A Facebook friend wants to be a hemp products distributor . Apparently, there are many industrial products that can be made from the cannabis plant other than THC (aka pot, weed, marijuana). Some of them are even good for your health. Or so the hemp promoters will tell us.
Maybe so. Why am I such a cynic? After all, if you want to manufacture rope or clothing from the fiber of the cannabis plant, what's wrong with that?
My suspicion is that the interest in hemp is not about wanting to be in the rope or clothing business. It's about wanting to be in the drug business. After all, that's where the money is.
What's wrong with smoking a little weed, anyway? Lots of people do it. Is it any worse than alcohol? Isn't it something an informed adult, in a free society, should be able to do? Why is the state interfering in our pleasure?
I'm a libertarian. I really don't care what you do, if it only affects you. However, right now, it's illegal; and while I believe in personal freedom, I also believe in living by the law. If it's no worse than alcohol, I doubt that it's any better. If this is so, it introduces a list of social problems, particularly in the hands of young people.
Is Marijuana a gateway drug to methamphetamines? You can point to other influences for drug use: social, educational, and psychological. I think, however, there is a connection.
So I hope that the hemp business is really just about hemp.
"If this is so, it introduces a list of social problems, particularly in the hands of young people."
ReplyDeleteMany people think the biggest problem posed by drugs such as marijuana is that they are illegal. If they were legal, scummy and violent drug dealers would probably be out of business. Isn't there a parallel between this and the problems caused by prohibition 80 years ago in the US to be drawn here? If the government were to take control, wouldn't they be able to control these problems? And on a practical level, wouldn't they be able to tax the industry?
I'm not sure I completely understand libertarians. Don't they think that if you're not hurting someone, you should be left alone? Isn't there also something in the US constitution about the "Pursuit of Happiness"?
Are you addressing Doug here? If so, let him know.
On an aside, didn't the Canadian lumber industry lobby hard to get hemp made made illegal in the 1930s? And if so, what end was this to - social stability or profits? How long does it take for a weed to grow versus a tree?
There is a parallel between prohibition of marijuana and prohibition of alcohol. Marijuana could be legalized, taxed, possibly putting the drug dealers out of business, and reducing the cost to government of trying to enforce the current laws. Of course, if it's highly taxed, there would still be a black market.
ReplyDeleteLibertarians do believe that if you are not hurting anyone, you should be left alone. This applies to marijuana smoking, too. As I stated, my objections are only that it is illegal and smoking is not being restricted to informed adults. Uncontrolled, there are social problems.
I did post on Doug's wall. He wants to distribute hemp products. If this is truly his business, no objections. He posted a picture of a leafy, cannabis plant, though, and mentioned "boys and girls". This raised my suspicion as to the true intent of his organization.
What I was really thinking about was Marc Emery's hemp store in Vancouver. He is being sentenced today in Seattle for selling marijuana seeds mail order in the U. S.
Vince, hey.
ReplyDeleteSo, "boys and girls" rouses your suspicions, does it? That's pretty farsighted of you. Let me clarify. The term "boys" here refers to 2-month old male children, and "girls" refers to 98-year-old female spinsters. It is my firm belief that 98-year-old female spinsters should marry 2-month-old dudes and that they should then do drugs together in order to destroy their family, thus setting an example for society that families can truly be dysfunctional. Ha ha. Just kidding.
Okay, not kidding now. In a perfect world . . .
. . . in a perfect world, speaking from a geologic and galactic time reference platform (and no I have not been smoking anything other than legal tobacco --- shame on me!), hemp in any form, THC-free or not, provides a plethora of resources once manufactured properly. I leave it to your keen insight to unearth said items from the Internet in that you might be interested in a long list of information related to this topic for your further enlightenment and entertainment.
ReplyDeleteAs Patrick notes in his response to your blog posting, there is historical documentation in regards to the Canadian lumber industry in the first half of the 20th Century seeking to influence public opinion and government policy on the assumed dangers of the cannabis plant. (I would never recommend that someone try smoking a little weed, but if you're looking for a good time, you can never go wrong dropping acid and watching "Reefer Madness".) Said industry States-side took similar steps to prevent hemp from replacing wood as the choice for paper products common in daily use. Too bad about that, but hey! Where would the weapons industry be without a bit of war here and there? But I digress.
So, returning to the specific topic, yes, yours truly is in favor of THC, and I am also in favor of THC use being legalized and taxed across the globe and within each and every bordered region (i.e., nations and city-states, kingdoms if need be), believing that the world would be a better place. In other words, "controlled", so that there are no social problems; anyone with a half-baked brain understands that when society is controlled, there are no problems in society. I mean, it just stands to reason. Right?
ReplyDeleteAs far as "the true intent" of The Hemp Network (said organization no actually belonging to me), it is to spread the wealth around in the THC-related medical marijuana industry and the non-THC commercial hemp products industry. Whether or not there are individuals, like the president of the company or its CEO, or the guy who dusts the furniture at the corporate headquarters, who secretly dream of a future world where THC is no longer illegal for personal use due to the influence of The Hemp Network, I cannot say. But I do. However, for my immediate purposes and regarding my interest in The Hemp Network, having neither the time nor the inclination to sell drugs, the big money for me may eventually be in rope and twine, fabrics and textiles, paper, plastics, fuel, medicine, food, and whatnot, and that it is ever so more environmentally friendly than, for one, producing plastics and oil from fossilized remains. Hemp is very green.
Still, my main online marketing focus is to be found at http://www.bigticketdepot-review.biz. I only hooked up with The Hemp Network a few days ago. Toodle-loo!!
P.S. This too Patrick. I just finished reading Sexus.
"Chaos is the score upon which reality is written." Henry Miller
ReplyDeleteYours in good faith,
Doug AKA Iago
Chaos Chasm
Doug, good luck in your "legal" enterprise.
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, Vancouver hemp store owner Marc Emery was sentenced yesterday in Seattle to five years for selling seeds mail order. World-wide demonstrations in support of Marc are scheduled for next weekend.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/
I'm not up on my US politics, but isn't it going to be an election issue in California?
ReplyDeletehttp://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/25/local/la-me-marijuana-initiative25-2010mar25
I think Obama has also done away with the "war on drugs" language.
It seems that the will of the public is shifting on this issue. Vince that's a great point. How much do we waste in enforcing drug laws? That money and resources could also be channeled into different places.
Legalizing marijuana is on the November ballot in California, and polls show that it has a chance to succeed. Its use would still be illegal under federal laws.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see what Obama does if it passes. I would venture a guess that he stays out of it. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right. This issue is not a political winner for him. Not to enforce federal laws against marijuana makes him look soft on drugs; to enforce them may put him at odds with voters. I think they have stopped enforcing laws against the use of medical marijuana.
ReplyDeleteVince, hey.
ReplyDeleteRe: Doug, good luck in your "legal" enterprise.
My heartfelt thanx for the generosity of your concern extended on a trial basis. CNNMoney (Sept. 23) seems to agree . . .
Medical Marijuana Inc Successfully Launches Product Sales With Over 3200 Distributors in The Hemp Network
Doug
"Study of 4000 indicates marijuana discourages use of hard drugs."
ReplyDelete(excerpt) The early discovery that nearly all applicants had tried (initiated) cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco during adolescence eventually led to selection of a standardized clinical interview (SCI) as the optimum way to obtain the basic information required to assess their past use of cannabis.
from Harm Reduction Journal
I came across this study via this page.
For our mutual further enlightenment . . . .
I took a look at Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTC:MJNA). Its stock price has been languishing for awhile at about $0.06, but some recent promotion has brought it up to $0.12.
ReplyDeleteThe Chairman and CEO of MMI and The Hemp Network is Bruce Perlowin, convicted marijuana smuggler and so-called "King of Pot". I wonder how much interest he has in selling industrial hemp products?
I'm still suspicious. Medical Marijuana Inc. was formed in March 2009, by renaming a prepaid phone card company, Club Vivanet, and splitting their shares 10 for 1. Maybe the new business is prepaid cards for medical marijuana dispensaries; or just hyping the stock.
Have to wait and see.