Saturday, January 31, 2009

Current Conversation

Saturday, January 31, 2009

A Current Conversation
http://current.com/items/89764343/the_real_question.htm?xid=42�


It's true that an irrational social prejudice against Cannabis has been imposed through decades of ignorance and fear. Even so, it's an illusion to believe that "We The People" are still entrenched in the "Reefer Madness" mentality of the '30s,'40s,'50s, '60s,'70s''80s,'90's.

We're facing global catastrophe in the foreseeable future. No ignorance or stubbornness is reason enough to let Cannabis prohibition continue, if it means that the planet gets broiled. When does a law become so transparently perverse that it ceases to command respect? Cannabis prohibition laws are screaming to be transcended by an increasingly urgent necessity.

Now that President Obama has courageously been honest about his frequent use of 'marijuana' the "gateway theory" can be expanded to include The White House as a consequence of "drug abuse" [sic]. To enforce a counter-productive would reveal Obama as worse than a hypocrite. That would be too sad.

I'm doing what I can to help our President not let that happen, by writing to his whitehouse.gov website everyday, and letting him know about Executive Order 12919 and essential civilian demand for Cannabis. If we all write to President Obama, then he will have to end Cannabis prohibition - without spending any "political capital" and in fact, earning quite a lot.

It used to be a problem for VIP politicians & other cultural leaders (i.e. publishers, program directors & celebs) to show support for Cannabis. But today, 80% of the population favors decrim for personal use and even more understand the therapeutic realities. Anyone who watches all seven segments of the Rick Simpson story on YouTube will.

The economic vacuum created by prohibiting the world's most useful agricultural resource for seven decades is being filled out of necessity. The hemp industry listings in Europe is already a phone book.

Another REAL question is, "How can any "herb bearing seed" be both a "strategic resource" and a Schedule I drug?

Answer: It can't.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Dear Mr. President and staff,

Please direct me in the accelerated protocol for exercising"essential civilian demand"for Cannabis hemp(E.O. 12919) in time for commercial planting in California for EarthDay, April2009.

Under the constitutionally guaranteed right provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment, our freedom to farm "every herb bearing seed"is protected. We need to maximize production of all resources, "irrespective of other uses to which such commodities... may be put."

Freedom is possible for the first time in our lives.

Now that a member of the Cannabis culture occupies the White House, President Obama -- for whom 'marijuana' was a gateway to the White House -- must end the prohibition of Cannabis. It is absurd to think that the courage, intelligence and leadership abilities of our President developed in spite of his Cannabis use, rather than with some benefit from it. Many of society's leaders, in every discipline of culture, have used Cannabis at some time in their lives.

Having courageously admitted that he smoked pot frequently, if Obama doesn't end prohibition, he will be recognized as a hypocrite for continuing the macho political tradition of turning his back on science, reason and compassion in an attempt to look "tough" on drugs. How can the President support laws known to be functionally counter-productive, that would have jailed himself and probably many of his family and friends?

Mr. President, please. Do not continue in the tired footsteps of drug war dinosaurs. It's time for America to grow up to the reality of individual responsibility for the use or abuse of drugs. We are reclaiming our freedom to farm in 2009, by planting hemp in California, by "essential civilian demand." I trust that you will support this critical step in recovering the environmental and economic balance upon which our social evolution depends.

Available science from all over the world proves that Cannabis is the world's most ancient, useful, healing and nutritious agricultural resource. How can a natural resource so valuable possibly be within the rightful jurisdiction of any court?

Cannabis hemp seed is the most complete food on Earth, the only common seed with three essential fatty acids, the best source of vegetable protein, and potentially the most abundant and globally distributed organic agricultural crop. To induce scarcity of it is worse than merely shortsighted -- it's extinctionistic.

The "drug war" is counter-productive to its own stated objectives, creating a "forbidden fruit," engendering a vicious black market, causing corruption in law enforcement and elected officials. Prohibition has addicted our economic system and our political system to toxic, unevenly distributed finite chemicals.

Human values reflect the absence of spirit in our money. With such an arrogant disregard for the Natural Order, it is inevitable that mankind will destroy the Earth under our feet, unless several steps are taken immediately. Ending Cannabis prohibition is the first step to sustainability, because it is the only thing we can do to reduce "global broiling" by increasing UV-B radiation.

That Cannabis agriculture would be an economic and environmental boon to the US and the world is incontestable. There is no other major crop that produces both food and fuel from the same harvest.

We have nothing to fear but the atmosphere itself. Unless we stop adding toxic chemicals to it, we won't be around to see the planet heat up.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

A simple policy question for President Obama

Dear Office of Public Liaison friends & associates,

Please convey my question to the President, if at all possible. Thank you.

My question is simply this, How can the government have rightful jurisdiction over any "herb bearing seed" when God gave all of them to us, twice, on the first page of the Bible?

Cannabis hemp is nutritionally unique and essential.

This is very good news. The best health care plan starts with the world's most complete food and essential fatty acid nutrition.

Thank U

Thursday, January 15, 2009

"essential civilian demand"

The California Cannabis Ministry sends greetings & salutations for a meaningful, moral New Era!
2009 is the year of "essential civilian demand" for hemp in California, under the Constitutional protection of our "First Freedom."

Best wishes for National Religious Freedom Day tomorrow, January 16th, following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday today. In Mount Shasta we're celebrating both tonight at a showing of the film, "Hemp and the Rule of Law."

Please get in touch to learn more about why Cannabis agriculture is our best hope for a liveable environment and peace on Earth. The atmospheric aerosols produced by Cannabis farming are critical to solving the "global broiling" equation in time to have an effect.

Friday, January 9, 2009

The meaning of words: Establishing the pragmatic and legal distinctions between Drugs & Herbs

Claudio,

I agree that "We must work hard to convince people that drug prohibition is a folly: harmful, ineffective, counterproductive, extremely expensive, and morally wrong" but that doesn't preclude pointing out the existing legal protections afforded by the "religious freedom" that we're supposed to have (even if we don't), and the fact that Cannabis IS an "herb bearing seed."

If "We can't attack drug warriors with arguments based on the meaning of words" then words lose their meaning. I think it's important to respect the meaning of words, even if no one else does. The legal and pragmatic distinctions need to be made by us or, as you suggest, they won't be mentioned at all. All arguments are relevant as a part of a comprehensive rationale.

In the interest of peaceful discourse, I think it's important not to characterize what we do as "attacking drug warriors." I prefer to reason. to educate. I seek to understand and find common ground with people who are reasonable.

"Drug warriors" who refuse to acknowledge compassion, science and reason can be disempowered by legally and logically convincing people who are truly concerned with solutions to problems being created by prohibition.

To this end, one indisputable distinction between drugs and herbs is that herbs grow from the soil, drugs don't. This brings up obvious differences in the possibility of "control."

Another difference is that drugs are more concentrated and homogenized than herbs. This makes drugs more dangerous than herbs. Public safety is a legitimate concern, that favors the freedom to farm.

Finally, herbs are a product of nature, a gift from "god." In debating prohibition with people whose thinking is often oriented toward "religion," this argument may carry more weight than logic. Herbs are a fundamental right, at least in theory, protected by international treaty.

Ofcourse hypocrisy exists in the drug policy debate, but that doesn't mean we have to go along with it, or have what ought to be a legitimate legal argument derailed by it.

The UV-B Equation

The UV-B equation is a mathematical equation for figuring out how to best mitigate increasing UV-B radiation that's coming through Earth's disappearing atmospheric ozone layer. Cannabis agriculture produces atmospheric aerosols that may have enormous potential in effecting radiative forcing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_forcing

"High levels of UV-B radiation are also impacting wide areas across the United States. This type of radiation can also impact tree health, growth rates, and stress tree in other ways. NOAA/National Weather Service puts current UV Index Forecasts on its websites. The UV exposure level is increasing throughout the United States. Could jet fuel emissions, which contain nitric acid that depletes beneficial ozone in our atmosphere, be one of the major culprits in this increase in UV radiation reaching the earth?

Mr. Buckman noted: “…UV Index Forecasts (NOAA Climate Prediction Center)…the data is quite shocking. We live in an area that regularly has Solar Noon Hour UV levels of 10 to 11 that are listed as “VERY HIGH” …Changes in UV light could easily trigger such a response, and in fact could cause major vegetation community shifts. Why are UV levels elevated?…”

from "Our dead and dying trees"
Rosalind Peterson, 2007
http://www.californiaskywatch.com/documents/htmldocs/pp_dead_and_dying_trees.htm

What's atmospherically true for the US is likely true for the rest of the world. We are One means a lot in climate science.

"We know that there are various causes for amphibian population declines, including UV-B light exposure, habitat loss, pesticide pollution, infections and other issues," said Andrew Blaustein, a professor of zoology at OSU and one of the world's leading experts on amphibian decline."

"Amphibians In Losing Race With Environmental Change"
May 1st, 2007
in General Science / Biology
http://www.physorg.com/news97214097.html

I see UV-B ("global broiling") as a greater threat than global warming because it's effects are immediate and more subtle than a melting ice cap. As the result of increasing UV-B, impaired immune systems, genetic mutation and stunted growth are occurring in trees, amphibians, bats, bees, and other species that indicate what may be happening to us. One person in three dies of cancer these days. That's not normal.

The Very Good News is that Cannabis agriculture produces an enormous quantity of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) called "monoterpenes" that vaporize off of the plants, rise into the atmosphere, reflect solar radiation away from the Earth and seed cloud formation, shielding the planet's surface. The VOCs dissipate, so theoretically, a constant stream may be needed to shield the Earth. Fortunately, organic Cannabis grows all over the world, and produces an essential food at the same time that it produces abundant biofuels, therapeutics, building materials, biodegradable plastics and paper, cloth...

Th rationale for ending Cannabis prohibition takes on a much different patina when considered in the context of the conditions we're in. There really isn't time left to argue. Every spring that passes is an opportunity that's gone forever.

Let the prohibitionists argue for a return to prohibition if they want, but the majority of the people in the world support an end to prohibition, so the "leaders" [sic] must be mandated to follow the common consciousness. It would be too sad to contemplate were it otherwise.

Here are some on-line references that may be of interest in making this argument for Cannabis agriculture as a proportionate, globally available action that people can take to heal the planet using Cannabis agriculture.


"High Natural Aerosol Loading over Boreal Forests"
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/312/5771/261

The International Conference of the European Industrial HempAssociation (EIHA) www.eiha.org/conf6th May 27 th –28 th , 2009Rheinforum, Wesseling / near Cologne (Germany)
http://www.eiha.org/conf6th/data/File/Programme/08-10-29_Einladungsflyer_EIHA.pdf

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Freedom to farm is the first test of religious freedom.

Every god that people have ever worshipped has essentially been in agreement with the Christian God in the Holy Bible, who apparently said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed...and every green herb." on page one of Genesis. The agricultural foundations of religion were established by even more ancient cultures and spiritual traditions.

In the context of present emergency environmental conditions it is no longer possible to pretend that Cannabis agriculture, manufacture and trade are not the most proportionate and globally available response to climate change, food insecurity and perhaps the only immediate measure that can be implemented regionally to address increasing UV-B radiation, the "global broiling" that's likely contributing if not causing the death of bees, bats, amphibians, and other more vulnerable species.

Reply to Virginia's call for a strong response to the European Commission's failure to engage civil society in the drug policy process, as promised.

Dear Virginia,

Right you are.

It occurs to me that the strongest possible reaction would include an international request for something attainable, significant and beneficial. Specifically, requesting a formal reassessment of the true value of Cannabis agriculture, ecology, manufacture and trade, in the context of present "emergency" conditions of environment, economics and armed aggression would be hard to for the commission to ignore. In the U.S., it's apparently called "essential civilian demand." Perhaps it's a term that will serve ENCOD and the rest of the world as well.

I trust that the drug war will end when the Great Lie about the world's most useful and nutritious crop is exposed, and the organic agricultural market is allowed to spread abundant health and natural wealth. We need to stop talking about Cannabis as a drug ("Drugs don't make seeds.") and start recognizing it as a critical component of an agricultural strategy to address climate change. If there's a better, more widely available, proportionate way to address "global broiling" by increasing UV-B radiation, than Cannabis agriculture, I haven't heard it.

Establishing as common knowledge, the true value of Cannabis will "blow the doors off" of the drug policy debate. If we don't figure out the UV-B equation soon, it won't matter what other problems we do solve. For what it's worth, I offer any and all of my writing, research, films and photographs, as a citizen of the world and a concerned father, for achieving compassionate drug policy, everywhere.

We truly are One.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Comment on ENCOD's response to the European Commission's "Action Plan"

Ian is quite correct in pointing out the "tokenistic" folly of the process thus far, skillfully itemized in ENCOD's reposte to the European Commission. The lack of integrity demonstrated by the EC's failure to take into account recommendations made is disappointing, though not surprising, considering the institutionalized economic inertia that floats failed policies, exacerbating many problems, all over the world.

For what it's worth from a U.S. perspective, it seems impossible for timely progress to be made in the drug policy reform process, as long as input is orchestrated by people, in Europe and the U.S., who are "criminally negligent" in their failure to take responsibility for the true value of Cannabis agriculture. The enormous impacts of the "drug war" include blatantly strangling the global free market, interfering with a proportionate, agricultural response to climate change, and obviating peaceful social evolution.

Perhaps an intermediate step is called for, somewhat tangential to the ultimate drug policy objective. Shortcomings in the EC Action Plan could serve as an opportunity to formally mandate the European Commission to conduct a reassessment of Cannabis agriculture.

Beginning with recognition of the exceptional nutritional value of hemp seed, the EC could be challenged to acknowledge the impact of drug policy on global food security and nutrition. The EC could be pressed by civil society to enjoin the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization to identify Cannabis seed for what it is, the world's most complete, uniquely nutritious, globally available and potentially abundant source of organic vegetable protein. Currently, the UNFAO doesn't even recognize hemp seed as food for humans.

This is all the UN has to say about the world's most complete food:

Animal Feed Resources Information Systems
http://www.fao.org/ag/AGA/AGAP/frg/AFRIS/Data/494.HTM

The true value of Cannabis agriculture has been obscured by competitive economic entities and the corrupt political influence they buy. The prolonged, intransigent, irrational prohibition being imposed on organic agriculture, science and the global free market is again revealed as such in the EC's failure to follow through on its promise to engage civil society. Prohibitionist policy is not only an abject failure at preventing the trade in and use of drugs, but has also been repeatedly revealed as consistently counter-productive to all of its own stated objectives. By failing to deliver on promises to engage civil society, the EC Action Plan is obstructing the drug policy process itself.

Food security and nutrition may seem a round-about way of approaching the subject of drug policy reform, but until people in positions of responsibility at the highest levels of governance are forced to make the obvious connection between these issues, 950 million people will continue to go hungry because of 'marijuana' prohibition, and the influence of civil society will continue to be subverted in the drug policy debate.

===========================

The whole discussion can be found at:
http://www.encod.org/info/ENCOD-COMMENTS-THE-NEW-EU-DRUG.html

Friday, January 2, 2009

Dear Brian and friends in the Obama Transition Team,

I would like to offer you the most potent economic tool available -- time.
It's the only thing we can't make more of, so we had better make the best use of what we've got.

Time needed to heal this planet is running out at an accelerating rate, and there are time-lags that aren't even being factored into the equation of survival that are working against our success. Every spring planting season that passes is gone forever and we've already wasted far too many.

The good news is, there is something we can do about it, if we have the courage and objectivity needed to do the right thing at the right time. Unless we actively overcome the economic inertia and counter-productive prohibition that's bogging down the green economy, by reintegrating organic Cannabis agriculture into the resource mix, then we will run out of time.

Ice caps are melting, bees are dying, diseases, hunger and malnutrition are spreading. Drug abuse and the profits of the black market are rising along with the oceans.

President Obama needs to make a brave choice -- whether to join the disingenuous ranks of the "drug war dinosaurs" leading us down the road to extinction, or recognize the true value of Cannabis to global agriculture, nutrition, industry, 21st Century economics and social evolution.

The Obama administration must recognize the brief window of opportunity presently available, for reintegrating the most useful and nutritious agricultural resource on Earth back into America's environmental, economic and human rights equation.

Please help me to exercise "essential civilian demand" for Cannabis hemp, as provided for in Executive Order 12919. This is the shortest distance between two points -- where we are and where we need to be by this spring.

Please contact me to initiate the process of removing Cannabis from Schedule I, while their are still bees. Increasing UV-B radiation (Google "global broiling") is weakening immune systems, causing genetic mutation and stunting growth in every creature on Earth.

Cannabis produces biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) called monoterpenes that reflect UV-B radiation and seed cloud formation. Please don't ignore this information. It is critical that these dimensions of Cannabis be discussed.

"How bad do things have to get before all solutions are considered?"
The REAL Question for Davos07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZw3hXkGJo

I use digital video to communicate an holistic, complex message about the true value of Cannabis agriculture, manufacture and trade, in the context of environmental, economic and social imbalances that we were all born into. If you need a speech-writer to help with the transition from a counter-productive drug war, to Cannabis freedom, please contact me.

On January 15th I'll be hosting a celebration of National Religious Freedom Day in the "State of Jefferson", Mount Shasta, California, to discuss our community's responsibilities regarding this information, and how we can move forward in peace to reclaim our freedom to farm, which IS the freedom of religion.

Blessings to all for a healthful New Era,

Paul von Hartmann
California Cannabis Ministry
www.californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com