Did you know that the “Marihuana Tax Act" was enacted on August 2, 1937 by Congress but was repealed by Congress in 1970? Although U.S. hemp industry production had fallen to record lows before the Act is seen as the effort of Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family to squash an industry that threatened their timber, newspaper, and financial interests. Cannabis was the term used at the time when doctors, supported by the American Medical Association, prescribed it to their patients and “marihuana” (now “marijuana”) was a new term. The act did not ban marijuana, it just imposed a tax. In the early 40s, the U.S. government encouraged hemp production during the war.
