NORML -- Working to reform marijuana laws

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According to a 1998 NORML Report on U.S. Domestic Marijuana Production, marijuana was the fourth largest cash crop in America. The fact that the American government spends in excess of $10,000,000,000 annually in its efforts to outlaw this naturally-occurring plant. In many states -- Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia -- marijuana stood as the largest revenue-producing crop.

In 1997, marijuana growers reaped an estimated $15,100,000,000 (at wholesale market prices) worth of cannabis across the United States. The only crops ranking as being more profitable in that same year were corn, coy beans and hay.

Here is where the numbers start to become very interesting.

In 1997, farmers harvested an estimated 8,700,000 marijuana plants. If each plant were to yield only 10 ounces (approximately 280 grams) of usable marijuana, then these farmers harvested approximately 5,500,000 pounds of saleable marijuana. At street value prices, that comes to $25,200,000,000. This figure was reached by assessing the marijuana value at 60% of the total retail value, or $2,735 per pound. Had these same figures been applied with average street market prices, then marijuana would have been listed as America’s number one cash crop in 1997.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials feel a typical marijuana plant is capable of yielding one full pound (approximately 454 grams) of saleable marijuana. This figures are in dispute, however. Data gathered by the United States Sentencing Commission supports the conclusion that the average yield of a typical marijuana plant is 100 grams.

Had the 1998 NORML report been prepared with the standard established by the DEA of one pound per plant, then 1997’s national marijuana crop would have been worth approximately $26,300,000,000 to growers and approximately $43,800,000,000 at street market prices. Applying these figures, marijuana’s approximate street value would have been worth nearly twice the value of corn, America’s leading legal cash crop.

A minimum annual cash crop value of $25.2 billion and Uncle Sam isn’t making a single dime. No licensing fees, no sales fees and no taxes collected. At current Indiana sales tax rates, that is a loss of $1,764,000,000. $1.76 billion dollars in sales tax, lost because of our close-minded government. A government that continues to burden this country with more and more debt, each and every second of each and every day.

Combined state and federal government spending to enforce drug prohibition came to approximately $16 billion in 1997. Are you with me on these numbers? We spent $16 billion dollars to enforce a law that was incapable of eradicating marijuana sales of at least $25.2 billion.

Why are we spending any money to stamp out marijuana? Wake up, Uncle Sam. You’ve lost the war on drugs and you’re now uselessly spending our tax dollars.

For those readers living in the Hoosier State, in 2005, authorities eradicated approximately 218,633,492 ditchweed plants. Of that number, 212,461,768 of those plants were removed from Indiana land.

If you’re not familiar with the term ditchweed, let me try to explain.

Ditchweed, also known as ‘feral hemp’ has no market value. The majority of these feral hemp plants are remnants of the government-subsidized ‘Hemp For Victory’ campaign that took place during World War II. The reason ditchweed has no market value is because it contains to little THC, the psychoactive (or intoxicating) property in marijuana.

Yet Hoosiers paid to have over 212 million of these plants eradicated from Indiana ditches, fields and forests. If Hoosiers spent 50 cents to eradicate these plants, they spent too much money. But the DEA doubtless spent more American tax dollars taking photographs of their ‘drug warriors’ standing next to uprooted stacks of a completely worthless plant.

It’s well past time for American lawmakers to open their eyes to possibilities of cannabis farming. We can provide a safer environment for Americans, we can eliminate our dependency on foreign oil, we can develop medical cannabis treatment plans, we can provide American citizens with a drug that is much safer than tobacco and alcohol and we can tax all of it to help reduce our national debt.

Education and regulation will be much more profitable than prohibition. Prohibition didn’t work in the 1920’s and it is still not working today. Yes We Can-nabis!

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NORML -- Working to reform marijuana laws

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Cannabis Sativa (Latin for ‘useful hemp’) is making a comeback in the food, textile and fuel industries, yet the United States government is taking a back seat approach to the production of this versatile plant.

As we have already proven during the World War II era, hemp is a hardy plant that grows well in the North American climate. So hardy, in fact, that it can be grown free of pesticide and herbicide use. Hemp is naturally resistant to pests which means our agriculture industry could start saving millions of dollars and eliminating the many ecological and health risks presented by the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Once the plants are harvested, the seeds can be cold-pressed to produce hemp oil. Hemp oil is a very high-quality, polyunsaturated oil that can be used in food products, blended into body care products, used as a lubricant, applied as a natural wood finish and more importantly, used to create bio-diesel fuel.

The remaining seed cake can be ground into flour, used to brew beer and added to livestock feed.

Hemp stalks can be ground up for use in animal bedding, garden mulch and paper products.

This versatile plant, which our current ‘drug czar’ says has no medicinal qualities has also been proven to be effective in reducing the risk of head and neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, reducing breast cancer tumors, providing pain relief for chronic pain sufferers, reducing blood pressure, increasing appetite in cancer treatment patients and moderating auto-immune disorders.

Those ignorant of the many food benefits provide by hemp do not understand hemp oil has no psychoactivity and is safe for persons of all ages.

Hemp seed oil is approximately 80 percent is polyunsaturated fat – the highest of any vegetable oil. In addition, it contains the essential fatty acids (EFAs) linoleic acid (omega 6) and alpha linolenic acid (omega 3) in an ideal ratio for absorption by the body. No other single-source oil has this ideal combination of essential fatty acids.

To add to the many medicinal properties provided by cannabis, these EFA’s provide many other health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, eczema, diabetes, psoriasis, attention deficit disorder and depression.

The hemp seed is 35% oil and provides the single richest source of essential fatty acids of any other plant. Of all plant-based protein sources the oil’s 25% protein content, made up of all eight amino acids, is second only to the soy bean. The protein in hemp seed is primarily made up of edictin and albumin, which are the components of human blood plasma.

The gluten-free flour produced from grinding up hemp seed cake has a rich and nutty taste. It is also 41% protein.

With a natural-growing plant offering so many health benefits, one can only imagine why our lawmakers are so resistant to legalizing the production and possession of cannabis in this country. Are they not aware that if we were to plant just 10% of America’s farmland in hemp, we could produce enough bio-diesel to eliminate our reliance on foreign oil? Isn’t that reason enough to reconsider the federal government’s position on cannabis?

I want to urge each one of you to contact YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS and ask them to help introduce and support cannabis-friendly legislation.

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President Obama’s drug-czar, Gil Kerlikowske was interviewd by Tom Dickinson for Rolling Stone in May 2009. When asked how how he hoped to bring sound science back to Office of National Drug Control Policy, he stated that science would answer whether smoked marijuana has any medical benefit.

The Vice President’s office placed some severe restrictions on the interview, but Kerlikowske told Dickinson that the question on marijuana’s medical benefit was one that had to be answered by science and not ideology.

Just 60 days later, Kerlikowske has apparently decided ideology overrules science after all. He was quoted as saying in Fresno, California, “Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit.” Please read the full report in the Fresno Bee.

Now let’s please remember this quote came from this country’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In 2007, the office of the Director received 4,150,000 American taxpayer dollars. For that kind of money, we should be getting someone that knows what they’re talking about, correct?

Yet Kerlikowske goes on record as saying marijuana “has no medicinal benefit”?

Excuse me Mr. Director, what can you tell me about Dr. Manual Guzman of Madrid? Were you aware Dr. Guzman has seen THC kill brain cancer cells while leaving surrounding tissue unharmed, demonstrating the neuroprotectant properties of Cannabinoids?

Who are we to believe, Mr. Director? The former police chief of Seattle, Washington (a state that has medical marijuana laws enacted, by the way), or a medical professional?

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