Sam's $.02 On How To Help End Cannabis Prohibition

The sad truth is that American citizens pay taxes to arrest, try, and imprison people who are in contact with Cannabis, in all but a very few specific cases. The reason for this is not any credible "scientific study" or "public health concern." Mega-rich men, women and families control the industrial raw material market by prohibiting domestic hemp agriculture. Chemical manufacturers and timber and oil companies will have to re-tool some of their production facilities to accept hemp as a raw material. In some cases like paper, very few modifications would have to be made. The payoff for this inconvenience is a renewable resource with very little pollution.

If you've ever wondered why Cannabis re-legalization advocates are so disgusted with our government and so excited about ending Cannabis prohibition, consider the real situation:

peaceful, otherwise law- abiding citizens are being carted off to jail for cultivation, sale or possesion of Cannabis, while rich men and women are counting the money and laughing all the way to the bank.

Prohibition of Cannabis will only end when the general public's perception of it changes from "wacky weed" or "evil weed" to "The World's Most Useful Vegetable."

The most important thing we can do is openly support Cannabis Hemp whenever possible. This means buying hemp products and talking with our families, neighbors, friends and other people about hemp re- legalization. Supporting the hemp industry in America is a great way to make an anonymous contribution to ending prohibition. (plus you get something made from the finest renewable natural resource in return! :)

For this law to change, the folks in Washington need to make some changes ON THE BOOKS, right? So we go to the politicians and ask them the favor of relegalizing Cannabis? Hell no. Ask their opinion, surely. Then publicize how they feel right alongside facts about Cannabis and a plan to tolerate or regulate it. This is a great way to get publicity for the cause of ending prohibition, using the mass media, and stepping into the political arena without the mess.

I think the following items make a good stART. Cliff Schaffer's website provides a great deal of information for activists, and I use these links extensively. Eventually, this site will keep much more information, but since distance is a minor concern on the Internet, for now I use links.

As Tom Ballanco, author of the Industrial Hemp Production Act, says:
"See you at the finish line"

1. Research the matter and learn all you can from reliable sources. Hemp information is especially easy to find at the Colorado Hemp Initiative Homepage :)

2. Talk openly with your friends and other people about how stupid it is to put people in prison for dealing with Cannabis.

3. Write a letter to your federal Representatives and Senators asking their opinion on Cannabis re-legalization. Site studies, facts or articles that may help clarify or support your argument. Try to make the letter no more than a couple hundred words or so. Later, you can submit this letter to the newspaper alongside the response from your Congresspeople, if it's brief. Request a written reply to your letter.

4. Contact the nearest Cannabis re-legalization action group. If a group doesn't already exist, you may consider starting one. Many more opportunities are available for publicity in a group than for an individual.

5. When the reply comes from your Congressperson, contact the local newspaper's editorial department and make a friend. If you make a friend in the media, you'll go ten times further. They hold the key to the homes (and minds) of most Americans. Ask if the newspaper would be willing to print them side-by-side (better) or in consequtive issues. If your letter is good enough, this should spur discussion of the matter, and also make our case. The Congressperson's response will probably be vague bullcrap about protecting public safety and such-and-such. Forgive me if I'm cynical, but I'm suspicious of anyone who picks the safest drug to pursue most vigorously. Something fishy is going on here, and my hope is that MOST AVERAGE PEOPLE CAN TELL THE TRUTH FROM A LIE WHEN PUT RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

6. After you do all this, or skip all this, and you want more ideas - email us at COHIP and let us work with you to End Cannabis Prohibition.

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