The Great Hemp Conspiracy Part 3 | Cannabis in the Industrial Age: Anslinger, DuPont & Hearst: The Power Players
Cannabis in the Industrial Age: Part 3 – Anslinger, DuPont & Hearst: The Power Players Part 3 of The Great Hemp Conspiracy By the early 1930s, the industrial hemp industry faced powerful opposition. Key figures emerged whose financial and political influence would shape the future of cannabis in America. Among them were Harry Anslinger , DuPont , William Randolph Hearst , and their backer, Andrew Mellon , the Treasury Secretary and major DuPont investor. Anslinger’s Job Security Crisis When Prohibition ended in 1933 , Anslinger was suddenly out of a job. The government needed to reassign capable administrators, and Anslinger leveraged connections to secure a position enforcing narcotics laws. This personal career pressure made him an eager participant in campaigns that criminalized cannabis, positioning him as a loyal servant to the interests of the elite. DuPont & Industrial Interests At the same time, DuPont had invested heavily in synthetic alternatives to hem...