cannabisnews.com: Vermont Marijuana Farm Tours? 





Vermont Marijuana Farm Tours? 
Posted by CN Staff on June 06, 2007 at 11:46:05 PT
By Richard Davis, Brattleboro Reformer 
Source: Brattleboro Reformer
Brattleboro, VT -- Vermont legislators who worked on passage of a 2007 bill expanding access to marijuana for medical purposes are to be commended. But there is a bigger issue that needs to be dealt with. Of all the so-called street drugs, marijuana is the one that should be legalized for a variety of reasons. Quite simply, marijuana has many positive effects and very few bad side effects. Chronic use or abuse of any drug will do bad things and marijuana is no exception. Smoking is bad for the lungs and long-term use of the drug can cause memory impairment.
My research leads me to believe that there has never been a case of marijuana overdose. It is one of the few "drugs" that the human body cannot be poisoned by during one session of use, unless you consider increased somnolence or excessive appetite overdose symptoms. In fact, there may be a case to have marijuana not be called a drug in the street, illegal abuse, sense. In order to understand why marijuana is illegal in the United States it is important to look at the history of the big scare created when America's first drug czar, Harry Anslinger, waged war against the drug. According to the Web site -- http://www.heartbone.com -- "In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was passed, effectively prohibiting possession or use of marijuana. It was claimed to be needed to oversee and coordinate existing state law concerning marijuana." The following are excerpts of Mr. Anslinger's testimony before a Senate hearing on marijuana in 1937: "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. ... The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality and death. You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother. Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." Seventy years later, the U.S. legal system continues to outlaw a substance that never had a basis in fact for making it illegal. If our laws are to reflect a changing society, they must be changed when there is a need to improve the quality of society. The only argument one hears today that supports the illegality of marijuana is that its use leads to the use of more dangerous drugs. People who escalate up the ladder of drug abuse will find a way to do so no matter what the substance. You can't blame one drug for such a complex behavioral problem as addiction. Alcohol, a legal drug for adults, is one of the most dangerous legal substances in any society. If alcohol was to be introduced as a new drug for some sort of medicinal purpose today, it is unlikely that the FDA would grant approval. The potential for abuse is tremendous and the side effects are deadly. Rather than put the money and resources of society into a failed war on drugs we need to cultivate creative approaches that turn incorrectly labeled problems into opportunities for progress. Small-scale agriculture, in Vermont and around the country, is an industry struggling for survival. Imagine what would happen if marijuana was legalized and farmers could diversify their operations with such a crop. I have heard anecdotal reports from farmers and law enforcement officials that marijuana is already a serious cash crop for many Vermont farmers. The risk is tremendous but the money supplementing meager milk checks has probably saved a few farms. Why not eliminate the risk and give a boost to agriculture? Perhaps the next state law could allow farmers to be exclusive dealers of medical marijuana. Vermont could become a sort of Lourdes for people looking for symptom relief from chronic pain and debilitating illnesses. Who knows, maybe our society would become so enlightened as to eventually allow everyone legal access to marijuana. The organization NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), estimates there are 80 million marijuana users in this country. That is more than 25 percent of the entire U.S. population. If you think the ski industry is important to Vermont's economy, think about how agriculture, and the entire state, would be transformed with the legalization of marijuana. Richard Davis is a registered nurse and executive director of Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health. He writes from Guilford. Source: Brattleboro Reformer (VT)Author: Richard Davis, Brattleboro Reformer Published: Wednesday, June 6, 2007Copyright: 2007 Brattleboro Publishing Co.Contact: news reformer.comWebsite: http://www.reformer.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by Mike on June 06, 2007 at 21:18:36 PT
The Devil's Weed
What's scary is that Anslinger's words kicked off a propaganda campaign that people, especially white Christians seemed to just swallow right up. That mentality pervades all throughout our society. These are the same types of people who considered it a compliment to say "You're a credit to your race." Here's a hopefully extreme, but interesting example I recently found during a search: (Yikes!)http://deepspire.com/jc-webster/1-7-97.htmlExcerpted: "Don't you know what Marijuana does to people? It encourages people to go crazy in a pot-rage and murder and rape and kill! How about the parents of a teenager that smokes a joint for the first time and thinks he can fly, and jumps off the Empire State Building or a bridge? How can you stand there and say that this should be legal?! How can you claim that it's not the most horrible of drugs! Its the Devil's weed, because it opens your mind to the Devil and sucks you right in!"But we know the propaganda machine is just as vile today. Its just disguised differently.
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on June 06, 2007 at 19:42:19 PT
The Myth of Satanic Music
"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. ... The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality and death. You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother. Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." --Harry AnslingerEven some of the Rock and Roll greats bought into this southern gospel bigotry against their music:"Little Richard has said over and over again that he is the true King of Rock and Roll and perhaps there is truth to that."Despite the enormous success Little Richard felt he could not escape his religious calling and the sin he was engulfed in, so in 1957 he left the industry altogether and withdrew into religious study, evangelism, and gospel singing. Little Richard says this calling and decision came when he was in an airplane and saw a horrifying dream of his ending, he prayed to God to keep the plane afloat and once on the ground Little Richard threw all of his jewelry into the harbor in Sydney, Australia vowing to end his evil ways. Some accounts mentioned a few years later Little Richard returning to that same harbor to retrieve all of his precious jewelry. Seven years in 1962 Little Richard returned to the recording studio in full bloom and his familiar distinctive style."
http://www.loti.com/little_richard.htm More:Little Richard: Information from Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/little-richard
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on June 06, 2007 at 18:11:05 PT
Anslinger's Words
"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others. ... The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality and death. You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother. Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." The war on cannabis is still largely racist. Why aren't the minority groups shouting from the roof-tops?In other news, we all know who won...Analysis Shows Debate Was Rigged:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/june2007/060607debaterigged.htm3rd Debate Rigged: 
http://infowars.com/articles/us/vote_08_debates_3rd_rigged_but_ron_paul_still_wins.htmThis will backfire in a BIG way...Reporter Arrested on Orders of Giuliani Press Secretary: 
http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/050607_reporter_arrested_giuliani_orders.htmlCriminal Indictments Sought Against Police, Giuliani Staffers Who Had Reporter Arrested For Asking Question:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/june2007/060607criminalindictments.htmSPREAD THE WORD!!!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Giuliani does flip-flop on 9/11:
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/06/03/opinion/letters/05letters0603.txtWhy 9/11 is relevant to Canadians:
http://commonground.ca/iss/0706191/cg191_nine.shtmlVancouver 9/11 Truth Conference - June 22-24:
http://www.v911truth.org/conference2007.html9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
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Comment #4 posted by RevRayGreen on June 06, 2007 at 17:14:44 PT
Colorado man was arrested Tuesday in central Iowa
anyone smuggling east and thinks driving thru Iowa is a cakewalk.......http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=41.541028~-94.009495&style=h&lvl=14&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=1915478&encType=1Between Mile Marker 97-117 (eastbound), the Dallas County Sheriffs and Iowa State Troopers have been profiling vehicles and have made some serious busts over the last 5 years on this corridor, even alligations/charges of missing cash among law enforcement themselves(imagine that).....just put the word out West, stay of I-80 in Iowa.Westbound they have been known to sieze large amounts of cash also. This from yesterday.........Since I don't know anyone involved or involved myself smuggling marijuana, if I did I would stay off I-80 in Dallas County heading into Des Moines, thing is those caught have no plans in making their delivery to Des Moines. "Traffic stop leads to marijuana arrest A Colorado man was arrested Tuesday in central Iowa after authorities discovered almost 700 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle - a collection worth about $2 million, officials said. Michael Suitt of Centennial, Colo., was charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana and failure to affix a drug tax stamp, according to the Dallas County sheriff's office. Deputies said Suitt was stopped for a routine traffic violation. They arrested him after a drug dog detected marijuana in his pickup truck, authorities said. Suitt was being held in the Dallas County Jail on $42,250 bond. " 
http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070606/NEWS/706060409 
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Comment #3 posted by Yasuo on June 06, 2007 at 15:50:24 PT:
...
It's remarkable Cannabis has not been legalized yet.
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Comment #2 posted by dongenero on June 06, 2007 at 12:47:36 PT
great article........
.........wow, that Anslinger testimony never ceases to amaze me when I read it.That basis for the current Prohibition should be drilled into every politician considering any marijuana legislation.
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on June 06, 2007 at 12:04:41 PT
Not just "legalize" - RE-legalize.
It’s encouraging to read “Vermont Marijuana Farm Tours?” but it’s not just “legalize,” it’s RE-legalize. As in, stop caging humans for using a God-given plant. Plant: as in, Christ God Our Father, The Ecologician, indicates He created all the seed bearing plants, saying they are all good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible. It is Biblically correct to RE-legalize Cannabis (kaneh bosm / marijuana).-0-What kind of dope supports caging people for using what God says is good?
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