Quotes

from Popular Mechanics, "Billion Dollar Crop", 1938 (four months after the enactment of The Marihuana Tax Stamp Act:

“Thousands of tons of hemp hurds are used every year by one large powder company for the manufacture of dynamite and TNT. The natural materials in hemp make it an economical source of pulp for any grade of paper manufactured, and the high percentage of alpha cellulose promises an unlimited supply of raw material for the thousands of cellulose products our chemists have developed.”

from The Marihuana Stamp Tax Act of 1937 and The Controlled Substance Act of 1970:

“The term marihuana means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds, or resin* -- but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.”

*"This Act will insure that (a) the availability of psychotropic substances for useful and legitimate medical and scientific purposes will not be unduly restricted; (b) nothing in the Convention will interfere with bona fide research activities; and (c) nothing in the Convention will interfere with ethical medical practice in this country as determined by the Secretary of Health, on the basis of a consensus of the views of the American medical and scientific community." (The Controlled Substance Act of 1970)

from The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, 1894:

“In regard to the physical effects, the Commission have come to the conclusion that the moderate use of hemp drugs is practically attended by no evil results at all. Speaking generally, the Commission are of opinion that the moderate use of hemp drugs appears to cause no appreciable physical injury of any kind. In regard to the alleged mental effects of the drugs, the Commission have come to the conclusion that the moderate use of hemp drugs produces no injurious effects on the mind, and no mental injury. In regard to the moral effects of the drugs, the Commission are of opinion that their moderate use produces no moral injury whatever. There is no adequate ground for believing that it injuriously affects the character of the consumer. Viewing the subject generally, it may be added that the moderate use of these drugs is the rule, and the excessive use is comparatively exceptional. The moderate use practically produces no ill effects. The injury from habitual moderate use is not appreciable. It has been the most striking feature of this inquiry to find how little the effects of hemp drugs have obtruded themselves on observation.”

from Plants of the Gods (Drs. Schultes & Hofmann):

“The partnership of Cannabis and man has existed now probably for ten thousand years- since the discovery of agriculture in the Old World. One of our oldest cultivars, Cannabis has been a five-purpose plant: as a source of hempen fibers; for its oil; for its seeds consumed by man for food; for its narcotic properties; and therapeutically to treat a wide spectrum of ills in folk medicine and in modern pharmacopoeias. Mainly because of its various uses, Cannabis has been taken to many regions around the world. We cannot know now which of the several uses of Cannabis was earliest.”

from Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia ©1994 (entry: "Marijuana"):

“Chronic marijuana users are said to develop an 'amotivational syndrome' characterized by passivity, decreased motivation, and preoccupation with drug taking. The relationship of this syndrome to marijuana use, however, has not been established. The effects on the intellect of the long-term use are unknown. Consistent evidence that marijuana induces or causes brain damage does not exist.”

from Australian Royal Commission (Non-Medicinal Use of Drugs), 1978:

“From its earliest recorded uses, cannabis has been important in commerce and warfare. Its fibrous stems have been used to make textiles, paper, ropes and bowstrings. Cannabis has been employed as a medicine and as a psychoactive drug for social and religious purposes. Cannabis seeds have been used as an ingredient in the manufacture of soap, lamp oil, paint and varnish, and as a birdseed. The earliest recorded use of cannabis occurred approximately 10,000 years ago. In relation to cannabis, the Commission dismissed the 'progression theory' and remarked that where cannabis users also consumed other illicit drugs, this was due to the illegal status of cannabis itself. The Commission found no evidence to support the view that cannabis was associated with a tendency towards aggression and violent crime. In addition, the Commission questioned some of the psychological and physiological ill effects attributed to cannabis, such as amotivational syndrome and psychosis. This Commission concluded that the evidence demonstrated most clearly how little injury society has hitherto sustained from hemp drugs.”

from United Kingdom Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence, 1968:

“Typically, the abuse of cannabis is periodic, but even during long and continuous administration, no evidence of the development of physical dependence can be detected. There is, in consequence no characteristic abstinence syndrome when use of the drug is discontinued. Whether administration of the drug is periodic or continuous, tolerance to its subjective and psychomotor effects has not been demonstrated. No unequivocal evidence is available that lasting mental changes are produced. Abuse of cannabis facilitates the association with social groups involved with more dangerous drugs. Transition to the use of such drugs would be a consequence of this association rather than an inherent effect of cannabis.”

from The Le Dain Commission of Inquiry (Canada), 1972:

“The short-term physiological effects of cannabis are usually slight and apparently have little clinical significance. Physiological hangovers are rare, even after considerable intoxication. Cannabis has little acute physiological toxicity. No deaths due directly to smoking or eating cannabis have been documented, and no reliable information exists regarding the lethal dose in humans. Having reviewed all the material available to us, we find ourselves in agreement with the conclusion reached by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission and the New York Mayor’s Committee on Marijuana, that the long-term consumption of cannabis in moderate doses has no harmful effects. There is definite evidence in this study that the marijuana users were not inferior in intelligence to the general population, and that they had suffered no mental or physical deterioration as a result of their use of this drug. It has been clearly established that the occasional use of hemp in moderate doses may be beneficial."

from The Report of the U.S. National Commission on Marijuana, 1972:

“ Marijuana has been used by man around the world for many centuries. Scientifically, more is known about marijuana’s effects than many other botanical substances used by man. Few consistent physiological effects are noted. No pathologic bodily changes have been conclusively demonstrated from acute use. The margins of safety between the effective dose and the toxic dose are quite large. No human fatalities have been caused by marijuana. Physical dependence has not been demonstrated. No objective evidence has been demonstrated that even very heavy, long –term hashish use causes organic brain damage. Objective studies of chronic, heavy smokers of potent preparations have not causally linked this drug with the amotivational syndrome. Almost all chronic, heavy hashish smokers are indistinguishable from their peers in social behavior, work performance, mental status and overall life style.”

from The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs:

“No successful effort to suppress marijuana use has been found in a review of the historical literature for this report.”