The War on Drugs is A War on Us!

Many times I have heard the argument that the "War on Drugs" is focusing the US law enforcement power and process on high-level traffickers, foreign cartels, violent gang members and other hard core criminal elements but the statistics show that claim to be a lie.

The FBI's own stats from 2006 show there were 829,627 marijuana arrests but 89% of those arrests were for simple possession only. No violence, no gun crimes, no trafficking, nothing more that simple possession.

Let me emphasize those numbers.

2006 Marijuana Arrests:

829,627

89% of those arrested were 

for simple possession only.

(Source: F.B.I. Uniform Drug Reports, "Crime in the United States, 2006," table 29 and 'Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations.)

So why would law enforcement continue to go after pot smokers when there are so many more serious criminals that they could be spending their time on? I have heard several theories but the argument that makes the most sense is that arresting small time pot smokers is basically a full-employment strategy for law enforcement. Busting pot smokers ensures that law enforcement can maintain their federal budgets for the War on Americans--oops, I mean the War on Drugs, they can keep the jails full which keeps the prison-industrial complex happy which feeds money back into the political campaigns of the politicians who keep funding more prisons and maintains the simplistic and wrong-headed "Get tough on crime" mentality that lubricates the broken justice system.

It is time to end this false war and let adults decide what is best for them to put in their bodies.

Tony Budden of Hemporium, South Africa

Check out the great video below from Tony Budden of Hemporium, South Africa. At 8:30 in the video, Tony says something truly profound when he says "I believe hemp has an energy especially because there are so many people across the planet that are fighting for its liberation."

Very well said. I also love the tag-line for the Hemporium business and brand of "Innovate, educate, cultivate."

Innovate, Educate, Cultivate. 

Hemp Class Project?

Here's a thought on how we could showcase the many uses of hemp as part of my class project. There is a guy named Richard Friar who lives in the Terrey Hills area of New South Wales, Australia (near Sydney) and he has been growing an urban garden of about 600 industrial hemp plants.

Richard Friar

The authorities in Australia are now insisting that he destroy his hemp plants. It seems that initially he did have (or acted on a verbal) approval to grow his urban hemp garden from Australia's Department of Primary Industries but now that his hemp project has attracted international publicity and a lot of media attention, it seems that the Department is pulling back on their authorization.

Per online news reports {[sources say] thanks Rupert Murdoch and FOX for that one}an Industry & Investment NSW spokesman confirmed a license to cultivate industrial hemp in the Terrey Hills area had been revoked because the grower breached its consent conditions. “The breach involved failing to provide adequate information in a register the grower was required to keep, identifying the number of plants and the date of obtaining and planting those plants,” he said.

What a sad and illogical state of affairs. Hemp is just being suppressed and abused. Any other agricultural crop would not have such restrictions.One day (soon) hemp will be free and will be growing everywhere and we will wonder how we ever got along without it. Note that as of January 2011 the country of Australia refuses to allow the importation or sale of any hemp food. Really. You can't go to your health food store and buy a quart of hemp oil? Not even 946.35295 ml.

Mr. Friar's urban hemp garden model should be used to repair the flood damaged areas of NSW so everyone can see the practical benefits of the plant. Community groups could get together to replant his crop to abate erosion once the flood waters abate.

"Hemp. Bringing people together since 8,000 BC."

Hemp Is A Superfood

Along with all the other amazing properties of the hemp plant (textiles, paper, fuel, building products, medicine) hemp is also a superfood. Cold pressed hemp seed oil is possibly the best food you can put in your body. I have been consuming hemp oil on a daily basis for many months now and I can feel the healthy effects immediatly upon ingesting a 'shot' in the morning or after a big meal. I have a couple friends who were eating a lot of over the counter remedies for GI problems, or were taking prescription drugs, and once they tried hemp oil they were able to quit or dramatically cut back on these other products because hemp oil took much better care of them. Try it yourself. I have tried several brands of cold pressed hemp oil (Manitoba Harvest, Nutiva and Prairie Emerald Oil) and I like the latter the best. I buy it from Whole Foods, but you can get a much better price online at Prairie Emerald Oil

Today I saw an article about hemp as a superfood at the Natural News website: Superfood Power of Hemp

The full text of the article is below. Please try just a little hemp oil and feel what it can do for you. When I first tasted raw hemp seed oil, I have to admit that I did not like it all that much, the flavor was pretty powerful, but within 24 hours my body could feel the remarkable health effects and was hooked. Now I just love the taste and take a small shot of hemp oil at least every 12 hours.


(NaturalNews) Foods that have an incredible array of health benefits that go well beyond just their nutrient value are considered 'super-foods.' One of the oldest and yet seemingly most misunderstood superfoods on the planet is hemp. Hemp is an incredible multi-purpose plant that can be used for anything from paper, rope, and cloth. It is also one of the most nutritionally well-balanced foods on the planet.

Although many people associate hemp with its sister plant marijuana (Cannabis sativa l.) the two are not the same. Hemp products come from a special variety that contains virtually no THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the chemical that gives marijuana its psychoactive effects. Therefore hemp is a perfectly safe food that will not make one "high" or cause anyone to fail a drug test.

Hemp has been cultivated and used by many ancient cultures since the beginning of recorded history. Researchers have found its use in China, India, Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, and the native cultures in North & South America. Hemp fiber was used to make rope and cloth, while the stalk was used to make paper. These cultures also used the seed for nutritional purposes. It can be eaten as shelled seeds, oil, butter, flour, and protein powder.

Hemp protein is one of the very few plant based complete protein sources. This means that it contains sufficient quantities of all 9 essential amino acids. Hemp is a great source of sulfur containing amino acids methionine and cysteine, which are necessary for cellular detoxification and the production of vital enzymes. Additionally, it is rich in branched chain amino acids that are needed for muscle growth and repair.

Almost 60% of the protein in hemp is made up of a globulin source called edestin. Most of the rest is in the form of albumin. Albumin and Edestin have a very similar molecular makeup as the protein found in the human body. Because of this common link, hemp protein is very easily absorbed into human blood and used for roles as critical as DNA repair.

Most of our world is suffering from abnormal fatty-acid ratios. Two critical forms of essential fats are the omega 6 and omega 3 varieties. Due to the heavy consumption of processed vegetable oils and grain-fed meat & dairy products most people have very high levels of omega 6. The World Health Organization recommends a 4:1 omega 6:omega 3 ratio. The typical western diet produces a ratio from 20:1 - 50:1. Abnormal ratios cause heavy increases in inflammation that lead to accelerated aging and advanced disease states.

Hemp contains the optimal ratio of 3.75:1 (omega 6:3) making it a powerful source for an anti-inflammatory diet. Hemp is also a great source of the omega-6 essential fat gamma linoleic acid GLA. GLA is only found in quantities of significance in hemp, borage oil, evening primrose oil, black currant seed oil, & Spirulina. Because of the scarcity of GLA much of our society is deficient in this essential fatty acid. GLA is critical for reducing inflammation in our body and is one of the most powerful nutrients for balancing hormones. Additionally, sufficient quantities of GLA promote healthy skin, hair, & nails.

GLA significantly increases metabolism by encouraging stored fat known as brown adipose tissue (BAT) to be effectively used for energy. Additionally, GLA activates the metabolic process by providing key nutrients for the cellular energy system called the sodium-potassium pump. When the sodium-potassium pump is effectively operating in every cell it can remove toxic substances from deep within the cell structure. If the pump is weak, cells will store toxins and the metabolism will be slowed.

Second Annual Hemp History Week

Following the successful public awareness campaign from last year, the 2011 Hemp History Week is scheduled for May 02 to May 08. Below is part of the press release from today:

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp are excited to announce that the 2nd Annual Hemp History Week will be held May 2-8, 2011. As a national grassroots education campaign designed to renew strong support for hemp farming in the U.S., Hemp History Week will feature events in cities and towns all over the country. The campaign will also feature a day of action and an online petition drive to encourage the Obama administration and Congress to change federal policy and allow American farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.


"During a time of economic distress, we need to be encouraging American enterprise and American job creation. It simply doesn't make sense to restrict a viable industry because of unfounded fears. There are many success stories in my district about companies who use or sell hemp products, and I don't believe we should be limiting their potential. The Hemp History Week campaign is a great opportunity to educate other elected officials and the American public about the tremendous benefits that the ability to grow hemp in America will bring," explains Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon).

Check out their official website and get involved! Hemp History Week 2011

Hemp's Notorious Cousin

Thanks to my daily "hemp" alerts from Google, I found this great three minute video cartoon on YouTube. Check it out, it has a great message and gives me hope that we are moving toward legalization one day soon.

The Farmer's Lament

Below is a brilliant quote from Gatewood Galbraith, a lawyer and hemp activist from Kentucky. The quote was pulled from a hemp documentary I found on YouTube and goes to the heart of the problem of hemp prohibition in the USA.There are so many interconnected problems in the world today that could be addressed, at least in part, by the free and widespread cultivation of industrial hemp.

“100 years ago the farmer produced all of the fiber, all of the medicine, all of the fuel and all of the food that society consumes. That’s what farming is—if you raise those four basic categories, fiber, food, medicine and fuel, and you sell them in the cities as the basic necessities of life, the money flows out of the cities back to the land owner and to the producer where land is the means of the production of wealth. It’s been that way for thousands of years. Today, a hundred years later, the farmer does not produce any fiber, if they do it’s cotton which accounts for 50% of the pesticides and herbicides used in the agricultural sector. The farmer does not raise any medicine, it’s all been monopolized by the pharmaceutical companies. The farmer does not raise any fuel, it’s all been monopolized by the petrochemical companies. And if you go into a grocery store and look at the ingredients on [food] packaging, you will find out how rapidly the farmer is being displaced from their heritage of food production. It’s all been taken over by the synthetic manufacturers who, in producing these synthetic products, create the toxic waste and the hazardous by-products with which we are having such a tough time dealing. And not only that, it concentrates wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people all the time, because the means of production of wealth is no longer the land. It is now the factories and the shareholders and the people who own the controlling interest is those corporations.

Does the government have the right to tell man or woman that they can not plant a seed in God’s green earth and consume the green natural plant that comes up out of it? That seems such an inalienable right. That seems such a natural and basic way of communing with mother earth and with the natural cycle of things.”

  --  Hemp Historian and Lawyer, Gatewood Galbraith of Kentucky 

On a related note, the following quote fits nicely with the overall argument above and speaks to the looming destiny of small time farmers--and possibly to all of the citizens who are not of the economic elite in the USA today.

“In the course of the last century, they [the bankers and economic elite] have converted this nation from a nation of independent freeholders to a nation of employees. And they [the American people] are just one step away from being serfs.”

  --  Franklin Sanders, author of Tax Honesty