).
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
[music]
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
Dupont\'s commercial interests would
not have been lost on Andrew Mellon,
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
Dupont\'s banker and head of the Mellon
Bank America\'s fifth the largest.
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
Mellon had not only lent Dupont
millions of dollars he was also
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
head of the US Treasury. In that capacity
he had appointed Harry Anslinger
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
as federal narcotics commissioner
the man who campaigned hardest
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
for national laws against hemp.
As it happened
00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
Mellon was more than Anslinger\'s boss.
He was in fact family
00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
because Anslinger had married his niece. This
apparent convergence of interests cannot be proven
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
but it makes for interesting speculation.
Dupont, Harry Anslinger,
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
Andrew Mellon I can\'t actually put him
in to the loop saying \"(inaudible)
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
lets have laws against marijuana\". But you can\'t take these
men, these men didn\'t know whose main competitor was
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
who could make no use for most of those chemicals Dupont was
buying. And if these men didn\'t know they would be ignorant
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
they would be so stupid gave the embarrassment
at any board meeting. so they did get away
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
with their competition which was hemp.
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
Those who believe hemps prohibition was
partly driven by commercial interests
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
point to the sudden about face by the
US government just five years later.
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
During the Second World War
with nylon manufacturing
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
still in its infancy America faced
a desperate shortage of cordage.
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
The government encouraged farmers to
grow hemp the same demon marijuana
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
for the war. Hemp for (inaudible)
ships, hemp for tackling gear,
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
Bread or shoes for millions
of American soldiers.
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
And parachute where being (inaudible)
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
hemp for victory.
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
[music]
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
By the end of the war hemp was no
longer needed as a strategic resource
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
now the military was called out against
its former ally. Marijuana is a weed
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
and it spreads like crabgrass once it goes to
seen but (inaudible) live up to the (inaudible)
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
they have the situation well in hand.
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
Actions like these marked the beginning
of the modern war on marijuana.
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
A war Harry Anslinger took to the United
Nations. As America\'s representative
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
on the UN drugs committee Anslinger
initiated a series of conventions
00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
to prohibit the plant world wide. You know you
can\'t get government aid from the United States
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
unless you have a plan in your country
to eradicate hemp. You know Bangladesh
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
bang means marijuana that\'s what it means
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
Bangladesh means marijuana
land people We went there
00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
and destroyed all the hemp in Bangladesh
is holding all those hillsides together
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
suddenly there\'s massive flooding all
over this country you know it\'s insane.
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
It\'s like it\'s a genocidal
war against the plant.
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
[music]
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
The prohibition of marijuana
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
has made it more valuable per ounce than
gold it supports vast criminal empires
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
and has made cannabis a multi-billion
dollar crop in the world economy
00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
for all the wrong reasons.
00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
The whole movement would be
overjoyed if we could separate
00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
non-THC hemp from marijuana.
That\'s a separate issue
00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
and they won\'t let us do that they won\'t and the
United States government will recognize that
00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
you can grow this plant without any drug
and so we can have paper made out of hemp,
00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
we can have clothes made out to hemp, we can produce it all
here in this country and the farmers can make the money
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
and we can have a whole industry based around hemp and it
won\'t have any THC and it wont have any recreational drug use
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
whatsoever but they won\'t
let us make that separation
00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
and I believe that\'s why that\'s
the evidence that the THC is
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
just the smokescreen and it\'s the hemp that they\'re
really concerned about. We haven\'t seen anybody yet
00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
come up with an answer to the forest crisis
00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
that says here\'s the way
to solve the problem.
00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
One group says stop cutting the trees the
other group says let\'s take them all down.
00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
And in the in between is trees are fiber hemp is fiber
it\'s as simple as that. Hemp is a far superior fiber.
00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
I believe if the induces for the
hemp, which are the paper or fiber
00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
and the ethanol induces are
successfully commercialized
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:20.000
uh… I think we could see hemp as a billion dollar
crop for the turn of the century for Australia.