The laws in the US that outlawed cannabis in the 1930s were heavily pushed by Henry Anslinger who was doing the work of newspaper and lumber mogul William Randolph Hearst. One of the wealthiest men in the country at the time.
It lead to 80+ years of senseless prohibition that included industrial hemp products with only trace THC (you’d die of smoke inhalation before getting a meaningful high).
So wood might not have had a monopoly, but hemp was legitimate competition that was intentionally boxed out for nearly 100 years. That’s quite the head start.
And not just paper. Automobiles almost ran on hemp oil.
The laws in the US that outlawed cannabis in the 1930s were heavily pushed by Henry Anslinger who was doing the work of newspaper and lumber mogul William Randolph Hearst. One of the wealthiest men in the country at the time.
It lead to 80+ years of senseless prohibition that included industrial hemp products with only trace THC (you’d die of smoke inhalation before getting a meaningful high).
So wood might not have had a monopoly, but hemp was legitimate competition that was intentionally boxed out for nearly 100 years. That’s quite the head start.
And not just paper. Automobiles almost ran on hemp oil.