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unplug
unplug magazine asks you to unplug from your current modes of thought and look at life in a new way, whether this means unplugging from our toxic consumer culture, mainstream society, the tv, or a limiting mindset. author megan prusynski explores life's alternatives and discusses activism, progressive thinking, and moving towards a "green" & sustainable life.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Legalize It!
It's been a busy spring for me (hence my absence) and that means that while I wanted to write a nice "green" post for Earth Day, I was just too busy. So, I hope everyone did something nice for the planet Earth Day weekend. I was at Moscow Hempfest - amidst late April snow flurries - educating people about the misunderstood hemp plant and handing out PETA stickers all while selling my homemade hemp soap and jewelry. And although there are a million things I want to write about, I'm going to focus on one issue that's been important to me for some time: HEMP!
Cannabis sativa (aka hemp) is a plant that humankind has a long history with over 10,000 years. It is only recently that this plant has been demonized and its use criminalized by US drug policy. Cannabis was widely prescribed for many ailments and hemp grown domestically and used for many products, namely rope and canvas, in the US prior to 1937. In 1937, caving into pressure from lobbying groups that felt that hemp threatened their products (ahem, DuPont) and a media fueled by racism, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted, effectively making cannabis and hemp illegal. What was once a lucrative, sustainable cash crop became an illicit substance, and a drastic eradication program began.
The penalties have grown harsher (gee, thanks Nixon, Reagan and Bush) and prison sentences today for cannabis-related "crimes" are now often longer than those for rape and murder. Prisons are overpopulated due to the drug war's insistence on arresting non-violent drug offenders and throwing them in jail instead of helping them overcome addiction. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and other drugs that have "no medical value." This is despite the fact that science has shown otherwise. Many states have passed legislation allowing doctors to recommend cannabis to their patients. It has been proven helpful for many ailments such as cancer, glaucoma, severe pain, menstrual cramps, nausea, and many more. In fact, in 1988, DEA Judge Francis Young stated that "...marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." He recommended it be removed from the list of Schedule I drugs and rescheduled, which it was not. In the "land of the free," we're not even free to decide what we can put into our own bodies.
Hemp gets lumped in with marijuana (they're both cannabis sativa, but different strains), which is unfortunate, because hemp can't get you high, but it can certainly be used for a million other things. Hemp seeds are highly nutritious, providing all the essential fatty acids humans need. Pretty much all parts of the plant are useful for something, whether it's paper that's stronger and can be recycled more often than tree paper, strong and soft fabric, various plastics, building materials, paints/varnishes, rope, or bio-fuel. Since it has so many uses, is naturally pest and disease resistant, and easy to grow, it could help solve a lot of environmental problems and provide more sustainable alternatives for many products. This sustainable crop could honestly help save the world, and that is why the powers that be fear it so much and want it to remain illegal. The pharmaceutical, paper, lumber, cotton, agriculture, and petroleum industries all feel threatened by this versatile plant, even though industrial hemp could be a boon to our economy and especially to small farmers. Like most things in politics, it all comes down to money.
So, what can we do to end the war on cannabis and re-legalize this useful plant? First of all, as a society we need a massive hemp re-education. Through the years the lies about cannabis have been drilled into our brains, spreading reefer madness and creating hostility towards a plant that has never killed anyone in thousands of years of use. It starts with educating yourself and sharing your knowledge with family and friends. Hemp advocacy can be as fun as attending a Hempfest or as important as starting a local petition to make marijuana use arrests the lowest police priority in your city. Do some research and you're bound to find many resources, organizations, and activists to get you going.
There is currently a federal bill before Congress to re-legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp. This bill, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act", H.R. 1009, has been introduced by Ron Paul (R-TX) and co-sponsored by a handful of other representatives. Ron Paul has also recently introduced the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”, H.R. 5842, which would bar the Federal Government from intervening in doctor/patient relationships that violate no state law. For more information on hemp advocacy and legislation, see VoteHemp.com.
And in my local news, Mendocino county, California, is soon to vote on Measure B, which plans to repeal Measure G, protecting medical marijuana users and allowing law enforcement to focus on real criminals. Measure B is intended to reduce the amount of large-scale commercial cannabis production in a county with some of the most lenient cannabis laws in the nation. However, it will remove protections that Measure G provides medical patients (which was voted into law by a large majority of the public) and be a huge step backwards in hemp legalization. I find it silly that those supporting Measure B think that changing the law is going to affect commercial growers who obviously don't care about the law in the first place - they're already breaking it, so why would changing the law even affect them? So, if you're a Mendo local, please VOTE NO ON MEASURE B on June 3, 2008, and keep Mendocino County a leader in the fight for legalization!
In the words of Peter Tosh, quite simply, LEGALIZE IT!
Labels: activism, environment/sustainability, hemp
Awesome post. Coincidentally, I saw this on a mailing list the other day... Racial Profiling: NYC Is Marijuana Arrest Capital (Associated Press via WINS Radio, April 29, 2008)