A failed Drug War

Addiction is a medical condition best treated by doctors; not the police or criminal justice system… 109th U.S. Congress Office of National Drug Control Policy Does anybody in this country have any common sense when it comes to this issue? These are not Rambling Rantings of Rhetoric but an essay on the Reality of Regulation for Revenue; just as The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, as well as Australia and Canada are now realizing and recognizing the full ramifications of the failure of prohibition. HEROIN was a hard to get “problem” when I was growing up but my younger brother of six years was a addict because it is easier to get and cheaper than POT. I challenge anybody to prove I am wrong... (He died 31 May 2004 from an overdose at age forty-seven). And despite the attempt to erase, and, re-write history (REEFER MADNESS 1936), we know that Geo. Washington, and Thom. Jefferson, and Benj. Franklin grew HEMP a.k.a. CANNABIS or MARIJUANA. And Jesus (as in Christ) was a user of cannabis extracts... As a young man I was entrapped (maybe enlightened?!) by LSD that cost me my military tour; which did not help my already dysfunctional familial self image and ended up losing a Postal career because of alcohol effected thinking. This is a LIE you are putting to the public NOT facts so why is the truth so hard to come out; maybe this is the funding the CIA needs, or was that TAXPAYER money spent in the beginning of the War on Terror and aL-Qaeda and Taliban, in Afghanistan and Iraq? Even their farmers know it is a living to grow OPIUM as opposed to poverty growing any so called commercial crops. And that OPIUM has been servicing a true SUPPLY and DEMAND market The Human (maybe biological) Condition. And we the United States are the TERRORISTS in Latin America. I challenge your information and say you are causing more damage. Where are these “studies” you cite? Cigarettes and alcohol are the gateway drugs. When I was young heroin was impossible to get but now it is every where and cheaper. Marijuana has become the “rich man’s drug”. I will reference your own agency literature; “...During the past (five) decades, the demand for psychoactive drugs (has) spawned a rising incidence of illicit clandestine laboratories. Clandestine Laboratories have proliferated because of the ease of production and the limited skill needed to operate them. Equipment, chemicals, and the facilities are relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain. No great skills are needed to follow the manufacturing procedures (which are now easily obtained via the Internet). In fact most laboratory operators employ or are themselves “cooks” rather than trained chemists. The overall risks are minimal despite sporadic fires and explosions and the threat of discovery and arrest; and the potential profits from these enterprise can be enormous.” (REF: Drugs of Abuse, DEA “USGPO 1985 482 711”) Even the venerable MARK TWAIN (1835-1910) had worked on a HEMP farm in his youth where he met Black Folks whom would leave an influence on his life more profound than any plant would. You can read it for yourself on pages thirty-four and ...five, in his book titled “Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians” published after the success of those first two books. That was left out of Ken Burns 2002 documentary on PBS. Also for reference, on page 209 of “Black Postcard Price Guide” (Mashburn, 1999 ISBN: 1-885940-06-8) is a Asheville NC, Carolina Card Co. #10724 which is titled “In a Southern hemp Field” early twentieth century. And in Portland Oregon (Little Beirut) on the Willamette River Eastbank Esplanade at the Oak street marker for Municipal Terminal No.2 is information and a picture of HEMP bales for rope and paper in a warehouse circa 1924. The Volstead Act was the cause of Organized Crime, with the profits from Prohibition being used by the criminal element; this was a Constitutional act with a full two-thirds of Congress i.e. House of Representatives and the Senate, plus a majority of States at three-quarters for approval. The repeal fourteen years later too was a Constitutional act. Yet alcohol was sold openly prior to the legal repeal of prohibition. Respect for the LAW? But the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was only a Congressional law or an example of ENABLING LEGISLATION. Not of the People, or by the People, and NOT for the People. And just like the Savings & Loan and ENRON debacles, Congress through “enabling legislation” did determine the outcome prior to the fact. Presented for your thoughtful consideration the EMIT drug testing here in this land of “...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” as the actual chemistry is not addressed just its search. Picture if you would a time frame of thirty-two years less forty days; now what we are seeking is twenty to fifty seconds within that period. The active ingredient in marijuana “delta-nine TetraHydroCannabinol” alkaloid molecule is that we seek at twenty parts per billion for a first time user whom after only fourteen seconds will be detectable for six days with one “toke”. Heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD, and pharmaceuticals will dissipate within seventy-two hours; Binge Friday night but be able to work on Monday without repercussion. Pee into the jar freely. Alcohol metabolizes in twenty-four hours with a working liver. The U.S. left VietNam after sixteen years and more than 58,000 dead at a cost of more than ONE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE BILLION DOLLARS; In February 1909 Shanghai, China was the site of the first international conference on Opium by the United States for the beginnings of a “Drug War”. As of December 2004 the United States has spent over FOUR HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS since 1971, jailed over 13,000,000 citizens and how to calculate those who have died either in Law Enforcement or user? (Colleen Waibel 1998 Portland Police and Amy Donovan of Austin TX Police October 2004). The hypocrisy of “Legal” tobacco & alcohol (420,000 deaths annually plus 53,000 by second hand smoke and, 75,000 deaths Alcohol related in 2003! Prohibition failed but now we have “Organized Crime”). The Narco-Economy in 1999 made over ONE TRILLION DOLLARS and has profits exceeding most of the 191 United Nations member nations GDP. OIL funds terrorism and the National Rifle Association enables those intent on doing harm to the public with a total refusal to regulate weapons by manipulating the Department of Justice. Marijuana does not kill, it is innocuous and an expectorant, anti-nausea and an appetite stimulant (good for cancer patients). Glaucoma patients can relieve ocular pressure with medical marijuana. HEMP is a viable and sulfur free RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE; I and the HEMP lobby propose this source for energy as METHANOL and its twenty-four barrel (1000 gallons) per acre; or the 875 LB’s of fiber per acre; and is a dual seasonal crop; a SULFUR FREE ten ton bio-mass per acre and low maintenance high yield plant that can be harvested at least twice yearly and is DIOXIN FREE with a seventy-seven percent cellulose content. Iowa CORN ETHANOL has only a seven to ten barrel (300 to 420 gallons) high labor and intensive fertilizer for a higher cost annual yield per acre. Reference: “Opium: A History” by Martin Booth 1996 ISBN: 0-312-18643-6 "Cannabis: A History" by Martin Booth 2003 ISBN: 0-312-42494-9 “The Politics of Heroin” by Alfred McCoy, U of Wisc. 1991 ISBN: 1-556-52125-6x “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” by Jack Herer 1985 (revised) ISBN: 1-878-12502-8 Heroin does not kill but the life style will REF: British Public Health Service Heroin was a 1898 trademark of Bayer (as in aspirin) of Germany made with OPIUM Acetic Anhydride and the SODA POP ingredient “Sodium Carbonate”. Heroin and Cocaine belong in the hands of medical doctors, not drug traffickers; or the police and the judicial system. By a different approach the drug dealers and drug lords will be put out of business; and drug users could be better monitored. At the least a medical overview and REGULATED at a cost of less than ONE DOLLAR per dose plus the social cost would still be less than either the criminal and law enforcement costs combined at present. And a new respect for the Police and all Law enforcement could-would evolve. And the erosion of LIBERTY which is also eroding respect for all law here in The U.S. and because of “Zero Tolerance” tells of our failure so it is time for a change. The three R’s have evolved to REALITY-REGULATION-REVENUE. If you can not dazzle us with brilliance do not try to baffle us with BS. Stop using “children” as an excuse to justify your job, instead actually protect them as they know a lie eventually will be found out. The only truthful thing you said was “...parents, talk to your child. Communicate and Listen.” And parents please take responsibility. FACT: The Census of 2000 counted more than two hundred eighty-one million citizens with a Gross Domestic Product of TEN TRILLION DOLLARS and a total National “Public” Debt of $8,500,000,000,000.00 as of August 2006 facing up those children’s future, and part of the American Dream they may not afford. Are you afraid of the truth? Want to discuss the issue? DARE I say prove me wrong? If you know history then you know that John Jay our first Supreme Court Justice in 1794 said that a jury has the obligation to “...determine the law as well as the facts.” and the Ninth Amendment of “Rights retained by the People” infers “...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And do not forget the 1942 U.S. Dept. of Agriculture film of fourteen minutes “Hemp for Victory”… “ Long ago, when these Grecian temples were new, hemp was already old in the service of mankind. For thousands of years, even then, this plant had been grown for cordage and coarse cloth in China and elsewhere in the East. For centuries prior to about 1850 all the ships that sailed the western seas were rigged with hempen rope and sails. For the sailor, no less than the hangman, hemp was indispensable. A 44-gun frigate like our cherished Old Ironsides took over 60 tons of hemp for rigging, including an anchor cable 25 inches in circumference. The Conestoga wagons and prairie schooners of pioneer days were covered with hemp canvas. Indeed, the very word canvas comes from the Arabic word for hemp. In those days hemp was an important crop in Kentucky and Missouri. Then came cheaper imported fibers for cordage, like jute, sisal and manila hemp, and the culture of hemp in America declined. But now with Philippine and East Indian sources of hemp in the hands of the Japanese, and shipment of jute from India curtailed, American hemp must meet the needs of our Army and Navy as well as our industry. In 1942, patriotic farmers at the government's request planted 36,000 acres of seed hemp, an increase of several thousand percent. The goal for 1943 is 50,000 acres of seed hemp. In Kentucky much of the seed hemp acreage is on river bottom land such as this along the Kentucky River gorge. Some of these fields are inaccessible except by boat. Thus plans are afoot for a great expansion of a hemp industry as a part of the war program. This film is designed to tell farmers how to handle this ancient crop now little-known outside Kentucky and Wisconsin. This is hemp seed. Be careful how you use it. For to grow hemp legally you must have a federal registration and tax stamp. This is provided for in your contract. Ask your Triple A Committee Man or your county agent about it. Don't forget. Hemp demands a rich, well-drained soil such as is found here in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky or in central Wisconsin. It must be loose and rich in organic matter. Poor soils won't do. Soils that will grow good corn will usually grow hemp. Hemp is not hard on the soil. In Kentucky it has been grown for several years on the same ground, though this practice is not recommended. A dense and shady crop, hemp tends to choke out weeds. Here's a Canada thistle that couldn't stand the competition. Dead as a dodo. Thus hemp leaves the ground in good condition for the following crop. For fiber, hemp should be sewn closely, the closer the rows the better. These rows are spaced about four inches. This hemp has been broadcast. Either way it should be sown thick enough to grow a slender stalk. Here's an ideal stand: the right height to be harvested easily, thick enough to grow slender stalks that are easy to cut and process. Stalks like these here on the left -- they yield the most fiber and the best. Those on the right are too coarse and woody. For seed, hemp is planted in hills like corn, sometimes by hand. Hemp is a dioecious plant. The female flower is inconspicuous. But the male flower is easily spotted. In seed production after the pollen has been shed, these male plants are cut out. These are the seeds on a female plant. Hemp for fiber is ready to harvest when the pollen is shedding and the leaves are falling. In Kentucky, hemp harvest comes in August. Here the old standby has been the self-rake reaper, which has been used for a generation or more. Hemp grows so luxuriantly in Kentucky that harvesting is sometimes difficult, which may account for the popularity of the self-rake with its lateral stroke. A modified rice binder has been used to some extent. This machine works well on average hemp. Recently, the improved hemp harvester, used for many years in Wisconsin, has been introduced in Kentucky. This machine spreads the hemp in a continuous swath. It is a far cry from this fast and efficient modern harvester to the "armstrong" model of yore, but here's one kind of harvester at least that doesn't stall in the heaviest hemp. In Kentucky, hand cutting is practiced in opening fields for the machine. In Kentucky, hemp is shucked as soon as safe, after cutting, to be spread out for retting later in the fall. In Wisconsin, hemp is harvested in September. Here the hemp harvester with automatic spreader is standard equipment. Note how smoothly the rotating apron lays the swaths preparatory to retting Here it is a common and essential practice to leave headlands around hemp fields. These strips may be planted with other crops, preferably small grain. Thus the harvester has room to make its first round without preparatory hand cutting. The other machine is running over corn stubble. When the cutter bar is much shorter than the hemp is tall, overlapping occurs. Not so good for retting. The standard cut is eight to nine feet. The length of time hemp is left on the ground to ret depends on the weather. The swaths must be turned to get a uniform ret. When the woody core breaks away readily like this, the hemp is about ready to pick up and bind into bundles. Well-retted hemp is light to dark grey. The fiber tends to pull away from the stalks. The presence of stalks in the bough-string stage indicates that retting is well underway. When hemp is short or tangled or when the ground is too wet for machines, it is bound by hand. A wooden bucket is used. Twine will do for tying, but the hemp itself makes a good band. When conditions are favorable, the pickup binder is commonly used. The swaths should lie smooth and even with the stalks parallel. The picker won't work well in tangled hemp. After binding, hemp is shucked as soon as possible to stop further retting. In 1942, 14,000 acres of fiber hemp were harvested in the United States. The goal for 1943 is 300,000 acres. Thus hemp, cannabis sativa the old standby cordage fiber, is staging a strong comeback. This is Kentucky hemp going into the dryer over mill at Versailles. In the old days, breaking was done by hand -- one of the hardest jobs known to man. Now the power breaker makes quick work of it. Spinning American hemp into rope yarn or twine in the old Kentucky river mill at Frankfort, Kentucky, another pioneer plant that has been making cordage for more than a century. All such plants will presently be turning out products spun from American-grown hemp: twine of various kinds for tying, winding armatures and upholsterer's work; rope for marine rigging and towing; for hay forks; derricks, and heavy duty tackle; light-duty fire hose; thread for shoes for millions of American soldiers; and parachute webbing for our paratroopers. As for the United States Navy, every battleship requires 34,000 feet of rope and other craft accordingly. Here in the Boston Navy Yard, where cables for frigates were made long ago, crews are now working night and day making cordage for the fleet. In the old days rope yarn was spun by hand. Today, even the rope walk is mechanized -- 160 fathoms to go. The rope yarn feeds through holes in an iron plate. This is Manila hemp from the Navy's rapidly-dwindling reserves. When that is gone, American hemp will go on duty again: hemp for mooring ships; hemp for tow lines; hemp for tackle and gear; hemp for countless naval uses both on ship and shore. Just as in the old days when Old Ironsides sailed “(SS Constitution 1797 – 1881)” the seas victorious with her hempen shrouds and hempen sails". Hemp for Victory “When you see contradictions then check your assumptions.” Ayn Rand “Those willing to sacrifice ESSENTIAL LIBERTY for a little TEMPORARY SECURITY deserve neither.” Benj. Franklin “I come from where we think it is the right of every American to go to hell and be damned if he wants to.” C. E. S. Wood (1852-1944) “The American republic will endure until the politicians are able to bribe the people with their own money.” De Tocqueville, ‘Democracy In America’ “I may not agree with what you say but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire Semper Fidelis, Wesley M. Ellis Portland OR a.k.a. “Little Beirut” [email protected] August 2006