SECOND MARIJUANA PAPER:
William Randolph Hearst had a vested interest in protecting the pulp industry. He owned enormous timber acreage and hemp could put his paper-manufacturing division out of business and ruin his land value. He slanted the news to protect his investments. He led a yellow journalism campaign to outlaw hemp. As example, a car accident in which marijuana was found dominated the headlines for weeks, while alcohol-related accidents (outnumbering marijuana over 1,000 to one) made the back pages. Hearst popularized the word “marijuana” to introduce fear of the unknown to create a useable hysteria. (more…)