The Act was not solely driven by greed, but it was also influenced by the personal interests of individuals in power. Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury at the time, had a significant financial interest in the criminalization of marijuana. Mellon was heavily invested in the DuPont chemical company, which had recently developed a new synthetic fiber, nylon. Nylon posed a threat to the hemp industry, which was a major competitor of DuPont.