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43-581: Regulations and restrictions on the sale of Cannabis sativa as a drug began as early as 1906 (see Legal history of cannabis in the United States ). The head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), Harry J. Anslinger , alleged, in the 1930s, the FBN had an increase of reports of people using marijuana. In 1935, he gained the support of president Franklin D. Roosevelt lobbying states to adoption

86-625: A Permanent Central Opium Board, a body partly linked to the League of Nations . The 1925 Convention provided for the setting up of a Permanent Central Opium Board (PCOB). It started operating in 1928. Although a treaty-mandated body, theoretically independent from the League of Nations , it became partially-integrated into the structure of the League . The PCOB was first known as the Permanent Central Opium Board, then as

129-562: A Second International Opium Conference was convened in Geneva. On this occasion, a second International Opium Convention (the International Convention relating to Dangerous Drugs or 1925 Opium Convention ) was signed at Geneva on 19 February 1925. It went into effect on 25 September 1928, and was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on the same day. It introduced a statistical control system to be supervised by

172-440: A complex aroma that is highly dependent on concentration. A Cannabis plant in the vegetative growth phase of its life requires more than 16–18 hours of light per day to stay vegetative. Flowering usually occurs when darkness equals at least 12 hours per day. The flowering cycle can last anywhere between seven and fifteen weeks, depending on the strain and environmental conditions. When the production of psychoactive cannabinoids

215-550: A fiber competitive with silk and rayon . The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the taxation because the tax was imposed on physicians prescribing cannabis, retail pharmacists selling cannabis, and medical cannabis cultivation /manufacturing. The AMA proposed cannabis instead be added to the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act which would have been more efficient and created less burden on doctors. Dr. William Creighton Woodward , legislative counsel for

258-630: A handful of people are registered under the Act. It has become, in effect, solely a criminal law, imposing sanctions upon persons who sell, acquire, or possess marijuana." In 1969 in Leary v. United States , part of the Act was ruled to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Fifth Amendment , since a person seeking the tax stamp would have to incriminate him/herself. In response the Congress passed

301-534: A paper, USDA Bulletin No. 404 "Hemp Hurds as Paper-Making Material", in which they concluded this paper from the woody inner portion of the hemp stem broken into pieces, the 'hemp hurds', was "favorable in comparison with those used with pulp wood". Dewey and Merrill believed hemp hurds were a sustainable source for paper production. The concentration of cellulose in hemp hurds is generally around 35%. Manufacture of paper -- on equipment designed to use wood-pulp -- with hemp as

344-454: A raw material shows hemp lacks the qualities needed to become a major competitor to the traditional paper industry. 2003, 95% of the hemp hurds in the EU were used for animal bedding, almost 5% were used as building material. Spokespersons from DuPont and many fiber manufacturers dispute a link between their promotion of nylon over hemp. They explain that the purpose of developing nylon was to produce

387-497: Is cannabidiol (CBD), which is not psychoactive but has recently been shown to block the effect of THC in the nervous system. Differences in the chemical composition of Cannabis varieties may produce different effects in humans. Synthetic THC, called dronabinol , does not contain cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), or other cannabinoids, which is one reason why its pharmacological effects may differ significantly from those of natural Cannabis preparations. Beside cannabinoids,

430-429: Is also used as a recreational drug and for religious and spiritual purposes . The flowers of Cannabis sativa plants are most often either male or female, but, only plants displaying female pistils can be or turn hermaphrodite. Males can never become hermaphrodites. It is a short-day flowering plant, with staminate (male) plants usually taller and less robust than pistillate (female or male) plants. The flowers of

473-404: Is an annual herbaceous flowering plant . The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The specific epithet sativa means 'cultivated'. Indigenous to Eastern Asia , the plant is now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history and used as a source of industrial fiber , seed oil , food , and medicine . It

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516-600: Is hostile to most bacteria and fungi. Tissue culture multiplication has become important in producing medically important clones, while seed production remains the generally preferred means of multiplication. Sativa plants have narrow leaves and grow best in warm environments. They do, however, take longer to flower than their Indica counterparts, and they grow taller than the Indica cannabis strains as well. Broadly, there are three main cultivar groups of cannabis that are cultivated today: A nominal if not legal distinction

559-412: Is often made between industrial hemp, with concentrations of psychoactive compounds far too low to be useful for that purpose, and marijuana . Cannabis sativa seeds are chiefly used to make hempseed oil which can be used for cooking, lamps, lacquers, or paints. They can also be used as caged-bird feed, as they provide a source of nutrients for most animals. The flowers and fruits (and to a lesser extent

602-439: Is sought, female plants are grown separately from male plants to induce parthenocarpy in the female plant's fruits (popularly called "sin semilla" which is Spanish for "without seed" ) and increase the production of cannabinoid -rich resin. In soil, the optimum pH for the plant is 6.3 to 6.8. In hydroponic growing, the nutrient solution is best at 5.2 to 5.8, making Cannabis well-suited to hydroponics because this pH range

645-771: The Controlled Substances Act as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 , which repealed the 1937 Act. Although the spelling "marijuana" is common in current use, the spelling used in the Marihuana Taxation Act is "marihuana". "Marihuana" was the spelling used in Federal documents at the time. In addition, the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 legitimized the use of

688-800: The Du Pont family . The same parties argue that with the invention of the decorticator , hemp was an economical replacement for paper pulp in the newspaper industry. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst realized cheap, sustainable, and easily-grown hemp threatened his extensive timber holdings. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in the US, invested heavily in the Du Pont family's new synthetic fiber, nylon , to compete with hemp. 1916, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) chief scientists Jason L. Merrill and Lyster H. Dewey created

731-647: The Internal Revenue Code of 1954 was enacted, and the Marihuana Taxation Act was included in Subchapter A of Chapter 39 of the 1954 Code. Shortly after the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act went into effect on October 1, 1937, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Denver City police arrested Moses Baca for possession and Samuel Caldwell for dealing. Baca and Caldwell's arrest made them the first marijuana convictions under U.S. federal law for not paying

774-539: The International Opium Convention from 1928 included cannabis as a drug not a medicine. All state legislatures approved laws against improper use of cannabis based on the model Uniform State Narcotic Act . By 1951, however, spokespeople from Du Pont, Hearst and others came up with new improved rationalizations, and the Boggs Act superseded the Marihuana Taxation Act of 1937. In August 1954,

817-465: The Netherlands , Persia , Portugal , Russia , and Siam . The convention provided, "The contracting Powers shall use their best endeavours to control, or to cause to be controlled, all persons manufacturing, importing, selling, distributing, and exporting morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts, as well as the buildings in which these persons carry such an industry or trade." The convention

860-900: The Permanent Central Narcotics Board . It is sometimes referred to as Permanent Central Board . In 1931 the Board was supplemented by the creation of another organ under the " Limitation Convention ": the Drug Supervisory Body (" Organe de Contrôle ") which, together with the PCOB, was eventually merged onto the International Narcotics Control Board in 1968. Egypt , with support from Italy and South Africa , recommended that measures of control be extended beyond opium and cocaine derivatives, to hashish . A sub-committee

903-405: The diurnal light cycle can alter sexual expression. Naturally occurring monoecious plants, with both male and female parts, are either sterile or fertile; but artificially induced " hermaphrodites " can have fully functional reproductive organs. "Feminized" seed sold by many commercial seed suppliers are derived from artificially "hermaphroditic" females that lack the male gene, or by treating

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946-527: The AMA, testified on behalf of the AMA. He stated that the claims about marijuana addiction, violence, and overdosage were not supported, and that the law should not burden further investigation into medical use. After hearings with lawyers from Du Pont Chemicals and the Hearst Newspapers Group, the taxation was passed on the grounds of 'differing' reports and hearings. Anslinger also referred to

989-466: The Marihuana Tax Act, 400,000 acres (1,600 km) were cultivated with hemp between 1942 and 1945. The last commercial hemp fields were planted in Wisconsin in 1957. In 1967, President Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice opined, "The Act raises an insignificant amount of revenue and exposes an insignificant number of marijuana transactions to public view, since only

1032-471: The United States, "smoked like tobacco", and called "ganjah", or "ganja". The only authoritative voice that opposed Anslinger 's campaign against cannabis was that of New York Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia , who appointed in 1938 a commission of investigation, and in 1944 strongly objected to Anslinger's campaign with the La Guardia Committee . Cannabis sativa Cannabis sativa

1075-471: The chemical constituents of Cannabis include about 120 compounds responsible for its characteristic aroma . These are mainly volatile terpenes and sesquiterpenes . A 1980 study identifying constituents of C. sativa established 19 major chemical families (number of chemicals within group): Cannabis also produces numerous volatile sulfur compounds that contribute to the plant's skunk-like aroma, with Prenylthiol (3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol) identified as

1118-431: The citrus and tropical flavors of hops , beer , wine , and tropical fruits. In addition to volatile sulfur compounds, the heterocyclic compounds indole and skatole (3-Methyl-1 H -indole) contribute to the chemical or savory aromas of certain varieties. Skatole in particular was identified as a key contributor to this scent. This compound is found in mammalian feces and is used in the perfuming industry. It possesses

1161-577: The constitutionality of the National Firearms Act, insofar as it related to the occupational tax." The total production of hemp fiber in the United States in 1933 decreased to around 500 tons per year. Cultivation of hemp began to increase in 1934 and 1935, but production remained low compared with other fibers. Interested parties write that the aim of the Act was to reduce the hemp industry through excessive taxation largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon , Randolph Hearst , and

1204-684: The discussions initiated in Shanghai. The International Opium Convention (or 1912 Opium Convention ) which was signed at the end of the Hague Conference, on 23 January 1912, is considered as the first international drug control treaty . It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 23, 1922. The treaty was signed by Germany , the United States , China , France , the United Kingdom , Italy , Japan ,

1247-423: The female plant are arranged in racemes and can produce hundreds of seeds. Male plants shed their pollen and die several weeks prior to seed ripening on the female plants. Under typical conditions with a light period of 12 to 14 hours, both sexes are produced in equal numbers because of heritable X and Y chromosomes . Although genetic factors dispose a plant to become male or female, environmental factors including

1290-680: The first International Opium Convention signed at The Hague in 1912, or to the second International Opium Convention signed at Geneva in 1925. In 1909, a 13-nation International Opium Commission was held in Shanghai , in response to increasing criticism of the opium trade and to the Opium Wars . A few years later, in 1912, the First International Opium Conference was convened in The Hague to continue

1333-541: The growth and education of medical and recreational cannabis. Organizations and companies operating in cannabis markets have pushed education and marketing of terpenes in their products as a way to differentiate taste and effects of cannabis. The entourage effect , which describes the synergy of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other plant compounds, has also helped further awareness and demand for terpenes in cannabis products. International Opium Convention The expression International Opium Convention refers either to

Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1376-487: The importation and stating that the shipment was required "exclusively for medical or scientific purposes." It also required Parties to "exercise an effective control of such a nature as to prevent the illicit international traffic in Indian hemp and especially in the resin." These restrictions still left considerable leeway for countries to allow production, internal trade, and use of cannabis for recreational purposes. After

1419-671: The leaves, stems, and seeds) contain psychoactive chemical compounds known as cannabinoids that are consumed for recreational, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. When so used, preparations of flowers and fruits (called marijuana ) and leaves and preparations derived from resinous extract (e.g., hashish ) are consumed by smoking, vaporising, and oral ingestion. Historically, tinctures , teas , and ointments have also been common preparations. In traditional medicine of India in particular cannabis sativa has been used as hallucinogenic, hypnotic, sedative , analgesic , and anti-inflammatory agent. Terpenes have gained public awareness through

1462-649: The marijuana tax. Judge Foster Symes sentenced Baca to 18 months and Caldwell to four years in Leavenworth Penitentiary for violating the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. After the Philippines fell to Japanese forces in 1942, the Department of Agriculture and the US Army urged farmers to grow fiber hemp . Tax stamps for cultivation of fiber hemp began to be issued to farmers. Without any change in

1505-641: The model Uniform State Narcotic Act to regulate of cannabis. The Marihuana Tax Act, according to Clinton Hester, the then-Assistant General Counsel to the United States Treasury Department, was itself based on the National Firearms Act and the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act : "The primary purpose of this legislation must be to raise revenue, because we are resorting to the taxing clause of the Constitution and

1548-399: The plants with hormones or silver thiosulfate . Although the main psychoactive constituent of Cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant is known to contain more than 500 compounds, among them at least 113 cannabinoids ; however, most of these "minor" cannabinoids are only produced in trace amounts. Besides THC, another cannabinoid produced in high concentrations by some plants

1591-777: The primary odorant. These compounds are found in much lower concentrations than the major terpenes and sesquiterpenes. However, they contribute significantly to the pungent aroma of cannabis due to their low odor thresholds as often seen with thiols or other sulfur-containing compounds. A number of specific aromatic compounds have been implicated in variety-specific aromas. These include another class of volatile sulfur compounds, referred to as tropical volatile sulfur compounds, that include 3-mercaptohexanol, 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, and 3-mercaptohexyl butyrate. These compounds possess powerful and distinctive fruity, tropical, and citrus aromas in low concentrations such as those found in certain cannabis varieties. These compounds are also important in

1634-746: The rule is that if on the face of the fill it appears to be a revenue bill, the courts will not inquire into any other motives that the Congress may have had in enacting this legislation. This bill is modeled on the Harrison Narcotics Act and the National Firearms Act. The Harrison Narcotics Act has been sustained by the Supreme Court, the first time by a 5-to-4 decision, and a second time by a 6-to-3 decision. The Supreme Court in March of this year [in Sonzinsky v. United States] sustained

1677-472: The same manner as other narcotics, may not be produced, sold, traded in, etc., under any circumstances whatsoever. India and other countries objected to this language, citing social and religious customs and the prevalence of wild-growing cannabis plants that would make it difficult to enforce. A compromise was made that banned exportation of Indian hemp to countries that have prohibited its use, and requiring importing countries to issue certificates approving

1720-599: The second world war, the two Opium Conventions were amended to transfer the mandates and functions of the League of Nations and the Office international d'hygiène publique to the United Nations and World Health Organization . Eventually, both the 1912 and the 1925 Conventions were superseded by the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs which merged the Permanent Central Opium Board and

1763-502: The term "marijuana" as a label for hemp and cannabis plants and products in the US and around the world. Prior to 1937, "marijuana" was slang; it was not included in any official dictionaries. The word marijuana is probably of Mexican origin. Mexico passed prohibition for export to the US in 1925 following the International Opium Convention. In the years leading up to the taxation act, it was in common use in

Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1806-492: Was created, and proposed the following text: The use of Indian hemp and the preparations derived therefrom may only be authorized for medical and scientific purposes. The raw resin (charas), however, which is extracted from the female tops of the cannabis sativa L, together with the various preparations (hashish, chira, esrar, diamba, etc.) of which it forms the basis, not being at present utilized for medical purposes and only being susceptible of utilisation for harmful purposes, in

1849-465: Was implemented in 1915 by the United States, Netherlands, China, Honduras , and Norway . It went into force globally in 1919, when it was incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles . The primary objective of the convention was to introduce restrictions on exports; it did not entail any prohibition or criminalisation of the uses and cultivation of opium poppy , the coca plant , or cannabis . In 1925,

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