This plan is an update to the 1985 and 1986 Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) on cannabis eradication. In the Draft Supplement EIS (DSEIS), the DEA seeks to add triclopyr as an herbicide replacement for paraquat (which has been discovered to be toxic to humans since it was approved in 1985) and add amine formulations of 2,4-D to its list of approved chemical herbicides. The DEA will continue the use of glyphosate (Roundup).
The DEA also seeks to implement a new technology, called “aerial directed treatment of herbicides” from helicopters, which it claims to be safer than “broadcast aerial treatment”. The DEA would also like to allow the use of certain chemical dyes as markers in combination with aerial application.
Below are some links on the dangers of biocides (pesticides, herbicides, fungicides) to animal and plant life. See also Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring (1962). Biocides, on food crops alone, are estimated to cause 5,000 to 10,000 deaths per year from cancer. Cannabis has never killed anyone, in over 10,000 years of constant use world-wide. In fact, use of cannabis to replace cotton as a fiber crop would actually save lives, because cotton is such a chemically-intensive crop and cannabis requires NO BIOCIDES to grow as a fiber crop.
This is the public’s first opportunity to comment on the DEA’s biocide application plan in over 10 years. We hope you will use the opportunity and encourage others to do so. Please re-distribute and re-post this announcement, especially to any local or national environmental, pesticide action, or health advocacy groups you may know.
To subscribe to our mailing list for updates (if you aren’t already), send email to cohip@levellers.org with the word SUBSCRIBE in the title.
Public comment on the DSEIS will be taken from 4pm to 8pm in the following cities. Activists in Colorado and Hawaii are planning a press conference/protest to be held at 3pm at the location of the meetings. If you live in these areas, please plan on attending and bringing your friends, signs, etc. If you know of anyone organizing a response in other areas, please contact CO-HIP so we can coordinate efforts.
5/12 – Denver, CO – Public Meeting
Contact: Colorado Hemp Initiative Project <cohip@levellers.org>
5/15 – Honolulu, HI – Public Meeting
Contact: Hawai’i Hemp Council: Roger Christie <pakaloha@gte.net>
5/19 – Boise, ID – Public Meeting
5/20 – Atlanta, GA – Public Meeting
5/27 – Washington, DC – Public Meeting
6/1 – DEADLINE for written public comment (see below for address)
1) How many people are killed each year by pesticides in and on food
in the U.S. ?
Answer: 5,000 -10,000
(Note: The National Academy of Sciences report which is summarized
here doesn’t even
address the use of pesticides on non-food crops such as cotton!)
http://www.alaska.net/~anc4hemp/es328.html
2) Hemp can save 400-800 lives per year, if it were used to replace
cotton, because hemp requires no biocides.
http://www.levellers.org/skid1.htm
http://www.alaska.net/~anc4hemp/es320.html
3) Vermont
State Auditor’s Report on hemp eradication in Vermont
This report shows 99% of the marijuana eradicated nationwide is DITCHWEED
(uncultivated, feral hemp, which usually has low enough THC levels to be
categorized as industrial hemp.) Is the DEA eradication plan really
a plan to eliminate the U.S. gene pool for potential future industrial
hemp crops?
5) Our Stolen Future: 2,4-D as an endocrine (hormone) disruptor:
6) Greenpeace’s Glyphosate (Roundup) Fact Sheet
7) Use of glysophate on cannabis in Oklahoma: NORML Updates (June 11, 1996: “Environmentalists Voice Concern Over State's Decision To Spray Marijuana With Pesticides”)
9) National Resources
Defense Council’s report entitled “Our Children At Risk” (Nov. 1997)
for information on the toxic effects of pesticides and herbicides on
children:
10) Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA)
11) Hoosier Environmental Coucil - Pesticides, Toxins & Endocrine Disrupters
12) Rachel Carson Homestead Home Page
13) Andean Information Network – Deaths caused by police eradicating coca in Bolivia
14) The
DEA’s Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statements – April 1998
1) Colorado Hemp Initiative Project
3) Eric Skidmore’s Hemp Archives
4) The North American Industrial Hemp Council
5) Ecolution
BILLING CODE 4410- 09-M
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
DEA NUMBER 175N
PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION ON HERBICIDAL ERADICATION
AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration
ACTION: Notice of Public Meetings
SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the "Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statements for Cannabis Eradication in the Contiguous United States and Hawaii" (DSEIS) is available for public review and comment and that public meetings will be held regarding this document. On August 13, 1996, we announced our intent to supplement the programmatic EIS's on eradication of Cannabis on Federal and non-Federal lands and welcomed comments (FR 61 42056). The DSEIS is an update of the latest scientific information regarding the herbicidal alternatives in the original environmental impact statement (EIS) documentation.
In 1985 and 1986, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published programmatic EISs for its Cannabis eradication program. The first EIS was prepared for Cannabis eradication on Federal lands in the continental United States, and the second EIS was prepared for the program as it pertained to non-Federal lands, Indian lands, and the State of Hawaii, including Native Hawaiian Homestead lands. The alternatives analyzed in detail in the EIS include the use of manual, mechanical, and herbicidal eradication methods.
In the DSEIS, changes to the herbicidal eradication alternatives in the 1985 and 1986 EISs were analyzed. The changes analyzed were (1) the addition of triclopyr as an approved program herbicide; (2) elimination of paraquat as an approved program herbicide; and (3) changes in program delivery, including elimination of broadcast aerial applications of herbicides, use of new technology in aerial directed treatments of herbicides, use of marker dyes, and use of amine formulations of 2,4-D.
DATES: Five public meetings will be held:
Tuesday May 12, 1998
4 PM -8 PM
Denver, Colorado
Renaissance Denver (Ballroom)
3801 Quebec Street
Denver, Colorado 80207
Friday May 15, 1998
4 PM - 8 PM
Honolulu, Hawaii
Ala Moana Hotel (Hibiscus Ballroom)
410 Atkins Drive
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Tuesday May 19, 1998
4 PM - 8 PM
Boise, Idaho
Boise Center on the Grove (The Summit Room)
850 West Front Street
Boise, Idaho 83702
Thursday May 21, 1998
4 PM - 8 PM
Atlanta, Georgia
Westin Atlanta Airport (Grand Ballroom 1)
4736 Best Road
Atlanta, GA 30337
Wednesday May 27, 1998
4 PM - 8 PM
Washington, DC Metro Area
Holiday Eisenhower Metro Center (Eisenhower Station Ballroom)
2460 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
The public comment period will be open for 45 days beginning with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's formal Notice of Availability, anticipated to appear in the Federal Register on April 17, 1998. The DSEIS will be mailed to the names on the mailing list.
CONTACTS: Comments and participation at the public meetings are invited. Speakers are requested to present one original and three copies of the written text of their presentation to register. Speakers may pre-register by facsimile at (301) 734-3640 any time of day or by calling Ms. Vicki Wickheiser, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Speakers should identify which meeting they plan to attend. Speakers may also register starting at 3 p.m. the day of the meeting. Again, they should present written text as described above.
ADDRESSES: Comments and participation at the public meetings are invited. Speakers are requested to submit text of their presentation to:
Ms. Vicky Wickheiser
DOA/APHIS
4700 River Road Unit 149
Riverdale, MD 20737-1228.
Anyone unable to attend one of the above meetings, who wishes to submit written comments to the DSEIS may submit them to the above address prior to June 1, 1998.
COPIES OF THE DRAFT DSEIS: Copies of the DSEIS have been sent to all agencies and individuals who responded to the DSEIS Federal Register Notice of Intent, and to all respondents from the Original EIS Mailing list who responded positively to a mailing list query, and to other individuals that have requested copies of the document. Persons wishing copies of this DSEIS should immediately contact:
Mr. Jack Edmundson, DOA/APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737-1228, phone (301)-734-4844, facsimile (301)-734-5992.
Copies of the DSEIS will be available until May 10, 1998. There will
be a limited number of copies of the DSEIS at each public meeting. We have
also arranged to have Internet online access to the document through the
Drug Enforcement Administration's web site: < www.usdoj.gov/dea>
Click on Programs then select Cannabis.
_____________________________________
Donnie R. Marshall
Acting Deputy Administrator