Recently I’ve noticed quite a few columns, blogs and comments concerning the failed “war on drugs” and the idea of decriminalizing at least some currently illegal drugs.
To me, the general consensus seems to be that at the very least, hemp and marijuana should be decriminalized, if not outright legalized. At least among those that bothered to comment on it.
I won’t get into the marijuana issue in this blog, but I would welcome the discussion. I want to talk about hemp.
As most of you may know, marijuana and its distant cousin hemp are listed on the DEA drug schedule as schedule I drugs. Right up there with the likes of LSD, PCP and mescaline.
For comparsion, cocaine, crack and opium are schedule II drugs.
With the economy in tatters and with our faithful elected representatives preoccupied with devising new and different ways to legally plunder this country and its citizens, little time, if any, is paid to some of the “minor” bills being introduced.
One of these bills is HR 1866: Industrial Hemp Farming Act, introduced by rep. Ron Paul on April 2, 2009. You can read Paul’s introductory statement here and the bill here.
A few quotes from the introductory statement…
“Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act requires the federal government to respect state laws allowing the growing of industrial hemp.
Eight States–Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia–allow industrial hemp production or research in accord with state laws. However, federal law is standing in the way of farmers in these states growing what may be a very profitable crop. Because of current federal law, all hemp included in products sold in the United States must be imported instead of being grown by American farmers.”
“Federal law concedes the safety of industrial hemp by allowing it to be legally imported for use as food.”
“Industrial hemp is a crop that was grown legally throughout the United States for most of our nation’s history. In fact, during World War II, the federal government actively encouraged American farmers to grow industrial hemp to help the war effort. The Department of Agriculture even produced a film “Hemp for Victory” encouraging the plant’s cultivation.”
You can also lookup the contact information for your state representatives here.
This type of simple legislation can do nothing but help a struggling economy, not to mention struggling farmers, and may just get us to start thinking along the lines of personal liberty again.
Update:
Why is it that our government sees fit to criminalize the growth and manufacture of a product that is legal to import and consume?
Why is it that people will complain when our elected leaders never walk the walk, and yet, when given the opportunity, neither do we?
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