420 Warrior
Well-Known Member
Proposed ballot initiative could mean added revenue for local farmers.
In 1619 Jamestown Colony, Va., enacted laws ordering farmers to grow an essential crop for the colony's survival used for everything from paper and clothes to fuel and rope. In 1937, Congress banned the growth of this same plant.
What is it and why was it banned? The answers: Hemp and as the story goes, because William Randolph Hearst wanted it that way.
"The prohibition of cannabis coincided with the growth of many competing industries of the 1930s and '40s, most notably timber for paper and the emerging plastics and petroleum industry for nylon," said Amber Iris Langston, campaign director of Show-Me Cannabis Regulation.
"William Randolph Hearst owned thousands of acres of timber to use for his own newspapers. An acre of hemp can produce four-times the amount of paper as an acre of timber in only one year."
According to hemp.com, Hearst, along with his friend Pierre DuPont, who made synthetic fuels and fibers from petroleum, succeeded in outlawing hemp in America, because instead of using hemp for paper, clothing, fuel, oils, resins and medicines, we now use trees and synthetic petrochemicals.
Whether the Hearst story is true, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 officially ended all production in this country.
So why is this important now? Because Show-Me Cannabis Regulation has approval from the secretary of state to circulate two petitions and if the organization can get 150,000 valid signatures by May 6 in six out of nine congressional districts, it makes it on the November ballot.
One proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize cannabis for people 21 and older, allow doctors to recommend use of medicinal marijuana, release prison inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses related to cannabis and allow agricultural hemp production.
It would also allow the legislature to enact a marijuana tax of up to $100 per pound. The second proposal is similar, but would enact a state law instead of amending the Missouri constitution.
Before cannabis was made illegal in 1937, Missouri was one of the top hemp-producing states in the country, and was even noted in the government-produced war-time film, "Hemp for Victory" as an ideal place for its production.
"Hemp is our government's best-kept secret when it comes to farming," Langston said.
"It has been used for thousands of years ... today it is being used to make composite board for building materials for cars and homes."
While touted to have more than 25,000 uses, will conservative farmers in southwest Missouri actually take to growing the crop? Supporters say they can't afford not to.
Agricultural hemp could be a boon to the local economy, but those who oppose the initiative say Missouri can't afford to legalize marijuana.
"Generally, it's not a good idea," said Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle. "From a social standpoint, why do we need another mood-altering drug out there? We already have tobacco and alcohol."
Supporters say the measure would help clear out overcrowded jails and reduce the strain on the justice system, but Kyle said that is simply not true.
"It's already treated like a misdemeanor, the jails are not full of pot smokers like they want you to think," he said.
"As for the medical benefits, if it is such a wonderful drug, then why hasn't the surgeon general already released it?"
If legalized, Kyle said new laws would then need to be passed to regulate its use.
"Would you want your doctor or a fork-lift operator high," he said. "Or the person next to you driving on the road?"
While industrial hemp and marijuana legalization are coupled together in the current initiative, the two products are vastly different.
Agricultural hemp contains less than 1 percent of THC–delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol–the active psychotropic ingredient found in the leaves and flowers of the female plant, but not in the seeds or stems and cannot be used for smoking.
"Hemp is grown primarily for the seeds and the stalk, whereas medical cannabis is grown primarily for the flower, making them very different types of breeds," Langston said.
According to hemp.com, more than $419 million in hemp and hemp products are imported from overseas–mostly from China–last year and supporters say Americans can't afford to lose out in the cash crop.
"There's no doubt that Missouri farmers stand to benefit from the production of this incredibly viable and valuable industrial crop," Langston said.
However, public perception is key to getting the measure passed and Kyle said he doesn't believe a conservative state like Missouri will vote yes.
"This is just another aspect of the further deterioration of our society," Kyle said.
But in an October 2011 Gallop poll, 50 percent of Americans favored legalization.
"We've gotten a lot of positive responses from people in the rural areas," Langston said.
"There's a huge economic opportunity in agricultural hemp just waiting for the tide to turn on cannabis prohibition."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Ozark, MO
Source: CCHeadliner.com
Author: Emily Letterman
Copyright: © Copyright 2012, CCHeadliner.com
Website: ccheadliner.com
In 1619 Jamestown Colony, Va., enacted laws ordering farmers to grow an essential crop for the colony's survival used for everything from paper and clothes to fuel and rope. In 1937, Congress banned the growth of this same plant.
What is it and why was it banned? The answers: Hemp and as the story goes, because William Randolph Hearst wanted it that way.
"The prohibition of cannabis coincided with the growth of many competing industries of the 1930s and '40s, most notably timber for paper and the emerging plastics and petroleum industry for nylon," said Amber Iris Langston, campaign director of Show-Me Cannabis Regulation.
"William Randolph Hearst owned thousands of acres of timber to use for his own newspapers. An acre of hemp can produce four-times the amount of paper as an acre of timber in only one year."
According to hemp.com, Hearst, along with his friend Pierre DuPont, who made synthetic fuels and fibers from petroleum, succeeded in outlawing hemp in America, because instead of using hemp for paper, clothing, fuel, oils, resins and medicines, we now use trees and synthetic petrochemicals.
Whether the Hearst story is true, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 officially ended all production in this country.
So why is this important now? Because Show-Me Cannabis Regulation has approval from the secretary of state to circulate two petitions and if the organization can get 150,000 valid signatures by May 6 in six out of nine congressional districts, it makes it on the November ballot.
One proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize cannabis for people 21 and older, allow doctors to recommend use of medicinal marijuana, release prison inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses related to cannabis and allow agricultural hemp production.
It would also allow the legislature to enact a marijuana tax of up to $100 per pound. The second proposal is similar, but would enact a state law instead of amending the Missouri constitution.
Before cannabis was made illegal in 1937, Missouri was one of the top hemp-producing states in the country, and was even noted in the government-produced war-time film, "Hemp for Victory" as an ideal place for its production.
"Hemp is our government's best-kept secret when it comes to farming," Langston said.
"It has been used for thousands of years ... today it is being used to make composite board for building materials for cars and homes."
While touted to have more than 25,000 uses, will conservative farmers in southwest Missouri actually take to growing the crop? Supporters say they can't afford not to.
Agricultural hemp could be a boon to the local economy, but those who oppose the initiative say Missouri can't afford to legalize marijuana.
"Generally, it's not a good idea," said Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle. "From a social standpoint, why do we need another mood-altering drug out there? We already have tobacco and alcohol."
Supporters say the measure would help clear out overcrowded jails and reduce the strain on the justice system, but Kyle said that is simply not true.
"It's already treated like a misdemeanor, the jails are not full of pot smokers like they want you to think," he said.
"As for the medical benefits, if it is such a wonderful drug, then why hasn't the surgeon general already released it?"
If legalized, Kyle said new laws would then need to be passed to regulate its use.
"Would you want your doctor or a fork-lift operator high," he said. "Or the person next to you driving on the road?"
While industrial hemp and marijuana legalization are coupled together in the current initiative, the two products are vastly different.
Agricultural hemp contains less than 1 percent of THC–delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol–the active psychotropic ingredient found in the leaves and flowers of the female plant, but not in the seeds or stems and cannot be used for smoking.
"Hemp is grown primarily for the seeds and the stalk, whereas medical cannabis is grown primarily for the flower, making them very different types of breeds," Langston said.
According to hemp.com, more than $419 million in hemp and hemp products are imported from overseas–mostly from China–last year and supporters say Americans can't afford to lose out in the cash crop.
"There's no doubt that Missouri farmers stand to benefit from the production of this incredibly viable and valuable industrial crop," Langston said.
However, public perception is key to getting the measure passed and Kyle said he doesn't believe a conservative state like Missouri will vote yes.
"This is just another aspect of the further deterioration of our society," Kyle said.
But in an October 2011 Gallop poll, 50 percent of Americans favored legalization.
"We've gotten a lot of positive responses from people in the rural areas," Langston said.
"There's a huge economic opportunity in agricultural hemp just waiting for the tide to turn on cannabis prohibition."
News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
Location: Ozark, MO
Source: CCHeadliner.com
Author: Emily Letterman
Copyright: © Copyright 2012, CCHeadliner.com
Website: ccheadliner.com
