Why Marijuana Is Central to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



openDemocracy.net / By Charles Shaw

Why Marijuana Is Central to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
Inspired by the founders' Federalist Papers, a group of reformers have penned a series of essays exploring the role of cannabinoids in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

June 14, 2010 |


“Cannabinoids are good.”

Have you heard that truth before? – It’s something you will understand if you read any further. You see, science is a truth conspiracy. It’s a testing of reality and standing your ground when you find evidence.

In some ways, being American means confronting untruths. To voice “our” truth through language, to create a new set and setting, we turned to the founders and a collection of essays known as The Federalist Papers.

During 1787 and 1788, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay wrote 85 essays in support of the US Constitution. They used the pen name "Publius" in honor of a famed Roman republican – someone they saw as a defender of liberty.

We became "Publius" for the same purpose: to make our sum greater than our individual parts. In doing so, we have created a series of 36 essays to detail the role of cannabinoids in Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We began releasing the essays online in 2009 and will conclude this fall. The essays will then be available in book form as The Cannabis Papers: a citizen’s guide to cannabinoids.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

The so-called drug war is becoming better known as a war on citizens – a civil war. It has been a war with two distinct federal laws. The first was the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, which was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1966. Into this vacuum was sucked Nixon’s contribution to 21st century drug policy: the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. This law contains the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the law making herbal cannabinoids Schedule 1. This means in Bizarro World that herbal cannabinoids have no medical value. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/147200/why_marijuana_is_central_to_life%2C_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness/

[ixion]

1. k/r

End the civil war on We, the People.

[reggie the dog]

2. I have been arguing that it is a civil war for years

and a war directed against some of the most gentle, friendly, open minded, laid back and civil of our own citizens

[nxylas]

3. Blech

I believe marijuana should be decriminalized, though I don't smoke myself, but it's possible to weaken a case by overstating it, and I think the "hemp can save the world" brigade do themselves no favors in that respect.

[eShirl]

4. only they're not overstating it.

[Webster Green]

5. You are wrong.

You obviously know little about hemp and it's countless uses.

[CLANG]

8. Replacing plastic is one - biogradable Grasstic

[wolfgangmo]

6. I actually lack the gene to safely process canabis, but it's uses are myriad.

Paper can be made easily and safely from hemp which is a weed that grows in almost all conditions of soil (it also fixes nitrogen so it helps soil health) and is an annual crop. If we switched from trees to hemp then we could stop logging with it environmental damage as well as streamline the papermaking process because hemp requires much less bleaching (environmental poison that is also highly carcinogenic).

Hemp makes great clothing. I have some hemp pants that are 10 years old and still look brand new. Wears like iron.

The only thing the war on drugs has created is a new class of empowered and rich criminals.

[montanto]

7. I missed the part of the article

discussing hemp apparently. I'll go back and read again.

[midnight]

9. K&R.

[pundaint]

10. Why do the stupids always seem to get their way?

It's because the greedy have manipulated them. Here, buy my liquor because pot will make you crazy. Buying healthcare from a financial institution is historical reform. If we don't stop them over there, they'll come over here to kick us out of their country.