cannabisnews.com: Movement To Legalize MJ Harmful To Law Enforcement Movement To Legalize MJ Harmful To Law Enforcement Posted by FoM on November 02, 2000 at 07:00:58 PT By Andrew Hancock, The Battalion, Texas A&M U. Source: U-WIRE Welcome to the United States of Amerijuana, the potential future of Alaska after the election Tuesday. A proposal for the generalized legalization of marijuana is on the ballot. If the proposition passes, it will deal a substantial blow to drug enforcement in the United States by making drug importing and consuming legal for all in Alaska. A poll conducted by the Gallup Organization this year found that an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the generalized legalization of marijuana, while, at the same time, the majority supports the legalization for medicinal purposes. The Alaskan proposition could conflict with federal laws concerning the apprehension and prosecution of criminals involving marijuana. Under the proposition in Alaska, growing and consuming marijuana would be legal for anyone over the age of 18. It would also give amnesty to those with marijuana-related convictions. The law enforcement problems that would arise would undoubtedly create another battle over states' rights. In an article appearing in The Guardian (London) this month, Tommy Knowles, governor of Alaska, criticizes the proposition as foolish and dangerous for a state where alcoholism and other addictions have done much harm to residents. If the proposal passes, addicts and dealers would flock to Alaska, creating a port of import and export for the drug and another battle front in the war on drugs. This is not the beginning of the battle over marijuana in Alaska. Before 1990, it was legal to consume and possess up to four ounces of the narcotic at home. In 1990, a ballot initiative to recriminalize marijuana use passed with only 8 percent of the vote. In 1998, a proposition made the drug legal for medicinal purposes. Legitimate arguments are being made by supporters of the hemp movement. One long-time supporter of the effects of cannabis is country singer Willie Nelson. In the October issue of Details magazine, Nelson asserts that marijuana and exercise are part of his daily routine. "I don't want to call it a drug -- an herb is not a drug," said Nelson. "It's good for stress, which is the biggest killer on the planet." Wanda Carp, treasurer of the Hemp2000 campaign in Alaska, was quoted in a wire story from Reuters as saying, "There's 50,000 uses and everyone tries to focus on only one of them." Hemp2000 is one of a handful of organizations in Alaska campaigning for the proposition. While hemp can make products ranging from clothes to rope to beauty products, its most distinct feature is the effects the drug causes. If the Alaskan proposition passes, it will considerably set back the national government's war on drugs. It also could begin a states' rights battle for years to come and would allow people between the ages of 18 and 21 who cannot legally consume alcohol to get stoned. How many people will grow marijuana for the sole purpose of making useful products? This proposition would leave the government searching for ways to fight the infiltration of marijuana into the continental United States. Updated 12:00 PM ET November 1, 2000 By Andrew Hancock, The Battalion Texas A&M U.(U-WIRE) College Station, Texas (C) 2000 The Battalion via U-WIRE Related Articles & Web Sites:Free Hemp in AlaskaAl Anders, Chair2603 Spenard RoadAnchorage, Alaska 99503 (907) 278-HEMP E-mail: freehempinak gci.netVisit their web site: http://www.freehempinak.orgHemp 2000R.L. Marcy, ChairP.O. Box 90055Anchorage, AK 99509907-376-2232 (p)Fax: 907-376-0530 (f)E-mail: marcy hemp2000.orgVisit their web site: http://www.hemp2000.org Alaskans Can End Wrong, Ineffective Marijuana Banhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7476.shtmlHemp At The Root of Radio Ad Battlehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7467.shtmlPot Helps With Epilepsy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7459.shtmlHemp Backers Can't Move Mayorhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7455.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by 20 Year Alaskan on November 07, 2000 at 16:11:57 PT: Hemp in the Last Frontier "...set back the national government's war on drugs..."?Our country has been losing ground in that so called war for over 30 years! Wake up! Heavy handed mandatory sentence laws for this non-violent crime have resulted in packed prisons and parlayed the rent-a-cop industry into a new, rent-a-jailer industry. Violent criminals qualify for early release to make room for those who opted for smoking over drinking...Prop 5 in Alaska should have been better written but it's direction is on target. No Aggie jokes save for the obvious: The Governor of Alaska is Tony Knowles, not Tommy Knowles, bonehead! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on November 02, 2000 at 19:53:16 PT Wonder what does Texas have to do with Alaska.. oh boy, em alaskans do not like the outsiders!:}}} [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Kanabys on November 02, 2000 at 12:06:30 PT You guys got it right. I'm from Texas and ashamed of it. Those idiot aggies are just that, idiots. I've always been against that bonfire thing cause it's a gigantic waste of resourses. All those trees cut down and burned so a few hundred college kids can get drunk and beat on each other. All for tradition. I do have sympathy for the people who were injured and the families of the ones who got killed, but something like that should have been, as the antis say, a wakeup call. That is just a stupid thing IMHO. Oh, I'm off the subject. I think the guy who wrote this had a few of his brains shaved when they shaved his head. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by legalizeit on November 02, 2000 at 09:46:33 PT D'oh! I'm surprised that a college student would buy into this prohibitionist rhetoric.These guys can't even build a bonfire without causing a fatal accident - so why should we listen to them about pot?>Welcome to the United States of AmerijuanaSounds better to me than the United States of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Hypocrisy, which it currently is.>would allow people between the ages of 18 and 21 who cannot legally consume alcohol to get stoned.18 years is adult age for some things, 21 for others. Why the double standard? Besides, if they consume pot rather than getting hooked on alcohol, all the better for them!>If the proposal passes, addicts and dealers would flock to AlaskaHere we go again... along with calling it a narcotic, as dankhank pointed out, he calls the users addicts! And dealers would be out of business if pot were legally distributed. Responsible pot use is neither abuse nor addiction! I remember the back page in our community college catalog which was devoted to drug/alcohol issues, and there was a section talking about responsible use for alcohol, then the statement: "For illegal drugs there is no such thing as responsible use." What a bunch of nonsense. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by dankhank on November 02, 2000 at 08:51:23 PT: Will we listen to you? NO .......You called marijuana a narcotic during you obfuscation.You have NO credibility ...This initiave is the first step to the healing of America...And I got a newsflash for you ...Marijuana is already HERE with a vengence ...It is close to becoming the most valuable crop in America ...It comes from overseas because it makes so much money ... because it is illegal.Texas Aggie: An illegal is a sick bird ... Hemp n Stuff [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Morgan on November 02, 2000 at 07:13:11 PT So? And your problem with this is...????An Aggie walks into his sargeant's office with a pig under his arm."Where'd you get the pig?" asked the sargeant."I won him at the fair." said the pig.************************ [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: