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PANAMA CITY – With half the candidates talking about it, the District 6 state Senate race seems to have come down to hemp.
Although most of Bay County is split between districts 4 and 2, a finger of District 6 stretches into the eastern half of the county. Voters in the district will have their choice between three candidates – David Abrams, Bill Montford and John Shaw – and a blank line, where write-in candidate Harrison Arencibian hopes residents will enter his name. The incumbent, Democrat Al Lawson, opted for an unsuccessful bid in the U.S. House District 2 race, as he cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
Both Abrams and Shaw strongly support the legalization of hemp, a non-psychoactive cousin to marijuana used in textile and paper production. Supporters also tout the plant as a source of renewable clean energy.
Abrams, an independent, wants to end the drug war "we no longer can afford" and to ease the burden on the state's prison system by legalizing marijuana, as well. He and Shaw, who is running as a Constitutional Republican, advocate cannabis plants as a way to create local jobs and move away from dependency on foreign oil.
"Hemp is an excellent biofuel, and it grows within every single state in the United States," Shaw said. "This is a very sensible first step toward economic viability."
But Montford, a Democratic challenger who lists job creation as his primary platform, said he opposes legalization, "regardless of whether it's a cash crop or not."
"We have other issues that need to be addressed," Montford said. "Far, far more serious issues than talking about legalization of hemp."
Shaw said he wishes "some people would take me a little more seriously," but agreed state government needs an overhaul.
"A lot of things we're doing don't really seem constitutional to me," he said. "If it's the will of the people, that's fine, but, if not, we really need to start focusing on the Constitution."
Arencibian, the write-in candidate, agrees with Shaw that the country ought to get back to its roots. He said he's running as "a Constitututional, fiscal conservative, Tea Party type of candidate."
He'd like to cut property taxes and government oversight.
"I think the state of Florida has a bunch of regulations that need to be eliminated so that businesses would want to start up," Arencibian said. "Right now, the weight of government is too much regulation. About half of that should be eliminated, in my view."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:newsherald.com
Author: SARAH OWEN
Contact: Contact Us - News - The News Herald
Copyright: 2010 Freedom Communications
Website:Decision 2010: The burning issue in state Senate race? Try hemp | senate, decision, state - News - The News Herald
Although most of Bay County is split between districts 4 and 2, a finger of District 6 stretches into the eastern half of the county. Voters in the district will have their choice between three candidates – David Abrams, Bill Montford and John Shaw – and a blank line, where write-in candidate Harrison Arencibian hopes residents will enter his name. The incumbent, Democrat Al Lawson, opted for an unsuccessful bid in the U.S. House District 2 race, as he cannot run for re-election due to term limits.
Both Abrams and Shaw strongly support the legalization of hemp, a non-psychoactive cousin to marijuana used in textile and paper production. Supporters also tout the plant as a source of renewable clean energy.
Abrams, an independent, wants to end the drug war "we no longer can afford" and to ease the burden on the state's prison system by legalizing marijuana, as well. He and Shaw, who is running as a Constitutional Republican, advocate cannabis plants as a way to create local jobs and move away from dependency on foreign oil.
"Hemp is an excellent biofuel, and it grows within every single state in the United States," Shaw said. "This is a very sensible first step toward economic viability."
But Montford, a Democratic challenger who lists job creation as his primary platform, said he opposes legalization, "regardless of whether it's a cash crop or not."
"We have other issues that need to be addressed," Montford said. "Far, far more serious issues than talking about legalization of hemp."
Shaw said he wishes "some people would take me a little more seriously," but agreed state government needs an overhaul.
"A lot of things we're doing don't really seem constitutional to me," he said. "If it's the will of the people, that's fine, but, if not, we really need to start focusing on the Constitution."
Arencibian, the write-in candidate, agrees with Shaw that the country ought to get back to its roots. He said he's running as "a Constitututional, fiscal conservative, Tea Party type of candidate."
He'd like to cut property taxes and government oversight.
"I think the state of Florida has a bunch of regulations that need to be eliminated so that businesses would want to start up," Arencibian said. "Right now, the weight of government is too much regulation. About half of that should be eliminated, in my view."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:newsherald.com
Author: SARAH OWEN
Contact: Contact Us - News - The News Herald
Copyright: 2010 Freedom Communications
Website:Decision 2010: The burning issue in state Senate race? Try hemp | senate, decision, state - News - The News Herald
