Industrial hemp finally being legalized !

Hemp used to be a staple crop across the American countryside, but fell out of favor in the 1930s and 1940s when it got swept up in a national marijuana crackdown. While the two have a biological connection, the hemp plant grown for its fibers and oils contains only trace levels of the chemical in the cannabis plant that induces the psychoactive high for marijuana users.

At least 20 states have legalized industrial hemp production under prescribed limitations and that is commonly tied to research activities, according to National Conference of State Legislatures data. Few are as ambitious as Kentucky where Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said last month his goal was to make the state “synonymous with hemp like Idaho with potatoes.” There, 121 hemp research projects have been approved for plant growth on more than 1,700 total acres.

In neighboring Tennessee, 46 producers have begun growing the crop after the state received federal clearance to import seeds this spring, said Corinne Gould, spokeswoman for Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture.

A once-banished crop could soon sprout legally again in select Minnesota farm fields: hemp plants that lead to oils, lotions, seeds, rope fibers and other industrial uses.

Minnesota lawmakers approved the “Industrial Hemp Development Act” this month, making theirs the latest among an expanding network of states to reconsider the commodity potential of the cannabis cousin to marijuana. But don’t bet on a sudden hemp boom because federal restrictions on cultivation and sales are prompting a cautious approach from Minnesota regulators.

(Hemp for Victory 1942)

Hemp For Victory

hemp

Obama’s War on Pot

Photo courtesy of Coral Reefer [ link ]

In a shocking about-face, the administration has launched a government-wide crackdown on medical marijuana

Oaksterdam, a dispensary owned by legendary activist Richard Lee, was raided Monday morning by Federal DEA agents. Lee began using marijuana to ease his back pain after suffering a spinal injury at age 27. He and others like him have revolutionized the industry by using hydroponic techniques to grow marijuana safely, onsite and in compliance with state law. The Justice Department has been cracking down on California’s dispensaries and growers since October. Over the past year, the Obama administration has unleashed a multiagency crackdown on medical cannabis that goes far beyond anything undertaken in the past. The feds are busting growers who operate in full compliance with state laws, vowing to seize the property of anyone who dares to even rent to legal pot dispensaries, and threatening to imprison state employees responsible for regulating medical marijuana. It’s true that California has no shortage of illegal pot growers and the statute that allows for medical marijuana was poorly written. However, the state still has the right to pass laws and the power of jurisdiction. The Federal Government is overstepping it’s bounds and violating the sovereignty of the state when it repeals these laws and imposes it’s own jurisdiction.

Mary Jane

Anti anxiety

The complaint I most frequently hear from former pot smokers of my generation (those who came-of-age during the 60’s and 70’s) ..is that smoking marijuana makes them feel nervous. Some describe it as so intense, it borders on paranoia. Consequently they quit and never came back. In the day, little was known about cultivating for the psychoactive effects of marijuana.

The times they are a’ changing. A new breed of cultivator has revolutionized the field. They can grow sophisticated varietals with a range of psychoactive properties. “The THC component is the same ..it is the mixture of other elements that play a vital role in changing the psychoactive effect.” Two decades ago, most marijuana smokers bought whatever their dealer had. It was illegal even for research purposes. Consequently nothing was known about marijuana other than its THC content.

One of these newly found elements is a compound called Cannabidoil or CBD. It’s responsible for the calming and pain relieving effects found in medicinal marijuana. Takes the buzz off THC so to speak. CBD is also helpful in treating a range of problems, including arthritis, the side effects of chemotherapy, asthma, sleep disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder [ link ]. CBD is measured in grams. Your local dispensary should carry varieties containing different amounts of CBD .. 0.35 grams being considered ‘good’.

21st century

Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming / Saying something about a queen / There were peasants singing and drummers drumming / And the archer split the tree / There was a fanfare blowing to the sun / That was floating on the breeze / Look at Mother Nature on the run / In the twenty first century

Photo of ~> [ Coral Reefer ]

wanted: god

how long the madness?

Rocky Mountain High

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

(cbsnews.com)

Yesterday, in Breckenridge Colorado, 72 percent of voters in early returns voted to make up to 1 ounce of marijuana legal for adults over 21. The measure is largely symbolic — pot possession is still against state law — but supporters said they wanted to send a message to local law enforcement to stop busting small-time pot smokers.

"We believe this a signal to the state of Colorado and the nation as a whole," said Sean McAllister, a Breckenridge lawyer who pushed the decriminalization measure. McAllister said the vote shows people want to skip medical marijuana and legalize pot for everyone. They're saying, We've seen this drug war, and it has failed.

A few other cities, including Seattle and Oakland, have laws that make marijuana possession a low priority for police. A dozen states, including Colorado, have decriminalized possession of small amounts but still issue fines. Denver approved a similar decriminalization in 2005. (usatoday.com)

Last September the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling that allows adults aged 21 and older to use and possess up to four ounces of marijuana in the privacy of their homes, and not just for medical use.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for an open debate on legalizing and taxing marijuana. A recent Field Poll showed that 56 percent of Californians support taxing and regulating marijuana as a way to address the state's fiscal crisis.

James P. Gray, a retired Orange County Superior Court judge, applauded Schwarzenegger's openness. "Once people allow themselves to discuss the issue of treating marijuana like alcohol, the result is pre-ordained. Today marijuana is fully available for anyone that wants it, expressly including our children, so why not regulate and control it, and tax it as well? That will reduce the violence in its distribution, and bring in needed revenue for government," Gray, now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, told the Huffington Post.

Prison Planet

The United States has 4.6% of the worlds population and nearly 25% of the worlds prisoners......what's wrong with this picture?

In 1983 Corrections Corporation of America founded the private corrections industry. Despite having been outlawed nationally for over a century, private prisons have been turned into a money making proposition. Traded daily on the stock exchange, the profit for prisoners business is growing by leaps and bounds, incarceration rates have soared. Should this be a for-profit business?


The continued prohibition of legalized marijuana provides a convenient source of fodder for the prison-industrial complex. An American is arrested for pot every 38 seconds. Since 1965, more than 20 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana offenses, 90 percent of them for simple possession.

Keith Stroup, Executive Director of NORML said "In fact, the war on drugs is largely a war on pot smokers. This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that should be dedicated toward combating serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."


And despite baby boomers being in charge in recent years, annual pot busts have tripled since the non-inhaling Bill Clinton took office. The total number of marijuana arrests far exceeds the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

It isn’t only marijuana consumers who want to see weed legalized. (None other than William F. Buckley was for it.) Ending prohibition is also a popular cause for at least 10,000 cops, narcs, judges, and others who make up the membership of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.


From LEAP’s down-and-dirty perspective, prohibition exacerbates rather than ameliorates America’s drug problem. Prohibition not only diverts resources from the pursuit of more-serious crimes, it empowers criminals and enhances black-market incentives. Money spent fighting what adults seem to want could be better allocated toward education and rehab.

It is well known that alcohol and tobacco related health effects and deaths by far eclipse any detrimental effects of occasional recreational marijuana use by adults. Common sense would tell you that, if anything, alcohol and tobacco should be prohibited and marijuana should be legalized.


The benifits of legalizing pot would be a double-triple-whammy in that it could create a substantial amount of wealth for farmers and industry, increase revenue through the regulation and taxation of hemp and marijuana sales, it would free up much needed police and judicial resources, put a significant dent in the income of criminal black-market forces, it would keep non-violent consumers out of jail, and create a sustainable resource that could replace many of the items now made of plastic.

The Marijuana Policy Project advocates taxing and regulating the possession and sale of cannabis, arguing that a regulated industry would separate purchasers from the street market for cocaine, heroin, and other hard drugs. You can't legislate morality, adults should be allowed the freedom to pursue their ideal of happiness as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. Legalizing marijuana would be a fabulous way to "Go Green!" There's no reason we shouldn't legalize pot, it's just a plant.

(excerpts from Kathleen Parker and skeptically.org)