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.

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