Jacob Bell
New Member
Problems facing the state of Wisconsin are formidable but not impossible.
For far too long, Washington's drug prohibition program has created more problems than it has solved. The history of prohibition of hemp (cannabis, marijuana) is an interesting, if disturbing, story. For further reading, go to the Marathon County Public Library and check out "Drug Crazy: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Can Get Out" by Mike Gray.
The instigators of our prohibition problem were powerful commercial interests that convinced Congress that an amazing plant with numerous applications was a danger to Americans.
The government ignored our Constitution by banning the growing of hemp nationwide. Congress has no such power, as evidenced by the fact that it had to pass the 18th Amendment before approving alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. This time, the federal government went ahead and banned hemp anyway. Things have been going downhill since then.
Gradually, an antidote to "Reefer Madness" has been slowly spreading. Wisconsin residents favor legalizing "medical marijuana" by about 70 percent. Sixteen other states have allowed physicians to prescribe it to patients who prefer to ingest a safe, herbal remedy rather than chemicals in their bodies. Reform legislation will soon be introduced again in Wisconsin.
Compassion is a term that transcends partisan politics. Rendering aid and comfort to the afflicted is compassionate, but is illegal if it includes medical marijuana, something that has been grown and used by people for thousands of years. Recently, The Associated Press reported that evidence from a fourth-century tomb near Jerusalem suggested that marijuana plants may have been used to help with pregnancy. Yet last year the drug warrior district attorney in Lincoln County brought charges against a young pregnant woman who self-medicated for morning sickness.
Morning sickness can be a threat to the health of the mother and the fetus. An online search finds hundreds of other uses for medical marijuana, a medicine people can grow themselves.
In addition, the hemp plant is almost as versatile as the soybean and is good for the soil as well as the environment, according to the American Farm Bureau. In the 1940s, Wisconsin had 30,000 acres planted in hemp and there were 10 processing plants.
Hemp is a hearty, environmentally friendly crop. It doesn't require herbicides; its fiber is stronger and more absorbent than cotton; it produces more pulp per acre than timber; and hemp-based paper can be recycled more often than conventional paper. One-thousand acres planted in hemp will produce as much paper as 4,000 acres of trees -- but it's a threat if you own lots of trees. Likewise, applications of this versatile natural resource for fuel, oils, food and medicine are threats to those who depend upon petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals for a living.
Why would politicians prevent Wisconsin farmers from growing such a crop and helping put our people to work again?
Answer: It's opposed by the industrialists who presently provide us with fuel, plastics, paper and fibers and who help politicians get elected. Add to them all those with government jobs "protecting" us from this remarkable plant.
If the Wisconsin GOP supports more freedom and less spending, as it claims, end prohibition.
Re-legalize hemp!
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: wausaudailyherald.com
Author: Jim Maas
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: wausaudailyherald.com
Website: Jim Maas column: Create jobs by legalizing hemp
For far too long, Washington's drug prohibition program has created more problems than it has solved. The history of prohibition of hemp (cannabis, marijuana) is an interesting, if disturbing, story. For further reading, go to the Marathon County Public Library and check out "Drug Crazy: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Can Get Out" by Mike Gray.
The instigators of our prohibition problem were powerful commercial interests that convinced Congress that an amazing plant with numerous applications was a danger to Americans.
The government ignored our Constitution by banning the growing of hemp nationwide. Congress has no such power, as evidenced by the fact that it had to pass the 18th Amendment before approving alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. This time, the federal government went ahead and banned hemp anyway. Things have been going downhill since then.
Gradually, an antidote to "Reefer Madness" has been slowly spreading. Wisconsin residents favor legalizing "medical marijuana" by about 70 percent. Sixteen other states have allowed physicians to prescribe it to patients who prefer to ingest a safe, herbal remedy rather than chemicals in their bodies. Reform legislation will soon be introduced again in Wisconsin.
Compassion is a term that transcends partisan politics. Rendering aid and comfort to the afflicted is compassionate, but is illegal if it includes medical marijuana, something that has been grown and used by people for thousands of years. Recently, The Associated Press reported that evidence from a fourth-century tomb near Jerusalem suggested that marijuana plants may have been used to help with pregnancy. Yet last year the drug warrior district attorney in Lincoln County brought charges against a young pregnant woman who self-medicated for morning sickness.
Morning sickness can be a threat to the health of the mother and the fetus. An online search finds hundreds of other uses for medical marijuana, a medicine people can grow themselves.
In addition, the hemp plant is almost as versatile as the soybean and is good for the soil as well as the environment, according to the American Farm Bureau. In the 1940s, Wisconsin had 30,000 acres planted in hemp and there were 10 processing plants.
Hemp is a hearty, environmentally friendly crop. It doesn't require herbicides; its fiber is stronger and more absorbent than cotton; it produces more pulp per acre than timber; and hemp-based paper can be recycled more often than conventional paper. One-thousand acres planted in hemp will produce as much paper as 4,000 acres of trees -- but it's a threat if you own lots of trees. Likewise, applications of this versatile natural resource for fuel, oils, food and medicine are threats to those who depend upon petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals for a living.
Why would politicians prevent Wisconsin farmers from growing such a crop and helping put our people to work again?
Answer: It's opposed by the industrialists who presently provide us with fuel, plastics, paper and fibers and who help politicians get elected. Add to them all those with government jobs "protecting" us from this remarkable plant.
If the Wisconsin GOP supports more freedom and less spending, as it claims, end prohibition.
Re-legalize hemp!
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: wausaudailyherald.com
Author: Jim Maas
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: wausaudailyherald.com
Website: Jim Maas column: Create jobs by legalizing hemp
