"Hemp for Victory" would usually be a typical hokey propaganda film from WWII, but its focus on Cannabis sativa makes it a surprise. Yes, that plant that the government spent years telling us was a dangerous drug gets full praise here. The short looks at hemp's numerous usages, emphasizing its potential to help us win the war. If only all those drug warriors had watched this short. As it stands, mass arrests for non-violent drug offenses have given the US the highest prison population on Earth, devastating entire communities in the process, while turning Mexico into a near failed state. This is especially ironic since George Washington grew hemp and called for mass cultivation thereof. Even Bill Clinton and Barack Obama admit to having smoked marijuana.
So, although this is a rather hokey short, it stands in stark contrast to the laughable "Reefer Madness" (which only succeeded in making marijuana look fun). The ban on marijuana was Dupont's handiwork, since they didn't want anyone to have an alternate way to make paper. Moreover, it was mostly African-Americans and Mexican-Americans smoking marijuana, so there was a racial element to the ban. Billie Holliday became one of the feds' main targets. Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" philosophy culminated in the 1990 PSA "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" (in which Garfield, the Smurfs, Bugs Bunny, etc band together to save a boy from a life of addiction; the PSA got everything wrong). Well, Colorado, Oregon and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana and it's served their economies well. Bob Marley said that "herb" is meant to get smoked. Susan Sarandon recalled reading scripts while high. Willie Nelson once said something to the effect of "Sure, I'll go to jail for smoking it. And when I get out I'll smoke some more of it."
Anyway, it's nothing great, but an interesting look at the changing attitudes towards hemp.