Production of the hemp plant by American citizens was encouraged by the government as early as the 1700's for the production of rope and other goods (Miron). But in 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act went into effect (Miron). The law criminalized marijuana, restricting the possession to only individuals who paid an extreme tax for authorized medical use. 1937, the year the tax came into play, was coincidentally the same year that the Decorticater machine was invented (Miron). This machine would have been able to take over competing industries in a flash. Not to mention that it was predicted that marijuana would be America's first billion dollar crop. But a company called DuPont developed nylon just before the Decorticater machine was developed and had a huge influence on Congress's decision on making the hemp crop illegal. Nylon was just as strong as the hemp rope, and more cost efficient, but with the new machine, producing clothing, hemp rope and other products would be substantially cheaper. The man who proposed the idea of the Marijuana Tax Law was not surprisingly the CEO of DuPont, and his company would most likely have gone out of business had hemp not become illegal. Sure enough, he was married to the niece of a woman who was Treasury Secretary so they fought together to save the company (Miron). The harvesting of hemp boosted the economy and gave jobs to many people. If marijuana became legal today, it would also boost the economy and give jobs to thousands of people if not millions. In 1975, cannabis supporters around the U.S. celebrated a victory as Alaska decriminalized the use and possession of small amounts of weed (Miron). During those fifteen years after becoming legalized, Alaskan residents voted to recriminalize the substance. But during those fifteen years Alaska prospered and its economy was the highest it had been in years. But the DEA stated that the reason for recriminalization was that teenagers used marijuana at twic