The Western Producer (exerpt)
web posted: 2007-03-01
By Ed White
Winnipeg bureau
Arthur Hanks has simple advice for farmers who call him to ask about growing hempseed for biodiesel: "Grow canola."
Right now hemp doesn't yield enough to make it a profitable feedstock for fuel production, said Hanks, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance.
…
Hemp growers are fortunate to produce a specialty oil product for a premium market, but if the production base grows substantially, growers will need higher yields to profitably supply secondary markets.
"We're in the specialty food niche - which is a nice niche - but we can't supply anything for biodiesel," Hanks said.
...
Arthur Hanks is a key figure in the hemp movement in Canada (ph # 1-306-757-4367). The Western Producer is a mainstream Canadian Ag publication. Western Producer - Hemp supply inadequate for biodiesel - 2007-03-01 edition
Hemp supply inadequate for biodiesel
Friday, September 12, 2008
Cannabis Hemp THC in the Food-Cosmetic Supply
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Drug Watch International
By Jeanette McDougal, MM, CCDP, Chair
William R. Walluks, Member
Hemp Committee, Drug Watch Intl.
August 2000
Fiber Cannabis hemp seed, though containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in hemp/marijuana) and other cannabinoid residue, is being heavily marketed and promoted by the hemp industry as a source of food, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. The harmful effects of THC on humans and other animals is well documented. Hemp advocates, however, mimicking the tactics of tobacco industry apologist, challenge and “call into question” every statement substantiating harm caused by the use of Cannabis sativa L. hemp. (Where used in this paper, the term hemp refers to cannabis sativa, aka marijuana, and not to any of the numerous other plant fibers also commonly referred to as hemp.)
The campaign to use hemp fiber for paper, biomass, textiles, etc. has largely failed because hemp is neither economically viable nor technically feasible. However, because the handling, storage, and processing of hemp seed is more adaptable to present technologies than for hemp fiber, hemp seed production and products are now being aggressively promoted.
Low THC Cannabis sativa hemp that contains less than .3% (w/w) THC became legal to grow in Canada in March, 1998. THC and the other cannabinoids are found in food and other products made from fiber hemp seed. According to Canada’s national health department, Health Canada, “In theory the ripened seeds of Cannabis contain no detectable quantity of THC. However, because of the nature of the material it is almost impossible to obtain the seeds free from extraneous THC in the form of residues arising from other parts of the plant which are in close proximity to the seeds. Although it is required for the seeds to be cleaned before any subsequent use, the resinous nature of some of the material makes complete cleaning extremely difficult.” [1]
Since THC and the over 60 other cannabinoids are fat-soluble, i.e., store themselves in the fatty tissues of the brain and body, even a very small amount may be damaging, especially if ingested regularly. Fat-soluble substances accumulate in the body.
THC has a half-life of about seven days, meaning that one-half of the THC ingested or inhaled stays in the brain and body tissue for seven days. Traces can stay in body tissues for a month or more. The only important substance that exceeds THC in fat solubility is DDT. [2]
A risk assessment done for Health Canada states that, “New food products and cosmetics made from hemp – the marijuana plant – pose an unacceptable risk to the health of consumers. It also says that hemp products may not be safe because even small amounts of THC may cause developmental problems. “Those most at risk,” the study says, “are children exposed in the womb or through breast milk, or teen-agers whose reproductive systems are developing.” [3]
“Hazards associated with exposure to THC include acute neurological effects and long-term effects on brain development, the reproductive system and the immune system,” the study says. “Overall, the data considered for this assessment support the conclusions that inadequate margins of safety exist between potential exposure and adverse effect levels for cannabinoids (the bio-active ingredients) in cosmetics, food and nutraceutical products made from hemp.” [3]
The study reviewed the results of existing tests on lab animals. Health Canada may require warning labels or new regulations that could stop some products from being sold. It is considering new animal studies to examine the effects of low-level exposure to THC over several generations. [3]
To cast further doubt about safety, the Journal of Immunology (July 2000) recently reported that THC, the major psychoactive component of marijuana (hemp), “can promote tumor growth by impairing the body’s anti-tumor immunity system.” [4]
Another unknown is hemp as forage for animals. According to Stan Blade, a director of crop diversification for Alberta Agriculture, a program that will test hemp over the next year as feed for livestock is being considered in Canada. Forage hemp will be tested on cattle against a more traditional mixture of oats and barley. [5]
Buffalo, the common dairy animal of Pakistan, are allowed to graze on Cannabis sativa (hemp), which, after absorption, is metabolized into a number of psychoactive agents. These agents are ultimately excreted through the urine and milk, making the milk, used by the people of the region, subject to contamination. Depending on the amount of milk ingested and the degree of contamination, the milk could result in a low to moderate level of chronic exposure to THC and other metabolites, especially among the children raised on this milk. Analysis from the urine obtained from children who were being raised on the milk from these animals, indicated that 29% of them had low levels of THC-COOH (THC-carboxylixc acid, which is a major metabolite for THC) in their urine. This study indicates that the passive consumption of marijuana through milk products is a serious problem in this region where wild marijuana grows unrestricted, and that children are likely to be exposed more than adults.” [6]
Hemp use could compromise drug testing. In his book, “Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill,” Udo Erasmus warns that people whose jobs require mandatory drug screening should avoid the use of hemp products, since THC residues in hemp products can show up in urine tests. 7. THC-positive urine tests from hemp product use were also reported in the August 1997 Journal of Analytical Toxicology. 8. For drug-testing reasons, the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force National Guard, the New York Police Dept., and the U.S. Coast Guard have banned the use of hemp foods and health supplements by their personnel. [8. & 9]
“Dr. Hugh Davis, Acting Head of Microbiology and Cosmetics at Health Canada, is quoted as saying that he has been looking at studies on hemp and has found research showing hemp (i.e., fat soluble cannabinoids) is accumulative in the body because of its long half-life and has the same adverse physiological (but not hallucinatory) effects that smoking marijuana does. One study states that cannabinoids may postpone puberty. There are 60 known cannabinoids, only three of which have been widely studied. This means that the potential harmful aspects of the remaining 57 cannabinoids, when used in a cream or shampoo, are unknown.” [10]
John Bailey, Microbiology and Cosmetics Division, US-FDA, (US-Federal Drug Administration) is concerned as well, stating that there is no definitive information about THC in food and cosmetics. [10]
Dr. Mohmoud ElSohly, Ph.D., Marijuana Project Director, NIDA (National Institute of Drug Abuse), states that “Fiber hemp can have significant potential for narcotic application....The threshold THC concentration (below which Cannabis would have no significant psychoactive properties) has not been determined.” [11] [Emphasis added] Dr. Roy H. Hart, Clinical Psychiatrist and research chemist (ret.), asserts that it is possible to experience chronic intoxication without being high. [12]
In addition to THC, there are other bioactive, but nonpsychoactive, cannabinoids [cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabigerol (CG)] in Cannabis sativa marijuana(hemp). [13] David West, Ph.D., pro-hemp activist (HI), claims that CBD blocks the effects of THC in the nervous system. [14] However, Dr. Carlton Turner, Director of the Federal NIDA Marijuana Project (1970-1981) and former US Drug Czar (1980s) counters that “CBD is abundant in hashish and if CBD blocked THC’s action, why would hashish be so popular? I know of no known definitive study that shows that CBD blocks THC’s affects. Fiber cannabis is rich in CBD with little THC. However, naive users can sometimes get high but regular users will not.” [15]
The nonpsychoactive cannabinoids may be even more toxic than THC. According to Dr. Roy Hart, “Cannabidiol (CBD) exerts an important effect on the hippocampus which is part of the limbic system of the brain, a collection of interfunctioning units concerned with emotion. CBD produces a depression of hippocampal function...Thus far experimental evidence indicates that CBD is even more toxic to tissues than THC.” [16] [Emphasis added] Dr. Gabriel Nahas, Research Professor, New York University, states that cannabionids other than THC (CBN and CBD) also impair dividing cells, and “are even more potent than THC when it comes to inhibiting DNA production.” [17]
Dr. Hart further states that “Both the psychoactive and nonpsychoactive cannabinoids occurring in nature interfere with protein synthesis, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, and ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis. This is without doubt the most important statement to be made about marijuana(hemp) and is based upon the burgeoning literature of basic and applied research into cannabis. Cell-tissue-organ damage follows inevitably from these alternations occurring at the molecular level.” [18]
Longtime and internationally renowned Cannabis researcher, Dr. Gabriel Nahas says that research has shown that the most serious adverse consequences of consumption of THC and other cannabinoids have been observed at the earliest state of reproductive function, on the “gametes” or germ cells of man. These drugs cause damage to the genetic information contained in DNA, causing apoptosis (programmed cell death and deletion). This threatens future generations before they are conceived. [19]
A 1996 study conducted in the Ukraine (formerly Russia) showed that there are no varieties that completely lack(ed) cannabinoids. A rather high content of these substances (cannabinoids) was found in some varieties. The results obtained have shown that hemp cultivated in more northerly areas is naturally rich in cannabinoids. [20]
European Union (EU) hemp regulations for the year 2000 state that hemp subsidies will be paid on condition the farmer uses certified seed of hemp varieties with a THC content of less than 0.3%. From the years 2001/02, that upper limit will be lowered to 0.2%. [21]
The European Union (EU) too is concerned about any inclusion of hemp products’ in food, stating in their regulations, “...Hemp seed has one traditional but limited application as food for fish and birds. The oil from hemp seed can be used for specialist cosmetics applications. The use of hemp seed or the leafed parts of the plant for human consumption would, however, even in the absence of THC, contribute towards making the narcotic use of cannabis acceptable and, in any event, there is no nutritional justification for this. [Emphasis added] None of these products should be encouraged in their own right by Community aid....Moreover, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB, a United Nations body) states that: ‘while illicit cannabis cultivation (sic) have soared, a considerable market for food products and beverages produced with cannabis has developed in the European Union (...). The health effects of these products have not been adequately researched.’(...) [Emphasis added] The wide and unrestricted availability of such products in shops, where cannabis candy bars can be sold to minors without restriction, contribute to the overall benign image of cannabis, a drug under international control.” [OICS note of 12.3.1999.] [21]
“It is therefore important to remain vigilant and step up controls to ensure that illegal crops do not tarnish the reputation of the sector producing hemp for fibre. To avert such dangers, the cultivation of hemp for fibre must be strictly controlled, which means the area cultivated will have to be restricted, and the uses to which it is put must NOT include human nutrition.” [Emphasis added] These EU regulations apply from July 1, 2000. [21]
The findings of the previously mentioned Health Canada THC Assessment are quite alarming from a consumer health and safety standpoint. Two key areas of health hazards to humans were reviewed, and the potential for risks from consumption of hemp products was characterized. [22]
One health area was neuroendocrine disruption during developmental states (perinatal, prepubertal and pubertal) that leads to permanent adverse effects on the brain and reproductive systems. The second area was neurological impairment manifested as deficits in cognitive and motor skills’ performance. [22]
The study could not, due to data gaps, develop definitive conclusions regarding the degree of potential risk from ingesting THC through hemp products. However, even without considering the bioaccumulative hazard potential of THC through repeated or multiple-product use, or the risk from chemicals other than THC in Cannabis sativa hemp, it nevertheless came to the following conclusions:
CHARACTERIZATIONS OF RISKS FROM THC
IN HEMP PRODUCTS FOR HUMAN USE & CONSUMPTION
HEALTH CANADA STUDY (DRAFT of November 23, 1999)
HEALTH RISK/ | FOOD | COSMETICS | NUTRACEUTICALS |
RISK OF | LIKELY | POSSIBLE | LIKELY |
RISK OF | LIKELY, | UNLIKELY, THOUGH | POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY IN CHILDREN. |
The in-depth Health Canada Risk Assessment on THC and Other Cannabinoids (in products) Made with Industrial Hemp (11/23/99) warns “On the basis of currently available data it is concluded that the present Canadian limit of 10ug/g (i.e.,10 ppm) THC in raw materials and products made from industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa cultivars with less than 0.3% THC) would likely not protect the Canadian consumer using industrial hemp-based food, cosmetic and personal care, and nutraceutical products from potential health risks of neurological impairment and neuroendocrine disruption associated with low level exposure to THC and other cannabinoids.” [22]
In the United States even salad oils must be examined and certified by the US-FDA as “generally recognized as safe.” This has not been done for hemp.
Allowing or introducing toxic chemicals in our food and cosmetic systems through use of THC-containing industrial hemp products is unthinkable. To do so would jeopardize public health and safety. U.S. citizens and government agencies and officials should do everything possible to prevent this from happening, thus protecting future generations from both known and unknown health and genetic hazards.
REFERENCES: THC in Food and Cosmetics
1. Industrial Hemp Technical Manual, Health Canada, Standard Operating Procedures for Sampling and Testing Methodology Basic Method for determination of THC in hempseed oil, 1998.
2. Hart, R.H.: Bitter Grass, The Bitter Truth About Marijuana, April 1980,13-14.
3. Mcilroy, A.: “Health Canada study says THC poses health risk,” Globe and Mail, Ottawa Canada, July 27, 1999.
4. Zhu,LX., Sharma,S., Stolina,M., Gardner,B., Roth,MD., Tashkin,DP., Dubinett,SM., -9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Inhibits Antitumor Immunity by a CB2 Receptor-Mediated, Cytokine-Dependent Pathway, The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 165: 373-380.
5. “Alberta Farmers Slow To Try Growing Hemp,” Calgary Herald, Calgary Canada, August 14, 1999.
6. Ahmad, GR; Ahmad, N., “Passive consumption of marijuana through milk: a low level chronic exposure to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)., Journal of Toxicology, Clinical Toxicology, 1990,28:2,255-260;ref.
7. Erasmus, U., Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, Alive Books, 1993, p. 287.
8. Pulley, J., Air Force Snuffs Out Hemp-Seed Extract, Air Force Times, 2/8/99.
9. Cooper, M., New Police Policy Takes On Hemp Oil!, New York Times, 7/22/99.
10. Begoun, P., “Hemp Claims Can’t be Confirmed,” Tampa Tribune (FL), February 4, 2000.
11. Report to the (KY) Governor’s Hemp and Related Fiber Crops Task Force, June 13, 1995, Letter from Mahmoud A. Elsohly, Project Director, NIDA, Marijuana Project, University of Mississippi, to Prof. M. Scott Smith, Ph.D., University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, 1995.
12. Hart, R.H.: Bitter Grass, The Bitter Truth About Marijuana, April 1980, p 17
13. Ibid, p 17.
14. West, DP., Hemp and Marijuana: Myths & Realities, North American Industrial Hemp Council, Inc., 1998, p5.
15. Personal Correspondence from: Carlton Turner, Ph.D., Carrington Laboratories, Inc., Irving, TX., March 22, 1999, to: Jeanette McDougal.
16. Hart, R.H.: Bitter Grass, The Bitter Truth About Marijuana, April 1980, p 18.
17. Nahas, GG, M.D., PhD., D.Sc., Keep Off The Grass; Paul S. Ericksson, Publisher, 1990, p148
18. Hart, R.H.: Bitter Grass, The Bitter Truth About Marijuana, April 1980, p 17.
19. Nahas, GG, M.D., PhD.,D.Sc., Keep Off The Grass; Paul S. Ericksson, Publisher, 1990, p282. and Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore 2000.
20. Virovets, V.G.: Selection for Non-Psychoactive Hemp Varieties (Cannabis sativa L.) In the CIS (former USSR), 1996, Journal of the International Hemp Association 3(1): 13-15.
21. Community preparatory acts, Document 599PC0576(02): Http://europe.eu.int/eur- lex/en/com/dat/1999/en_599PC0576_02.html22. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Other Cannabinoids in Foods, Cosmetics and Nutraceuticals Made with Industrial Hemp - A risk Assessment - (Draft) Prepared for Health Canada, November 23, 1999 (available through Access of Information, Canada). Final Report due fall of 2000, available through Health Canada.
Marihuana (Hemp) - A Drug Driven Movement?
Monday, September 1, 2008
National Alliance for Health and Safety
P.O. Box 164, Osceola, AR 72370
Is the Marihuana (Hemp) Movement a drug initiated, drug-driven movement?
A US Congress' research report concluded that Jack Herer, [a widely known marijuana activist], "has largely spurred the legalize marihuana (Hemp) movement.” The movement started when Herer released his book, Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, in 1985. It took off when he released and marketed an updated version in 1990. [Jean M. Rawson, CRS Report 92-510, “Growing Marihuana (Hemp) for Fiber: Pros and Cons.”]
High Times, a militantly pro-drug magazine, agrees. The April 1995 issue says, “Jack Herer’s book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, has been instrumental in reviving interest in hemp and has helped create the grass-roots movement for marijuana reform,” [i.e., legalization].
Herer, at one time a major drug paraphernalia dealer and self-admitted marijuana user, said his vision of the hemp movement was revealed one night while he was high on LSD. High Times magazine also claimed a major role in promoting the hemp movement, stating in its May 1994 issue, "High Times had been instrumental in getting the hemp movement off the ground. Now it was time for us to step back and let the movement run itself."
Further evidence of Herer’s role in the hemp movement is found in mainstream media and industry publications such as Pulp and Paper International, contained in an article by Dr. Manfred Judt entitled, "Hemp: Papermakers should take it with a pinch of salt" (10/94). Judt said, “For several years now, a wave of press enthusiasm has gone round the world: Hemp (cannabis sativa L), the wonder plant, will save the planet. Jack Herer's book Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy started it all [the hemp movement] in the USA in 1985. It was followed in Germany by Hanf, a translation of Herer’s book …”
PBS television, too, acknowledged Jack Herer’s role in legalizing hemp, airing a documentary entitled "The Emperor of Hemp" on PBS stations around the US in 2001. “The Emperor of Hemp” was promoted as “a profile of industrial hemp vanguard, Jack Herer (rhymes with terror).” Hemp activists were asked to call their local PBS station and let them know they were interested in the topic of hemp.
A Scientific American “Science and the Citizen," (12/90) article, Going to Pot A grassroots movement, touts hemp's environmental virtues reported that “The guru of th(e) grassroots (hemp) movement is Jack Herer, a large, hirsute Californian and admitted marijuana partaker….Herer says he has a 'pipe dream' in which people live in homes made of hemp particleboard, read hemp newspapers, wear hemp clothes, drive cars powered by hemp-based methanol and even dine on hemp-seed tofu." They noted Herer’s book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.”
It remained for Jack Herer’s strong and savvy ally, Chris Conrad, Californian, to propagandize and market hemp to the US and the world. Hemp Times magazine explained in its 1999 tribute to Conrad, that “although Chris has been at the forefront of the industrial hemp revolution, he’s done so by keeping in the background….He is the uncited source of background information for hundreds of news reports and thousands of college term papers and speeches.”
In 1988, Conrad focused his attention on cannabis (hemp/marijuana). Because he felt that the activist community was lacking a cohesive strategy, he devised a 3-point plan to restore hemp and re-legalize cannabis in America: founding organizations, developing and disseminating information, and framing the issue.
In 1989, Chris founded three Los Angeles based organizations (Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp (BACH), Family Council for Drug Awareness (FSDA), and American Hemp Council, an activist coalition. The American Hemp Council is a model that was used to form activist groups all over the country. BACH, with representatives scattered throughout the country, has three goals, to: 1) Restore hemp agriculture and all industrial uses of hemp, 2) Legalize (so-called) medical marijuana with a doctor's oversight, and 3) Set an age of consent and regulate the adult market for personal use of cannabis.
In 1989, Conrad wrote and published his flyers, "The many uses of hemp," "Hemp for the Economy," "Hemp for Ecology," "Hemp for Health", and "Five things you can do right now to help,” and distributed them throughout the country.
After meeting Jack Herer in 1989, Chris Conrad edited and designed the landmark 1990 edition of Herer's book, Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy: The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Conrad’s organization, BACH, produced and widely promoted the book for several years.
Conrad’s propaganda and marketing strategy included renaming and reframing the industrial hemp/marijuana issue. He gave people a new “marijuana language” [industrial hemp is low-grade marijuana]. According to Hemp Times magazine, 1999, Conrad encouraged Herer to start emphasizing the "h” word instead of the "m” word as a way to mainstream the hemp issue. 'Chris is basically responsible for re-introducing the word 'hemp' to America, and by translation, to the rest of the world.”
According to Conrad (quoting from a 1995 High Times magazine interview) he and his network "linked voters, ecologists, farmers, businesses, doctors, and average citizens into an alliance that knows hemp is here for good. 'Now the pot smokers need to come out of the closet to win their equal rights.'"
Conrad (ranked #10) and Jack Herer (ranked #1) were both named by *High Times magazine, 12/99, as two of the world’s Top 25 Pot Stars, calling Conrad a living legend in the battle for “legal cannabis.” High Times said, “Conrad has written books, founded organizations and designed a museum in efforts to promote the legalization of marijuana for medical and other uses."
Updated: 9/08
* High Times on Chris Conrad
PETITION to US PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Friday, August 29, 2008
OPPOSE Legalization of Hemp (low-grade marijuana)
WE, US drug preventionists, PETITION US PUBLIC OFFICIALS to OPPOSE Congressional Bill H.R. 1009 which would legalize industrial hemp (low-grade marijuana) as an agricultural crop; to RESIST all efforts to change Federal law to allow industrial hemp to be defined as a legal crop; to ACKNOWLEDGE that the US government is responsible for regulating controlled substances and ensuring food safety, and to INFORM US farmers, the general public, and government agencies about the long-standing drug culture ties and questionable economics of Cannabis hemp/marijuana as a crop.
WHEREAS:
- both fiber-hemp/marijuana and drug-hemp/marijuana are Cannabis sativa L. plants, contain a mind altering drug called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), and are prohibited by Federal law;
- both official US drug control agencies, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), believe and have publicly stated that it would not be in the public interest to change the current status of Cannabis sativa L. (hemp/marijuana), determining that:
- the threat of diversion into the illicit drug trade associated with the cultivation of hemp/marijuana would not be in the public interest. Marijuana drug dealers will pay many times higher for hemp as a mix with higher grade marijuana to increase their profit than the hemp market could offer. There is no reliable field test to distinguish fiber-hemp from other varieties, therefore, law enforcement would be unable to arrest cannabis violators based on the required "probable cause" standard;
- the DEA ban on THC in hemp food products, though characterized as a drug war issue, is, in fact, a food safety issue. Despite the fact that NO state or country in the world has scientifically established the safety of food products made from hemp, the Ninth Circuit Court struck down the DEA ban in 2004;
- the present hemp movement in the US and internationally was initiated by marijuana activists as officially reported by the US Congress' research arm (CRS 92-510) which states that the "legalize marihuana (Hemp) movement" was "largely spurred by...Jack Herer,...."an internationally known marijuana activist dubbed the "godfather of hemp." Herer was quoted as saying he dreamed up the hemp movement one night while high on LSD.;
- Vote Hemp - (chief hemp lobby organization) & HIA (Hemp Industries Association) - (chief trade group) are orchestrating and funding hemp legalization efforts in the US; (Who funds them?)
- VOTE HEMP & HIA are headed by a former NORML employee, who, with High Times, co-produced two pro-marijuana/hemp CD albums. One, entitled Hempilation: Freedom is Norml, features pro-pot bands performing their favorite weed classics such as, “I Wanna Get High,” “I Like Marijuana,” and “Legalize It.” Vote Hemp’s President included in his closing remarks on the pro-pot CD liner notes, “Isn’t it time we reconsider marijuana prohibition? … We all need to …demand the end of hemp prohibition now.”; (Emphasis added)
- Vote Hemp helped to write federal bill, H.R. 1009, which was introduced to Congress in 2007 by Ron Paul. That Bill would legalize hemp as an agricultural crop, and would take authority to regulate Cannabis hemp from the federal government and, assign authority over it to the states;
H.R. 1009 would make federal law enforcement subservient to the state legislative process;
Therefore, be it resolved that we, US Drug Preventionists, URGE that you use all your powers as PUBLIC OFFICIALS to OPPOSE & PREVENT the passage of Cannabis Hemp Bill, H.R. 1009.
Additional Reasons to OPPOSE Legalization of Hemp (low-grade marijuana)
Drug abuse threatens our democratic institutions, national security, and Nation’s future.
Pro-drug advocates use industrial hemp/marijuana as a symbol to promote the acceptance and legalization of marijuana.
The drug-driven Hemp Movement predated and created farmer and business involvement.
Vote Hemp drafted hemp bills & recruited farmers and public officials to introduce and spearhead their passage.
Vote Hemp recruited and funded legitimate US farmers to bring lawsuits against the DEA to change the legal status of hemp.
Claims of economic advantages to the agricultural community from growing industrial hemp-marijuana are significantly exaggerated. On an international level hemp/marijuana is not profitable for farmers who are growing it without government subsidies (the EU). In 2008, Canada's hemp market supported fewer than 15,000 acres of hemp. Hemp acreage in Canada dropped in 2008).
Claims of environmental advantages from growing industrial hemp/marijuana are also significantly exaggerated.
Law enforcement at all levels – federal, state, and local – oppose the legalization of hemp/marijuana for industrial purposes, knowing that industrial hemp/marijuana can promote the illicit drug trade:
*Through increasing potency by harvesting selected parts of the plant.
*Through manufacturing into a higher-potency drug product using accessible recipes and
ingredients, and
*Through using low-potency marijuana as a filler to increase the bulk of higher-potency
marijuana sold in illicit markets.
The US Military and many city police departments (NYPD for one) prohibit their personnel from ingesting (eating/drinking) hemp products, which could jeopardize drug testing results.
THC accumulates in the fatty cells of the body.
A threshold THC concentration – below which industrial hemp/marijuana would have no significant psychoactive properties – has not been determined, such level being dependent upon the personal characteristics of each user. Inexperience users, (for example, children) are especially vulnerable.
Smoking hemp/marijuana with a low THC level of 0.25 percent could result in psychological effects on inexperienced users (children, for example), or in individuals with a high decree of sensitivity to THC.
Supporting industrial hemp/marijuana sends an ambivalent and harmful message to youth and others regarding marijuana.
Marijuana use among our youth in the United States accounts for the highest percentage of admissions for drug treatment.
For more information:
http://www.drugwatch.org/
http://www.hempalert.com/
8/08
No Reason for Raising Hemp
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Opinion pieces gleaned from the Bismarck Tribune:
N.D. FARMERS ARE BEING USED:OSCEOLA, Ark. -(Jeanette McDougal)--North Dakota's congressional contingent wisely declined to lobby for hemp, no doubt realizing that North Dakota farmers are being used as a front to legalize the ultimate "cover crop," hemp.
To paraphrase Canadian hemp researcher David Marcus: "In order to overcome government reluctance to legalize industrial hemp, it is necessary to present the image of conservative, 'solid citizen' support." What group is perceived as more "solid" than America's farmers, especially North Dakota farmers?
Cover is needed because, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the legalize marijuana (hemp) movement "has largely been spurred by ... Jack Herer (marijuana advocate), whose 1985 book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," has been instrumental in reviving interest in hemp and has helped create the grass-roots movement for marijuana reform," that is, legalization.
The 1985 launched legalization movement predated farmer involvement, according to key hemp legalization strategist, Chris Conrad. By 1994, as part of the pro-drug strategy to legalize hemp, farmers had been drawn into the hemp movement. Conrad is quoted in High Times as saying that he and his (marijuana legalization activist) network "linked voters, ecologists, farmers, businesses, doctors and average citizens into an alliance that knows hemp is here for good ... pot smokers need to come out of the closet to win their equal rights."
This inclusion of "average citizens, groups and organizations" lines up with Marcus' statement that "... Strong support from business and farm groups is indispensable; support from pro-marijuana interests and what are perceived of as fringe groups is generally counterproductive."
The statements of French hemp expert and research scientist Hayo M. G. van der Werf are being ignored in the push to "sell" hemp as a crop to farmers. Van der Werf said: "(M)any claims (about hemp) are made ... many of these claims are inaccurate; some of the overestimation of hemp's benefits may be due to the emotional commitment many individuals have in making this a viable crop."
Neither the case that hemp production provides solid economic benefits, nor that hemp cultivation will not detrimentally affect the enforcement of marijuana legislation has been made.
Would-be hemp farmers are being used.
(McDougal is chair of the hemp committee of Drug Watch International and notes her past positions in the Minnesota Farm Bureau. - Editor)
NO REASON FOR RAISING HEMP:
CLIFTON, Va.-(John Coleman)--In rejecting the demand for hemp legislation, the North Dakota congressional delegation has recognized the obvious charade by the pro-marijuana legalizers, and this, more than anything else, is a great sign that our nation's legislators finally are becoming aware that they have been swindled in the past by drug proponents masquerading as compassionate advocates for the needs of the sick and dying or, as in this instance, ailing North Dakota farmers.
The fact is that farmers are not ailing but getting wealthy from the weak dollar that makes their exports that much cheaper for foreign markets. Hemp is available and abundant throughout the world and can be purchased elsewhere for a fraction of what it would cost to produce in the United States.
In Europe, hemp farmers receive annual cash subsidies from the European Union, suggesting that European hemp production is unable to compete with cheaper synthetic fibers and imported hemp. Why create a similar welfare state for farmers in the U.S. when cash crops like corn, wheat and soybeans are in high demand around the world and sales of these commodities can benefit our economy and our farmers?
Lastly, the observation that producing hemp will undermine the enforcement of our marijuana laws, which is, of course, why the pro-drug groups support hemp in the first place, is as good a reason as any to keep this genie in the bottle. For those who would dispute this, ask yourself this question: If hemp resembled corn, soybeans or wheat, would we be having this discussion?
(Coleman signs himself as president of Drug Watch International. - Editor)
Hemp News
