Over 5000???

[bwalker42]

What about the $70 billion that goes into the hands of the Afghan farmers who are growing and selling the stuff to the American public????

Really,
Who is the real terrorist????

I say it is John Walter's. The US Drug Czar.

The most completely terroristic office in the US gvt, against it's own people.

Forcing good american people to support Afghan Farmers.

Saying in Dec of 2007 "Anyone who grows Marihuana is a terrorist."


BTW, I'm kinda surprised that I'm the only one who can come up with the industrial uses of Hemp, and or Cannabis.


Here is another one... Shelter.

[bwalker42]

Here's another one,
Plastics.

[bwalker42]

I wanna know...

Why is it against the law to learn the truth. All I wanna know is the truth.
In 1976, I was 15/16 y/o. I had heard rumors about "hemp rope" and I always wondered about that. Now I learn that not only was it used for rope, but a whole host of other things.
And prior to the legislation that led to it's prohibition, Cannabis was known as "cure all" throughout the earth.
These herbal cousins have been used in the service of God, by serving Man since the beginning of time as we know it.

Gen 1:29

(Freedom of serving God anymore??)


By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER – The calls came into the Statehouse at a furious pace Thursday morning, inundating the Senate Judiciary pane's voicemail with ardent support for a bill stuck in committee.



The groundswell wasn't about the state budget, transportation, economic stimulus or other big-ticket must-haves this legislative session. Vermonters, it seems, want their hemp.



"I had 73 calls this morning," said Sen. Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.



Sears, a Bennington Democrat, didn't have occasion to respond to the callers, but he did hear their message. And with some reluctance, Sears allowed the bill to pass out of committee and onto the Senate floor, where legislation legalizing industrial hemp cultivation in Vermont won nearly unanimous support.



"Given the broad support, I thought we should move forward with the bill," Sears said.



The House is expected to offer similarly lopsided support for the measure Friday morning. The bill then passes to the desk of Gov. James Douglas. Douglas' spokesman said Thursday evening that the governor still has misgivings about the legislation.



The bill would have no immediate effect in Vermont. Federal laws banning hemp production supercede any state legislation, meaning would-be hemp farmers will have to wait for a shift in federal policy before moving forward with crops that some see as a potential boon for Vermont farmers.



Amy Shollenberger, executive director of Rural Vermont, said the bill nonetheless positions Vermont farmers to capitalize on hemp growing when the feds do relent.



"So many people understand there's no real downside to hemp," Shollenberger said after the Senate vote Thursday. "It's good for farmers, good for the soil and good for the Vermont economy.

"

Hemp, legally grown in every industrialized country except the United States, has numerous industrial applications. The seeds are processed into food and beauty products; the long stalks contain fiber and cellulose that can be made into textiles, building materials and fuel.



But the plant, a strain of cannabis sativa, shares its species with marijuana. Though hemp has barely detectable levels of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Agency, which wields federal jurisdiction over hemp cultivation, draws no legal distinction between the two plants.



Law enforcement officials in Vermont worry hemp could be used as a cover to grow marijuana.



"I spent a lot of time talking with a number of individuals from law enforcement … who are concerned about the bill," Sears said. "I share many of their concerns.

"

Sen. Hull Maynard, a Rutland Republican, said the bill contains safeguards that prevent criminally minded individuals from taking advantage of the visual similarities between marijuana and hemp (though law enforcement authorities in Canada, where hemp is legal, told lawmakers earlier this year that distinguishing the plants is no difficult task).



Growers would have to be licensed, and undergo a voluntary criminal background check before getting permission from the Agency of Agriculture to sow hemp.



"If we follow all of these rules, we won't have any farmers that are criminals down the road," Maynard said.



The issue of hemp legalization has drifted in and out of the Statehouse since 1998. Shollenberger said it's taken a decade to educate lawmakers and the general public about the differences between hemp and marijuana.



"There really is a difference, and it's possible to detect the difference," Shollenberger said. "Every other industrialized nation in the world has managed to figure this out, and I don't see any reason we can't too.

"

Jason Gibbs, spokesman for Douglas, called the bill an "insignificant" piece of legislation that is a low priority for the governor.



"We are much more focused on the economic growth initiative and other legislation, like budget, capital bill, transportation bill – things that are going to have a meaningful impact on the lives of Vermonters," Gibbs said.



The governor will look at the specifics of the legislation when and if it arrives at his desk, according to Gibbs, at which point he'll decide whether or not to sign it into law.



"The governor has some concerns about the legislation," Gibbs said.



Shollenberger said Rural Vermont will now look to Vermont's Congressional Delegation to enact changes in the federal laws.




http://www. timesargus. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article?AID=/20080502/NEWS02/805020355/1003/NEWS02&template=printart


After this is decriminalized... What will we prohibit next???

[sailaway21]

While I personally am not particularly exercised about hemp production within the US it is perhaps yet another example of our American trait of passing a law about something perceived to be a problem and then having far more trouble with the law than what was the original problem. Of course, I am also in favor of all drug legalization and the abolition of prescriptions as well so I might not exactly represent mainstream thought on these matters.

[xort]

bwalker
you posted 'Why is it against the law to learn the truth'

can you explain that please?

[erps]

What's the typical kind of person advocating hemp? Is it large corporate farmer types who are looking for a profitable crop? Is it an investor type looking for new investment opportunities? Is it stoners who sit in their mom's basement smoking out with their buddies playing video games and saying "oh, dude! Wouldn't it be cool if growing hemp was legal?" The hemp bumper stickers I see are usually on the back of old VW vans, so my notion is that it's door number three.

I really don't care what people do to themselves in the privacy of their own homes. Just don't operate any vehicles afterwards while you're still seeing pink elephants. I'm sure hemp has many wonderful uses too but frankly I don't care and I was just wondering who are the people who do.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by erps

What's the typical kind of person advocating hemp? Is it large corporate farmer types who are looking for a profitable crop? Is it an investor type looking for new investment opportunities? Is it stoners who sit in their mom's basement smoking out with their buddies playing video games and saying "oh, dude! Wouldn't it be cool if growing hemp was legal?" The hemp bumper stickers I see are usually on the back of old VW vans, so my notion is that it's door number three.

I really don't care what people do to themselves in the privacy of their own homes. Just don't operate any vehicles afterwards while you're still seeing pink elephants. I'm sure hemp has many wonderful uses too but frankly I don't care and I was just wondering who are the people who do.

Isn't it the alcohol abusers who are known for seeing the pink elephants?

[camaraderie]

Knot....absolutely correct. It is the paisley elephants you have to worry about!

ele.JPG

[knothead]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Knot....absolutely correct. It is the paisley elephants you have to worry about!

Attachment 1508

whatta ya mean "I have to worry about"?

[erps]

You guys are going to date yourselves with knowledge of pink elephants. Wasn't there a song in "Dumbo" about pink elephants?