Hemp/Cannabis Re-legalization Summit
Sponsored by The Libertarian Party of Boulder County
Sunday, January 19, 1997
6:00 pm
The Old Train Depot, Next to the Mann Theatre
30th and Pearl, Boulder
An open discussion of strategies for re-legalizing cannabis and hemp. Panel members include:
If you've noticed a lack of news on the Internet from the Colorado hemp front, it is partially because one of its main organizers, Laura Kriho, was tried for contempt of court for deliberating "improperly" when she served on a jury. This prosecution and trial forced Laura to devote most of her attention to keeping herself out of jail.
Laura is being prosecuted partially for her beliefs about cannabis laws and her involvement in CO-HIP. A letter to the editor that she wrote in May, chastising the DEA for killing Sen. Casey's industrial hemp bill, was introduced as evidence against her in court at her contempt trial.
Since no verdict has been reached yet in her case, it has also forced her to remain relatively quiet. But she still remains active in CO-HIP's educational and outreach activities.
If you would like more info. on Laura's case, send email to the Jury Rights Project (jrights@welcomehome.org). Or visit Doreen Bishop's home page (http://www.execpc.com/~doreen). Doreen is a medical marijuana patient who is also active in jury rights issues.
State Senator Lloyd Casey, who sponsored bills in 1995 and 1996 to allow the culitvation of low-THC hemp as a fiber crop in Colorado, will be retiring from the Senate in January. Senator Casey, who had a heart attack in September, is recovering well and is still working on getting hemp legislation introduced in Colorado and other states.
It is still unknown if another legislator will introduce a similar industrial hemp bill in this legislative session which begins on January 8, 1997 and runs through May. There are several possibilities, but nothing definite. We will inform you as soon as we know more.
As of this date, Rep. Cynthia Thielen (Hawaii) and Senator Jerry Howard (Missouri) are the only confirmed legislators who will be introducing industrial hemp bills in their states. We will let you know if/when we hear of more.
In January 1996, the American Farm Bureau Federation unanimously passed a resolution supporting research into industrial hemp. Several state Farm Bureaus have also adopted similar resolutions, including Kentucky, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. These farmers are becoming the driving force behind industrial hemp legislation, as they should be. Farmers in Canada and overseas have already had several years to begin re- developing hemp industry, and US farmers are only falling farther behind.
CO-HIP wants to congratulate the hard-working activists who worked on the passage of Prop. 215 (California Compassionate Use Act) and Prop. 200 (Arizona Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Reform Act). CO-HIP also wants to thank the philanthropists who contributed the money that allowed these campaigns to be successful.
The passage of these two initiatives was historic and may mark the beginning of the end to hemp/cannabis prohibition, just as alcohol prohibition ended in this country state by state. At least, the passage has finally opened a national public debate on medicinal marijuana and drug policy reform.
These victories will have a direct impact on industrial hemp legislation in Colorado and other states. The federal government has promised to fight hard to over-turn the initiatives in CA and AZ. Even though industrial hemp is completely non-psychoactive, it is Cannabis sativa. And therefore the federal government is threatened by it.
The main opposition to industrial hemp in Colorado has been the DEA who were instrumental in killing the 1995 and 1996 bills. We predict the DEA and local law enforcement will again strongly oppose the this year's bill. Last year the DEA stated that there is no difference between industrial hemp and marijuana and that passage of an industrial hemp bill would send the wrong message to young people.
The DEA sees industrial hemp as a threat because they believe the re-legalization of industrial hemp will lead to the re-legalization of psychoactive cannabis (marijuana) for medicine, which will lead to the re-legalization of cannabis for adult use, which will ultimately lead to the re-legalization of all drugs. Or at least that is what they say.
What the federal government and law enforcement really fear is an end to the 60 year old "War on Cannabis" which could lead to:
Twenty years after the Viet Nam War ended, former Secretary of Defense during the war, Robert McNamara, stated he believed the war was a mistake.
1997 will mark the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. Since Harry Anslinger (head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1937) is no longer around to apologize for the "War on Cannabis", maybe President Clinton will make the historic apology. (You can inhale, but don't hold your breath).
CO-HIP will continue to keep people informed of the progress of industrial hemp legislation and other hemp/cannabis-related activities in the state. We will continue our educational and outreach efforts and continue to fight our own "War on Ignorance".