Why The Tycoons Fear Hemp: From Drugs to Oil
- Thread starter PFlynn
- Start date
Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
I applaud you for this! 
everyone should get on board and send copies of this information to their legislators and include any personal experiences as well. The following is a letter I sent to both of my California Senators.
Dear Senator:
I never believed I would be writing this letter. I am a retired sergeant from a California Sheriff's Dept. after 28 years of service. Sadly, my retirement was a forced medical one because of an on duty traffic accident caused by a wrong way driver. I am a long time Republican with conservative political views.
The purpose of this letter is to give you my views on the medical, recreational, and industrial use of marijuana.
Medical marijuana legality was passed by the electorate of the state of California in 1996; however, the federal government does not recognize the right of medical marijuana patients to grow or obtain legally the medicine they need. In my particular case I suffer from arthritis, muscle spasms, and chronic pain from neck to hips due to the on duty traffic accident and another one occurring after I retired. I was using traditional prescription drugs to treat these symptoms for sixteen years. Many of the drugs had side effects ranging from; stomach and intestinal problems, decrease in alertness, and lethargy.
In May of this year, a friend who has similar medical problems convinced me that I should try medical marijuana. Being the law abiding citizen and an ex-deputy sheriff, I decided to do it as legally as possible. I made an appointment with a Dr. that practices in this field. After an interview with the Dr. involving the examination of my medical history, my general health and a discussion of my symptoms, and past treatment, he issued a prescription for medical marijuana. I then went to a medical marijuana dispensary and only after having my prescription verified, purchased 1/8 of an ounce of marijuana.
The most persistent problem I had in the past was not being able to sleep well at night. The pain and muscle spasms often caused me to wake up as many as ten times a night to change position. The level of past prescription drugs, needed for relief, always left me logy and less than alert for hours after awakening the next morning. The Dr. suggested I use the marijuana primarily to battle this problem and suggested I use it just before I was ready for bed in the evening.
I have to admit, my first experience was astounding. Shortly after using some marijuana, (two puffs from a pipe) I felt a wave of relaxation start at my neck, run across my shoulders and down my back to my waist. The only way I can describe it, is to liken it to removing an extremely heavy coat you have been wearing for a long time. When I went to bed that night, I slept through the night for the first time in 16 years without the use of the "side effect" causing prescription drugs. I only use marijuana just prior to bed and it has enabled me to sleep better than I have in years. In addition, I awake alert and without the usual prescription drug hangover side effects.
The problem I and many others are facing presently is the availability of safe, legal medical marijuana. The federal government is raiding medical marijuana dispensaries and has the ability to confiscate property if a person grows his own supply. This forces medical marijuana patients to buy marijuana from illegal drug sellers. The quality and purity of the marijuana purchased in this manner is questionable and the money goes to support illegal activity, gangs and possibly terrorism. The terrorism connection has been confirmed in recently acquired documents through the freedom of information act; documents that confirm that the DEA and office of Homeland Security have made a connection between illegal drug smugglers and money laundering for the narcotics trade and terrorist organizations.
I feel the solution has to be to pass a national law preventing the federal government or its agencies from interfering with state laws allowing the use, dispensing, or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes.
Marijuana is presently listed as a schedule 1 drug. This classification is wholly undeserved. Schedule 1 narcotics must meet the following criteria;
- The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
- The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
- There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
I myself have used medical marijuana for 11 months so far and have no desire to increase my usage and have not experienced any craving for more or had any desire to use any other drugs. I am a tobacco user and the addictive nature of cigarette smoking is astronomical, whereas I have not experienced any addictive component to using Marijuana.
Marijuana having no accepted medical use in the United States is absolutely ridiculous and purely a political opinion. Many qualified and honest doctors in the United States are adamant that it does have medical benefits and patients like me support that fact. Present laws prevent any true medical studies that might make a case for the medical use of Marijuana.
As far as the safety of Marijuana goes, there has never, I repeat never, been a verified death solely from the use of marijuana in all of the history of civilization. Statistics purported to show otherwise always include the use of marijuana in combination with more dangerous drugs or an existing serious medical condition. If someone tries to tell you differently, ask them to supply a death certificate listing marijuana as the sole cause of death. This is true historically even when marijuana has not been used under medical supervision.
To put the danger of marijuana in perspective here are some verifiable statistics:
Aspirin and other over the counter pain relievers such as Ibuprofen, Motrin, and Naprosyn cause between 300 and 500 deaths a year even when taken as directed. One study estimates over 16,000 deaths a year from intestinal bleeding caused by these drugs
Over the counter cold remedies when abused have caused deaths nation wide recently.
Over the counter sleep aids and motion sickness remedies also can cause serious medical problems or death when abused.
Alcohol, legal but taxed heavily, can and has been the sole cause of death in too many cases to count. This is usually found in binge drinking or during drinking contests by young people in our society.
Other drugs included in schedule 1, do cause deaths solely from their use.
Let me reiterate one more time; throughout all of history, there has never been a verifiable death solely attributable to marijuana use or even a so called life threatening overdose from marijuana alone.
The federal government, by continuing to take the action it does, is violating state and individual rights. California voters have decisively shown their desire to allow marijuana to be used medically. Preventing medical marijuana users from obtaining a safe supply by enforcing federal laws against cultivation or dispensing, is absurd and violates the desires and rights of the people of California.
Since I began to use marijuana for medical purposes, I have met others who are also medical marijuana users. They are not "pot heads". They come from all walks of life and professions. They are not part of the "drug culture and only desire to be able to legally obtain marijuana for their medical problems, including the following:
Marijuana is prescribed as an appetite enhancer and is used to mitigate nausea and vomiting for Aids patients or for patients in chemo therapy
Marijuana is prescribed as an analgesic for pain from arthritis, or other physical problems
Marijuana is prescribed as a sleep aid as in my case
Marijuana is prescribed to mitigate problems associated with glaucoma
Marijuana is being considered by the Oregon Health Division in the treatment of ADH/ racing brain syndrome, a condition that resists other ADH treatments.
Marijuana is prescribed to mitigate spasticity and speech disorders associated with multiple sclerosis.
Many argue that there are other prescription drugs available to treat these conditions. In my case, most were not as effective as marijuana and caused unpleasant side effects that I have not experienced with marijuana. The cost of approved prescription drugs should also be taken into consideration. My use of marijuana is minimal compared to the cost of prescription drugs needed at times to relieve my symptoms and is free if I grow it.
Legally growing marijuana, (if I was), for my own medical use, meets my needs and saves me a significant amount of money. It might be interesting to examine if pharmaceutical companies oppose the medical use of marijuana.
Many anti-medical marijuana advocates make the argument that the belief marijuana can mitigate the health problems listed above is purely anecdotal and is not supported by true medical studies. Here lies another problem; the federal government claims it has the sole authority to control the cultivation of marijuana. If it has that sole authority, it basically controls any legal supply of marijuana. Does the federal government allow any standardized type of marijuana to be supplied to any authentic medical research organizations to determine if the health benefits of marijuana are true or not? If the federal government will not do this, it is basically admitting its stand is purely political in nature and they have no interest in determining if marijuana is beneficial. In fact they may have a vested interest in not finding out if this is true.
Once again, I feel the solution is to pass a national law preventing the federal government or its agencies from interfering in any way with state laws allowing the use, dispensing, or cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. Technically at this time, a person could be charged with a felony, have his home seized, and be imprisoned for having a one foot tall live marijuana plant with a single bud, growing on his patio.
I am writing this letter primarily to advocate laws allowing the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana for medical purposes. There is another area that does need some serious reflection and that is legalizing marijuana entirely. In reality marijuana is the largest cash crop in the U.S. today, estimated at $113 billion a year. That is $113 billion going into the pockets of drug gangs, organized crime, and possibly terrorist groups. If it was legalized, taxed and controlled like alcohol it would save an estimated $41.8 billion in law enforcement and lost revenues costs per year. It would also get the Mexican Mafia and their marijuana farms out of our national forests and other public lands. Prohibition of alcohol was a mistake. I believe it is time we seriously began looking at decriminalizing marijuana. When simple arrests for marijuana possession out number all those for violent crimes in the U.S. combined, it is time to rethink this failed federal drug policy. (Also read articles from the Marijuana Policy Project)
The history of the move that initially caused the banning of marijuana is rife with falsehoods and exaggerations that have been exposed time after time.
Two specific instances were used over and over to convince the public and congress to outlaw marijuana. One was an incident describing a son under the influence of marijuana beating his mother to death with a frying pan. The other was an incident of another son under the influence of marijuana hacking his parents and other family members to death with an axe; even after both incidents were found to be the result of severe psychological problems and not due to the influence of marijuana, anti-marijuana groups and individuals continued to falsely use them in their efforts to ban marijuana. The American Medical Association, which would likely have argued the medicinal benefits of marijuana, was notified only two days prior to the hearing. Their representative, Dr. William Woodward, denounced the hearings as being rooted in tabloid sensationalism, and demanded an explanation for the secrecy involved. Anslinger ignored Woodward's vociferous objections -- when before the vote he was asked by Congress if the AMA agreed that the bill should be passed, a member of Anslinger's committee replied, "Yes, they are in complete agreement."
When the mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia commissioned a study of marijuana use in his city during the 1930s, the study's results were in direct opposition of the claims put forward by opponents of marijuana. The study was viciously attacked and swept under the rug. Racism, industrial competition, and competition for agricultural products and their uses were the driving forces leading to the ban of even industrial hemp. The 1930s marked the emerging market of industrial hemp and this emerging industry was in direct competition with lumber companies, newspapers and others who had large investments in wood pulp as the source for paper and newsprint. Oil and chemical companies, and the cotton industry were also threatened by the emerging industrial hemp industry. Many of the products produced by these industries can be produced from industrial hemp.
Opponents to marijuana used scare tactics claiming Hispanics and blacks under the influence of marijuana would go insane, commit violent crimes and rape white women. Jazz musicians were singled out by, Harry j. Anslinger, the newly appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Anslinger hated jazz and made every effort to gain publicity by high profile arrests of musicians and actors caught using or possessing marijuana.
The whole war on marijuana has become a billion dollar industry in itself. The DEA and other law enforcement agencies depend on the furtherance of this war to justify their budgets and gain even more funding. The legalization of marijuana would destroy the illegal marijuana smuggling cartels and drastically reduce the money allocated to the DEA. Legalization would also destroy an important source of money now exposed as important to terrorist organizations. Gangs and criminal organizations that depend on the continued illegality of marijuana would be devastated.
I believe that an honest and scientific study needs to be conducted that would determine once and for all, the medical benefits of marijuana. It should also determine the effects of recreational marijuana use. Marijuana effects both short term (hours) and long term ( months or years) should be compared to the known effects of alcohol use in areas addiction, of productivity, safety in driving and operating other equipment.
I am sending this letter anonymously for obvious reasons. It seems recently that correspondence, in way too many instances, somehow ends up in the wrong hands. It is a sad state of affairs when a citizen of the United States fears his federal government when merely writing a letter to his senator.
Anon.
P.S. In studies allowed by the government for medical marijuana, the cannabis supplied by the Government was the lowest grade when compared to 48 other samples. So is the government purposely trying to sabotage these studies?
- Thread starter
- #23
PFlynn
New Member
I thought the newer members who might of missed this one should read it.
Dear friend they cant they are drunk most of the times or they r sell outs to the big thiefs the corporations of prosperity and thievery against the people.
hello again,,,made copies of this well done information and have passed this info to the networks iam connected with,,,thanks,,,f.g.s,,,aka,,,infoman,,,drinfo,,,,ohio,,,,peace-
Ultrabudda
Active Member
"In the 1930s, people were very naive; even to the point of ignorance. The masses were like sheep waiting to be led by the few in power. They did not challenge authority. If the news was in print or on the radio, they believed it had to be true. They told their children and their children grew up to be the parents of the baby-boomers."
Things have not changed at all. Everyone must remember the past
Things have not changed at all. Everyone must remember the past
ADarkerBreed
New Member
This was an excellent article, with one exception "Pot is NOT harmful to the human body or mind." is just sadly not true. As much as I love and support the legalization of marijuana we must concede that our wonder-weed has some downsides. The same people who can't turn down a bottle can have the same problem with weed, same with the chasing the dragon effect of high use smokers. Pushing smoke into ones lungs, burning plant matter, no matter what the substance, is not good for the body, the lungs are meant to house oxygen and clean air.
This of course is not to say I do not support marijuana legalization, use or cultivation.
We just simply can't call the kettle black when it comes to conceding on the few downsides of our favorite plant.
This of course is not to say I do not support marijuana legalization, use or cultivation.
We just simply can't call the kettle black when it comes to conceding on the few downsides of our favorite plant.
Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
ADarkerBreed
New Member
Backs up what bot of us had said
I still believe the chasing the dragon effect to be true, as you can't ever seem to get as high as the first time you smoke in a day and after going for a period without marijuana I get higher than if I were smoking everyday
Either way all are good articles and Mary is a wonder plant, whether healing the soul or saving the planet one fiber at a time
michaelkaer
New Member
In my county here in Canada, they are Hemp shy. A few years ago a few farmers got together and started to grow hemp. They had a buyer for it in the states. When they harvested and tried to complete their contract the guards on the american side stopped the shipment and the farmers finally had to pay damages for not fullfilling their contract. They could not sell the hemp here in Canada since We do not have the infrastructure to handle it(or at the time we did not, things are changeing). That killed the hemp industry in my county. It is a shame.
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