medical cannabis and industrial hemp re-legalization . . .

[OneBlueSky]

interesting article that puts the governments opposition to medical marijuana and, more importantly, industrial hemp into perspective . . . documents industry's ties to Nazism from WWII supposedly up to the present . . . haven't read it all yet, so not sure what to think . . . interesting so far, though . . .

Shadow of the Swastika:
The Real Reason the Government Won't Debate Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Re-legalization
An Open Letter to All Americans
by R. William Davis

http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html

Before the Gatewood Galbraith for Governor Campaign in 1991, few Kentuckians knew that the plant that the federal government had demonized for over 50 years as "Marijuana - Assassin of Youth," was, in fact, Cannabis Hemp, the most traded commodity in the world until the mid-1800s, and our state's number one crop, industry, and most important source of revenue, for over 150 years.

Today, thanks to the efforts of pioneer hemp researchers and public advocates such as Galbraith, Jack Fraizer, Jack Herer, Chris Conrad, Ed Rosenthal, Don Wirtshafter and others, the federal government's unjustifiable suppression of our state's right to develop our most valuable and versatile natural resource, is facing increasing opposition from an informed public. Hemp is now recognized as the number one agriculturally renewable raw material in the world, and perhaps the only crop / industry which can guarantee us industrial and economic independence from the trans-national corporations.

Shadow of the Swastika is a follow-up to my earlier work, Cannabis Hemp: the Invisible Prohibition Revealed, which I wrote and published in support of the Galbraith Campaign. Since publication of that booklet, there has been growing public acceptance of the evidence that Marijuana Prohibition was created in 1937, not to protect society from the "evils of the drug Marijuana," as the Federal government claimed, but as an act of deliberate economic and industrial sabotage against the re-emerging Industrial Hemp Industry.

- much more . . .

http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.html

[wuushew]

1. Both Bush and Kerry get F's on the hemp issue

it is a shame since this issue could have suckered liberatarians into voting for Kerry.


http://www.votehemp.com/voterguide.html

[Name removed]

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[wuushew]

4. complete BS, there is no such thing as THC psychosis

also even if true isn't hemp's salivation from peak oil potential more important than any dubious medical repercussions.

[Don Claybrook]

11. You're right...no such thing. But........

just imagine if the local dealer was marketing it as such: "I got this new stuff in called THC Psychosis". It would sell like hotcakes.


But, it is true that pot is a gateway drug; that is, a gateway to Twinkie and Dorito abuse.

[MindPilot]

13. industrial hemp only has trace amouts of THC

so it's not going to make anyone high.

[wuushew]

15. I am aware of that

But since they are related plants how does one practically implement a workable policy of plant discrimination?

I am for all forms of legalization(medical, recreational and industrial).

[MindPilot]

19. that was meant to add to your point not take from it

One of the things that anti-hemp people like to bring up is the senario of vast fields of high-grade sensi being overun by loadies ditching civics class.

No, I'm TOTALLY on your side. I ask exactly where in the Constitution does the government draw the power to prohibit a freakin' plant?!

[damntexdem]

12. Yeah, and that's why we still have prohibition of alcohol -- right?

After all, that has worked so well for over 80 years. So today we don't have college kids dying of alcohol poisoning, do we?

Prohibition does not work -- not against truly-dangerous things like alcohol and tobacco. Certainly not against non-dangerous, and potentially beneficial, things like marijuana.

[Freebird12004]

18. 36 years of smoke

and my best friend is still sane, productive in life and "like totally happy, dude" without other drugs. :smoke:

[MindPilot]

21. MY best friend too!! What a co-in-ki-dink!! n/t

I say again: no text.

[EC]

22. 37 years here

high IQ, totally stoned through college-kept a 3.87 GPA..haven't hampered me in the least...although I think it may have something to do with body chemistry also...I've always been hyperactive...in grade school they stuck me on Ritalin, high school on lyberium...I prefer a joint...tastes good and doesn't zone me out the way the meds the government allows did...

But I do know some people who zombie out, but they were not highly motivated to begin with...I know some who got paranoid, but they mixed it with alcohol...(of which I have a low opinion of, but do imbibe anyway since it is legal)

[Name removed]

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[TO Kid]

38. Thank trial lawyers for that

Most employers would prefer not to test but are stuck between a rock and a hard place- most only want to test if they suspect that drug use is affecting the work. The problem is that if an employee is involved in an accident and a test shows he used a week ago, the company will get crucified for "negligence". The other problem is that if they test problem users only, they can run afoul of antidiscrimination laws.

[EC]

43. That's the good thing about pot

it's not addictive. You can stop a month before looking for a new job. It's easy enough to just wait until after a UA to start smoking again. Why do you ask? I'm curious, you're against pot to begin with and state mistruths that show you have never had any experience with it, yet you wonder about UA's.

[Name removed]

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[SheepyMcSheepster]

49. i have passed two drug tests in the last few years

you would never know what i do on my own time.
you are not catching everyone, only those who can't get around a drug test.

[EOTE]

50. Good luck with that.....

When I started working with Lockheed Martin, I had one test immediately prior to my hire. It was about two weeks after I last toked and I did fine. As I was an exemplary employee, they were kind enough to not randomly ask for my urine. I now work for an IT consulting firm. Of course, they're smart enough to have not asked for my urine in the first place. The IT field would be in abysmal shape if they screened for bud smokers.

But you have fun with your urine fetish. I'm sure your company is much better because of it.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

51. IT toker here! eom.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

47. there are ways around them, they are a waste of money

since things like cocaine and meth are metabolised so quickly, drug tests really are only effective in finding people who use marijuana. they are a waste of money/time/resources, just like the prohibition of marijuana.

[SemperEadem]

25. if weed didn't exist, they'd have pickled their livers on alcohol

and I don't see your post all up in arms about alcohol production/consumption in this country.

baseless arguements.

[BiggJawn]

44. Wow...right from the script of "Reefer Madness"..

You forgot the part about THC-crazed non-whites coming to town looking for women.....WHITE women!!!

[Freebird12004]

52. a flash from the past

the smart people knew propaganda when they saw it

[stellanoir]

3. hemp

would quite simply, save our economy. Textile, paper, and logging lobbies to say nothing of the pharmeceutical industries are totally opposed to it.

It's a weed. It will grow just about anywhere. It requires little maintainence aside from keeping the stoner rabbits away.

It makes too much sense for our government to ever approve.

So put that in Thomas Jefferson's pipe and smoke it.

[TO Kid]

41. There's no magic bullet

Sure it's a useful crop but its value, like most new developments, is hugely overstated. The biggest expense for hemp growers in Canada is security to keep out the idjits whe think it's weed.

[Cerridwen]

5. "The Billion Dollar Crop" - taken down by Hearst, DuPont, and

Anslinger. "He was hand-picked to head the FBN by his uncle-in-law, Andrew Mellon"

Could provide: food, paper, clothing, clean and renewable fuel. Good for the environment.

http://www.parascope.com/mx/hemp02.htm


Hemp posed a dire threat to key American industrialists in the 1930s. Cheap, durable hemp paper threatened Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division, Kimberly Clark (USA) and other timber and paper companies, who stood to lose billions of dollars and possibly face bankruptcy.

In 1937, DuPont patented processes to manufacture plastics and synthetic fibers from oil and coal, as well as new processes to produce paper from wood pulp. According to DuPont's own corporate records, these new processes would account for more than three quarters of its industrial output for the next fifty years.

These industrial interests knew they could not compete with hemp, yet they were stuck with billions of dollars invested in products, processes and holdings which would be overwhelmed by hemp's rapid expansion. Industrial cannabis production had to be nipped in the bud, so to speak.

The attack on the hemp industry was two-fold: a massive propaganda campaign demonized cannabis in the eyes of the public, and the power of government was used to cripple and eventually exterminate industrial uses of hemp. In DuPont's 1937 Annual Report, the company urged its stockholders to invest in its new petrochemical products. Although stalks of hemp were rising on the horizon, DuPont anticipated "radical changes" from "the revenue raising power of government... converted into an instrument for forcing acceptance of sudden new ideas of industrial and social reorganization."


<more at link>

[Name removed]

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[wuushew]

9. not all business behavior is rational

The railroads rejected use of air brakes for years after their invention even though when mandated by law it saved lives, reduced crashes and eliminated labor costs.

Also if you have a comfortable monopoly why would you advocate allowing a comparable product to destroy your profits? Sometimes the market entry costs are too high to switch product types or the production of a superior product does not maximize the NPV of the firm.

[MindPilot]

17. "not all business behavior is rational"

that's for sure; most business use Microsoft Windows for their networks.

[Name removed]

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[EC]

24. No, industrial hemp

was used through the World Wars...in fact it was encouraged to be grown for the war effort...used in rope and uniforms and paper.

Also, there are still fields in Indiana, where it was grown, where it still pops up in the summer.

[Ann Arbor Dem]

54. You can still find stray plants in Iowa and Minnesota too.

My grandfather was a farmer in southern Minnesota, and he grew soy beans and hemp until he retired in the late '40's. I don't know how long my uncle, who took the farm over, continued to grow hemp, but I know it was for a period of some years.

[Cerridwen]

27. Not quite right. From your own link...

"The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 required that any quantity of cannabis, as well as several other dangerous substances, be clearly marked on the label of any drug or food sold to the public." emphasis mine

...

"Not even the reformers claimed ... that cannabis was a problem of any major significance in the United States."

Although it seemed the racism and other bigotry so prevalent during the early part of the 20th century and which was more overt than now, contributed to the gradual demonization of marijuana and those who would partake, it didn't meet with a federal ban until 1937 and was much aided by business/conglomerate owners who stood most likely to lose.

It wasn't intended as a conspiracy theory so much as a quick look at "who benefits" (or benefitted) from this federal legislation.

[EOTE]

32. Whaaaa?

Are you confusing cannabis with hemp? Hemp was and still is an extremely versatile and potentially lucrative crop. The reason Hearst was so intent on eliminating it (and it's relatives) was because he already had a ridiculously large investment in the paper industry. A more viable alternative to paper would have been very damaging to him financially.

And I think it would be even more foolish to argue that marijuana itself is not a money making crop. If it were to be legalized, do you think companies would give it away? Do you have any idea what the mark up is on this crop? Try in the realm of thousands of percents. Would you rather this money go into the hands of drug dealers or to pay off the national debt?

Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment whilst I spark up and go into a THC induced psychosis.

Mr. Hearst? Is that you?

[bullimiami]

6. this is moronic period

pot should be legal.

what a stupid backward country this is.

[Name removed]

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[wuushew]

10. Whaa???!

This country recently illegally invaded a sovereign country and killed 100,000 + of its citizenry. The same country also legally discriminates against homosexuals and other minorities and thanks to conservatism is adopting very regressive and anti-people tax and fiscal policies. Whatever we do there is a country somewhere that does it better.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[EOTE]

36. How about....

Switzerland, Holland, Sweden and Spain? Those are a few off the top of my head, and none of those countries have the advantage of the vast resources this country has. America has many great qualities, and has the potential to be the greatest country in the world that those who have never been outside it's borders proclaim it to be. But when almost half of this country's electorate is willing to vote for the chimp in chief, it's got some serious problems.

[TO Kid]

42. Iceland in the tenth century

The Icelandic Free State was the freest country in the world and the climate was pretty good too (the world was a LOT warmer back then than it is now). There was no central authority and people chose between competing barons for the stuff a king does (protection, adjudication). It lasted for about 200 years but it fell apart when the church was given the right to levy taxes. The Tithe Law caused wealth and power to concentrate in the hands of a few landowners who started fighting among themselves to get kickbacks from the church.

[Name removed]

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[EOTE]

48. Enough with the pithy attacks.

If you find something wrong with the above statement, why don't you say precisely what instead of providing sarcastic remarks?

[MindPilot]

14. We have a higher percentage of our population in jail

than any other industrialized country--and over hlaf of those are there for non-violent drug offences. Otherwise known by the oxymoron "victimless crime". If there was no victim, how could there have been a crime?

[EC]

20. We are an okay country

At this moment in time there are many other countries that take care of their citizens much better than we do. And as far as hemp is concerned, it's obvious you know very little about it...

[Name removed]

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[EC]

55. Who said that?

:wtf: No, all we are saying is this country has alot of improvements to be done before we can say it's "The best country in the world", there are others such as any of the Scandinavian countries that respect their citizenry and still have a good working economy. We haven't been able to balance these areas, it's either all one way or the other, no compromise. Just because there are problems doesn't mean we don't love America, in fact we love it so much, we'd rather try and solve the problems instead of leaving for one of these admired countries. Believe me I'm getting older and would like to retire, doesn't look possible anymore here, would love to go to one of the Northern European Countries where they revere and encourage retirement. Or even just to have 6 weeks vacation and continue working would be okay, but as it is we are wearing out our elderly. But SINCE I LOVE MY COUNTRY, I'M WILLING TO FIGHT FOR THESE THINGS HERE.

[EC]

16. The cotton industry

was threatened by hemp also.

[wuushew]

33. Jesus himself was a stoner..why conservatives hate weed is unknown

So, did Jesus use cannabis? I think so. The word Christ does mean "the anointed one" and Bennett contends that Christ was anointed with chrism, a cannabis-based oil, that caused his spiritual visions. The ancient recipe for this oil, recorded in Exodus, included over 9lb of flowering cannabis tops (known as kaneh-bosem in Hebrew), extracted into a hin (about 11� pints) of olive oil, with a variety of other herbs and spices. The mixture was used in anointing and fumigations that, significantly, allowed the priests and prophets to see and speak with Yahweh.

Residues of cannabis, moreover, have been detected in vessels from Judea and Egypt in a context indicating its medicinal, as well as visionary, use. Jesus is described by the apostle Mark as casting out demons and healing by the use of this holy chrism. Earlier, from the time of Moses until the later prophet Samuel, holy anointing oil was used by the shamanic Levite priesthood to receive the "revelations of the Lord". The chosen ones were drenched in this potent cannabis oil.


http://www.cannabis.net/articles/jesus-cannabis.html
http://www.cannabis.net/articles/jesus.html

[TO Kid]

39. A holdover from darker times

Back in the 1930s a lot of Southern politicians wanted marijuana and cocaine banned because most users were black. It's a very ugly story.

As for the "Jesus used" claim, it's just speculation.

[TO Kid]

34. Hemp still illegal in US?

There are a couple of hemp growers in Ontario but the biggest downside is security costs. Too many dumbasses think it's pot and steal the crops.

[Cerridwen]

35. Yep, hemp still illegal to *grow* in the U.S. Clothing, food, some

meds can still be bought here. We just can't grow our own. A university, I forget which and don't have the link to hand, was recently denied federal approval to grow for study purposes.

[jaysunb]

40. 45 years and still puffin !

Don't do coke (anymore) never did smack or hallucigens.

Any ban should be on cigarettes and booze.

[Freebird12004]

53. yep

those are the real killers of the body