The Current Federal Government on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Hemp Compared to the Founding Fathers

In Washington state, you have the governor babysitting the people, prohibiting them from drinking two legal substances, caffeine and alcohol together. She has pulled malted energy beer drinks off the shelves after some underage drinking went bad, forgetting that most people consume alcoholic beverages responsibly and these students were guilty of binge drinking.

In Washington, DC, the federal government doesn't think you understand the dangers of cigarettes. So they are spending your tax dollars to come up with a plan to force tobacco companies to put bigger warnings on their packaging. The warnings must cover half the packaging area, because Americans are just too stupid at this point to realize cigarettes cause health problems and the federal government someone has been misguided in believing they are the babysitter of the people.

Yet, marijuana laws are being eased across the country. It's really a fascinating dichotomy in the direction of our country, isn't it.

What's ironic about it is, the founders of this country produced all three. Rum, tobacco, and even growing hemp (marijuana) was all important aspects in the founding of this country. It's really interesting how the federal government has treated all three products despite the significance of these products to the colonies.

Whether the founders smoke marijuana is unknown, but they did use it for paper. President George Washington wrote a letter that contained an oblique reference to what may have been hashish. "The artificial preparation of hemp, from Silesia, is really a curiosity." 38 Washington made specific written references to Indian hemp, or cannabis indica, and hoped to "have disseminated the seed to others. " 39 His August 7, 1765 diary entry, "began to separate the male from the female (hemp) plants," describes a harvesting technique favored to enhance the potency of smoking cannabis, among other reasons. 40 Hemp farmer Thomas Jefferson and paper maker Ben Franklin were ambassadors to France during the initial surge of the hashish vogue. Their celebrity status and progressive revolutionary image afforded them ample opportunities to try new experiences. Jefferson smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to America. Both Jefferson and Washington grew hemp in fields which are now national landmarks.

In terms of alcohol, one of Benjamin Franklin's most loved quote is, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." As well, as many people believe Sam Adams was a brewer, thanks to the brewing company in New England, Adams and his family actually owned a malt shop, where the malt to produce beer was produced. Of course, Rum was a staple of colonial life in early America. Rum production quickly New England's top manufacturing business and it was one of the reasons, King George pushed the Sugar Act of 1764.

Then of course tobacco was a cash crop in Virginia and Carolina. By 1670, half a million pounds of tobacco was shipped to Europe from the colonies.

The truth is, as the federal government now over regulates all three of these products, all three played an important role in the American revolution by producing wealth for the colonies and income for the young country. The dichotomy is apparent. While I am not advocating the use of any of these three products, I just find the contradictions between the current government and the founding fathers should be pointed out.