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Screw the lobbyist excuse, screw the tax excuse. Neither are even inside the picture frame. The excuse of politics can come into play more so when Nixon hit office but that is much latter in the history of drugs and alcohol.
History shows that alcohol was made illegal well before marijuana, cocaine, heroin, opium, morphine, and well just about everything else. This was also done via a constitutional amendment since that was the only legal way to ban something as the Government itself at that time did not interfere with states rights, where prohibited to by the constitution, and really did not want to.
For awhile the economy was going great shit was flowing into the docks and the migrant and black dock workers were being paid, out west crops were doing well along with constructions and we as a country were begging Mexico to send more workers. (this is a short story)
Boom - economy collapses.
Dock workers were often given or encouraged to use cocaine as it increased productivity and hours worked. Well the blacks were taking up jobs honest white folks could have yet never wanted before aside from the other migrants. Target enabled - cocaine. Eventually taxation and prevention of it being allowed in mail order remedies. Though for awhile whites could still get it via doctors. This one was race related with the economy as an excuse.
Out west they also needed these damn labor stealing Mexicans that we as a country couldn't import enough of out of our country ASAP. Low and behold it was shown that they rather enjoyed smoking the marijuana plant. Now nobody wanted to go after a damn weed that was growing everywhere so they (the Government fought hard saying state rights, states begged otherwise). Eventually when the FBI found out that Hearst was very anti drugs he went gung ho on fighting marijuana and deporting Mexicans.
It boiled down both time to race issues and the economy.
Eventually Nixon will use it as a political weapon after he learns that many of his protesters and college aged enemies used drugs. It was near impossible to stop freedom of speech but you can lock up a drug user.
As a historical side note since we did mention lobbyist. When the short meeting occurred about making it illegal only one industry objected and they maintained their rights. The fabric industry now had other fabrics so they did not care, paper industry was fine, the paint industry had other oils they could easily substitute for, but alas the bird seed companies said no other seeds gave birds feathers such a shine and they got their exemptions no questions asked.
Hell this really is to long of a topic.
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