Was hemp illegalized because it came from marijuana plants? Well, that wasn’t the reason.

William Hearst illegalized hemp because hemp was a valuable resource. It can make paper and clothing and other necessities. Hearst didn’t want hemp to be used as paper because then the paper manufacturers would lose money, so he decided to illegalize it.

It was a terrible decision because hemp is good for the environment and should be used as paper and clothing.

Hearst did a lot of bad things. He was racist, and he supposedly shot someone — Thomas Ince — because he saw him messing around with Marion Davies. Since he was rich and owned a newspaper, he had them say Ince died of a heart attack. No one knows exactly what happened.

So, when you go to Hearst Castle and watch the film there — which is the cheesiest film ever — remember that everything about Hearst is extremely biased.

— Kelly Biswell is a 12-year-old Santa Barbara Charter School student.