Imagine a tripod that's got one wooden leg, one iron leg and one stone leg. On top of the tripod rests our chances for survival. The wooden leg is rotting, the iron leg is about rusted through, and the stone leg has been mostly worn away by wind & waves.
Which one will crumble first? It's hard to say, and it doesn't really matter, since each leg depends on the other two. When one goes, they all go. That's how I think of "synergistic collapse."
The three legs upon which our survival depends are the Earth's environment, human economics and the integrated social structures human, plant and animal, that share this planet. Currently, all three legs are degenerating to the point of imminent, synergistic collapse.
Global warming and global broiling threaten collapse of the Natural Order, mankind's economy is in the final stages of imbalance, as evidenced by the degree to which the black markets have infected the global markets and compromised the integrity of political leadership and other social structures.(1)
Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees were to become extinct mankind could only survive for four years. Others have estimated it would take seven years. How long will our social structures last if the environment collapses? How long will our economy stay solvent once the toxicity of petrochemicals is recognized as not worth it? It may not matter if the bees die first.
What will happen once 'marijuana' prohibition is finally superseded by widespread realization of the true value of the Cannabis plant? My vision of the first thing that ought to happen, is identification of the people who have been promoting this idea the longest, to be celebrated as forward thinkers, capable of leadership. The politicians who continue to support prohibition will be seen as "drug war dinosaurs" who did not have the political courage or vision to see the truth about Cannabis, nor the destructive nature of prohibition itself.
It is critical to have a conversation about the promise of Cannabis and the urgency of ending the prohibition of all drugs. It is time to do what needs to be done in spite of the lack of political will.
1. "Organised crime: the $2 trillion threat to the world's security"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2167133,00.html
2. "Welsh urged to become beekeepers"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/6612513.stm
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Organised crime: the $2 trillion threat to the world's security
Organised crime: the $2 trillion threat to the world's security
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2167133,00.html
"There is nothing stopping it," Mr Glenn said.
"There is no global strategy."
Yes, there actually is a global strategy. It's called drug policy reform, and one of the best reasons to implement it is the disempowerment of the black market.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2167133,00.html
"There is nothing stopping it," Mr Glenn said.
"There is no global strategy."
Yes, there actually is a global strategy. It's called drug policy reform, and one of the best reasons to implement it is the disempowerment of the black market.
André Fürst and the Cannabis industry under attack in the Swiss Confederation
Dear friends of freedom,
Please do what you can to raise active awareness of André Fürst's conviction and imprisonment in Switzerland. André Fürst is the founder of Chanvre Info, a Cannabis agriculture and manufacturing demonstration project in Morat Murten, Switzerland. A sincere gentleman and father, André and his son André, Jr. are dear friend's who have been generous supporters of my film in Europe and Mexico. André Fürst deserves international praise for his courage, vision and contributions to the common good -- not prison. A short film of Chanvre Info can be seen here, on You Tube:
"Return to Reason" short
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gImQUSvfGxI
André Fürst has done in Switzerland, what we could be doing in California by next spring.
As the California industrial hemp bill, AB 684 ripens in the governor's hands, the benefits of hemp agriculture and the therapeutic benefits of 'marijuana' are being repeatedly proven. The urgency of growing Cannabis is only becoming more acute as environment, economy, and social structures continue to fail. AB 684 - http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7363
It is simply a shameless violation of human rights, in the name of corporate protectionism, for government to interfere with the cultivation of any "herb bearing seed." (Genesis 1:29) The jurisdiction of the court has been extended far beyond moral accountability, inducing essential resource scarcity, while enriching the black market and increasing hard drug use, in a counter-productive effort to crimp the free agricultural and industrial markets.
The following letter was written by the Steering Committee of ENCOD (www.encod.org), of which André Fürst is the director, and is passed on to you all with the invitation to engage the effort to secure brother Fürst's immediate release.
Further, I trust that the Swiss authorities will protect the health and safety of people at the Chanvre Info demonstration project. The following is a recent account of attacks on the farm by an armed gang.
http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/Attack-on-field-at-Chanvre-Info.html
Please see
http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/sommaire.html
for additional information about André Fürst and the incredible strides in Cannabis agriculture and industry he has achieved, with the highest levels of product excellence, always demonstrating global cooperation and international statesmanship with a unique personal flair.
Please join with me in calling for André Fürst's immediate release, by sending word to the Canton of Fribourg, that the world is observing the suppression the Cannabis industry. In the US, we can begin coordinating ahead of the curve for a change, to plant hemp this Spring. It's the right thing to do, and regardless of what laws are passed at the state level, we have federal, Bill of Rights, Article One, individual freedom of religion, also afforded by international human rights treaties, if each of us claims it for ourselves, and each other.
With international Aloha, and a prayer for peace,
Paul
California Cannabis Ministry
Please do what you can to raise active awareness of André Fürst's conviction and imprisonment in Switzerland. André Fürst is the founder of Chanvre Info, a Cannabis agriculture and manufacturing demonstration project in Morat Murten, Switzerland. A sincere gentleman and father, André and his son André, Jr. are dear friend's who have been generous supporters of my film in Europe and Mexico. André Fürst deserves international praise for his courage, vision and contributions to the common good -- not prison. A short film of Chanvre Info can be seen here, on You Tube:
"Return to Reason" short
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gImQUSvfGxI
André Fürst has done in Switzerland, what we could be doing in California by next spring.
As the California industrial hemp bill, AB 684 ripens in the governor's hands, the benefits of hemp agriculture and the therapeutic benefits of 'marijuana' are being repeatedly proven. The urgency of growing Cannabis is only becoming more acute as environment, economy, and social structures continue to fail. AB 684 - http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7363
It is simply a shameless violation of human rights, in the name of corporate protectionism, for government to interfere with the cultivation of any "herb bearing seed." (Genesis 1:29) The jurisdiction of the court has been extended far beyond moral accountability, inducing essential resource scarcity, while enriching the black market and increasing hard drug use, in a counter-productive effort to crimp the free agricultural and industrial markets.
The following letter was written by the Steering Committee of ENCOD (www.encod.org), of which André Fürst is the director, and is passed on to you all with the invitation to engage the effort to secure brother Fürst's immediate release.
Further, I trust that the Swiss authorities will protect the health and safety of people at the Chanvre Info demonstration project. The following is a recent account of attacks on the farm by an armed gang.
http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/Attack-on-field-at-Chanvre-Info.html
Please see
http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/sommaire.html
for additional information about André Fürst and the incredible strides in Cannabis agriculture and industry he has achieved, with the highest levels of product excellence, always demonstrating global cooperation and international statesmanship with a unique personal flair.
Please join with me in calling for André Fürst's immediate release, by sending word to the Canton of Fribourg, that the world is observing the suppression the Cannabis industry. In the US, we can begin coordinating ahead of the curve for a change, to plant hemp this Spring. It's the right thing to do, and regardless of what laws are passed at the state level, we have federal, Bill of Rights, Article One, individual freedom of religion, also afforded by international human rights treaties, if each of us claims it for ourselves, and each other.
With international Aloha, and a prayer for peace,
Paul
California Cannabis Ministry
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Cannabis Agriculture vs. Global Broiling
Humankind faces a simple choice. Either we end prohibition of the world's most valuable plant, or the Earth will broil to extinction under increasing intensities of Ultra-Violet solar radiation.
Global broiling under UV is an immediate threat, yet compared with global warming, it is largely over-looked because the effects of increasing UV are more subtle than a shrinking glacier. Increasing levels of UV-B radiation, caused by erosion of the planet's ozone layer, are causing mutations, impairing immune systems and slowing growth rates in amphibians.(5) A generally accepted "indicator" species, what is obvious in amphibians is likely happening to people and other creatures, including plants.
Fortunately, there are mitigating measures that could be effective to heal the atmosphere, if they're implemented in time. A study published in Science Magazine last year, detailed the effects of atmospheric aerosols called "monoterpenes" on Earth's atmosphere.(1) The report concluded that
"This has important implications for...our future climate."
In essence, monoterpenes, (produced by some plants) mitigate global warming by reflecting solar radiation back into space and "seeding" cloud formation. Both solar reflection and cloud cover protect the Earth and its inhabitants from the increasing intensity of the Sun's rays.
It remains to be studied, what would happen if monoterpene-rich crops were grown in abundance, specifically to create a constant flow of monoterpenes into the atmosphere. I propose that this may be the most proximate and effective strategy for healing global warming and global broiling. Certainly, at the very least, the research needs to be initiated into the possible benefits of Cannabis agriculture, independent from the arbitrary limitations imposed by the drug war.
The Cannabis plant offers mankind a better opportunity for mitigating climate change than any other agricultural resource. Cannabis (hemp,'marijuana') produces 58 monoterpenes. It is also one of the most potentially abundant, useful and adaptable agricultural resources in the world.
In addition to effecting climate change by producing monoterpenes, Cannabis is one of the most efficient crops for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.(4) Biodegradable construction materials made from Cannabis are the perfect carbon sink in which to store CO2 that's removed from the atmosphere by Cannabis farming.
Cannabis is also the world's most available source of organic vegetable protein and essential fatty acids (EFAs) making it a critical "strategic food resource." Mankind cannot afford to turn its back on the world's most nutritious seed, when we're facing a global food crisis, with the lowest stores of food in the last hundred years.(2)
Fields of hemp, grown to produce biofuels, food, and fiber, would also regenerate compacted, depleted and contaminated soils. Cannabis is a primary rotational crop, needed for expanding the world's arable base. Because hemp can be made into biogenic pesticides, it is a critical product for sustainable, organic agriculture.
For these reasons and more, a massive global planting of hemp is needed. Because time is the limiting factor in the equation for healing the planet, the Spring 2008 is the most critical planting season in human history. Will mankind overcome the "politiconomic" inertia that has blindly led us to the brink of extinction? Or will people abandon the viciously counter-productive "drug war" and make the most of the world's most healing agricultural resource? (6)
Now that people know Cannabis agriculture is the most effective solution to many problems, including environmental, economic and social imbalances, nothing can stop the eventual implementation of the solutions. It's merely a question of when. How do bad things have to get before all solutions are considered?
Paul J. von Hartmann
Mount Shasta, California
(831) 588-5095
California Cannabis Ministry
http://www.californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com/
Project P.E.A.C.E
http://webspawner.com/users/projectpeace/
ENCOD Member
www.encod.org
=========================================
References:
1. "High Natural Aerosol Loading over Boreal Forests"
Science 14 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5771, pp. 261 - 263
DOI: 10.1126/science.1123052
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/312/5771/261
2. "Lowest Food Supplies in 50 or 100 Years: Global Food Crisis Emerging"
Press Release - National Farmers' Union, May 11, 2007.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5660.cfm
3. *Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Fourth Assessment Report
Working Group III
Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change
Summary for Policymakers
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM040507.pdf
4. "Carbon storage potential in natural fiber composites."
Author: Muhammad Pervaiz, Sain, M. M.
Author Affiliation: Faculty of Forestry, Advanced Wood Composite Group, Earth Science Center, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ont. M5S 3B3, Canada.
Document Title: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2003 (Vol. 39) (No. 4) 325-340
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/google/abstract.asp?AcNo=20043048573
5. "Gloomy Prognosis For Amphibians"
Andrew Blaustein, Oregon State University. May 2007.
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2007/May07/amphibians.html
6. "U.S. Mayors Declare Drug War a Failure"
July 18, 2007
http://www.jointogether.org/news/features/2007/us-mayors-declare-drug-war.html
==========================
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Recommended Mitigation Strategies in Agriculture, Forestry and Waste
Table SPM 3, Page 14.
Agriculture [8.4]
Improved crop and grazing land management to increase soil carbon
storage; restoration of cultivated peaty soils and degraded lands;
improved rice cultivation techniques and livestock and manure
management to reduce CH4 emissions; improved nitrogen fertilizer
application techniques to reduce N2O emissions; dedicated energy
crops to replace fossil fuel use; improved energy efficiency
Improvements of crops yields
Forestry/forests
[9.4]
Afforestation; reforestation; forest management; reduced deforestation;
harvested wood product management; use of forestry products for
bioenergy to replace fossil fuel use
Tree species improvement to increase biomass productivity and
carbon sequestration. Improved remote sensing technologies for
analysis of vegetation/ soil carbon sequestration potential and
mapping land use change
Waste [10.4]
Landfill methane recovery; waste incineration with energy recovery;
composting of organic waste; controlled waste water treatment;
recycling and waste minimization.
Biocovers and biofilters to optimize CH4 oxidation.
Global broiling under UV is an immediate threat, yet compared with global warming, it is largely over-looked because the effects of increasing UV are more subtle than a shrinking glacier. Increasing levels of UV-B radiation, caused by erosion of the planet's ozone layer, are causing mutations, impairing immune systems and slowing growth rates in amphibians.(5) A generally accepted "indicator" species, what is obvious in amphibians is likely happening to people and other creatures, including plants.
Fortunately, there are mitigating measures that could be effective to heal the atmosphere, if they're implemented in time. A study published in Science Magazine last year, detailed the effects of atmospheric aerosols called "monoterpenes" on Earth's atmosphere.(1) The report concluded that
"This has important implications for...our future climate."
In essence, monoterpenes, (produced by some plants) mitigate global warming by reflecting solar radiation back into space and "seeding" cloud formation. Both solar reflection and cloud cover protect the Earth and its inhabitants from the increasing intensity of the Sun's rays.
It remains to be studied, what would happen if monoterpene-rich crops were grown in abundance, specifically to create a constant flow of monoterpenes into the atmosphere. I propose that this may be the most proximate and effective strategy for healing global warming and global broiling. Certainly, at the very least, the research needs to be initiated into the possible benefits of Cannabis agriculture, independent from the arbitrary limitations imposed by the drug war.
The Cannabis plant offers mankind a better opportunity for mitigating climate change than any other agricultural resource. Cannabis (hemp,'marijuana') produces 58 monoterpenes. It is also one of the most potentially abundant, useful and adaptable agricultural resources in the world.
In addition to effecting climate change by producing monoterpenes, Cannabis is one of the most efficient crops for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.(4) Biodegradable construction materials made from Cannabis are the perfect carbon sink in which to store CO2 that's removed from the atmosphere by Cannabis farming.
Cannabis is also the world's most available source of organic vegetable protein and essential fatty acids (EFAs) making it a critical "strategic food resource." Mankind cannot afford to turn its back on the world's most nutritious seed, when we're facing a global food crisis, with the lowest stores of food in the last hundred years.(2)
Fields of hemp, grown to produce biofuels, food, and fiber, would also regenerate compacted, depleted and contaminated soils. Cannabis is a primary rotational crop, needed for expanding the world's arable base. Because hemp can be made into biogenic pesticides, it is a critical product for sustainable, organic agriculture.
For these reasons and more, a massive global planting of hemp is needed. Because time is the limiting factor in the equation for healing the planet, the Spring 2008 is the most critical planting season in human history. Will mankind overcome the "politiconomic" inertia that has blindly led us to the brink of extinction? Or will people abandon the viciously counter-productive "drug war" and make the most of the world's most healing agricultural resource? (6)
Now that people know Cannabis agriculture is the most effective solution to many problems, including environmental, economic and social imbalances, nothing can stop the eventual implementation of the solutions. It's merely a question of when. How do bad things have to get before all solutions are considered?
Paul J. von Hartmann
Mount Shasta, California
(831) 588-5095
California Cannabis Ministry
http://www.californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com/
Project P.E.A.C.E
http://webspawner.com/users/projectpeace/
ENCOD Member
www.encod.org
=========================================
References:
1. "High Natural Aerosol Loading over Boreal Forests"
Science 14 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5771, pp. 261 - 263
DOI: 10.1126/science.1123052
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/312/5771/261
2. "Lowest Food Supplies in 50 or 100 Years: Global Food Crisis Emerging"
Press Release - National Farmers' Union, May 11, 2007.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5660.cfm
3. *Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Fourth Assessment Report
Working Group III
Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change
Summary for Policymakers
http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM040507.pdf
4. "Carbon storage potential in natural fiber composites."
Author: Muhammad Pervaiz, Sain, M. M.
Author Affiliation: Faculty of Forestry, Advanced Wood Composite Group, Earth Science Center, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ont. M5S 3B3, Canada.
Document Title: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2003 (Vol. 39) (No. 4) 325-340
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/google/abstract.asp?AcNo=20043048573
5. "Gloomy Prognosis For Amphibians"
Andrew Blaustein, Oregon State University. May 2007.
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2007/May07/amphibians.html
6. "U.S. Mayors Declare Drug War a Failure"
July 18, 2007
http://www.jointogether.org/news/features/2007/us-mayors-declare-drug-war.html
==========================
from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Recommended Mitigation Strategies in Agriculture, Forestry and Waste
Table SPM 3, Page 14.
Agriculture [8.4]
Improved crop and grazing land management to increase soil carbon
storage; restoration of cultivated peaty soils and degraded lands;
improved rice cultivation techniques and livestock and manure
management to reduce CH4 emissions; improved nitrogen fertilizer
application techniques to reduce N2O emissions; dedicated energy
crops to replace fossil fuel use; improved energy efficiency
Improvements of crops yields
Forestry/forests
[9.4]
Afforestation; reforestation; forest management; reduced deforestation;
harvested wood product management; use of forestry products for
bioenergy to replace fossil fuel use
Tree species improvement to increase biomass productivity and
carbon sequestration. Improved remote sensing technologies for
analysis of vegetation/ soil carbon sequestration potential and
mapping land use change
Waste [10.4]
Landfill methane recovery; waste incineration with energy recovery;
composting of organic waste; controlled waste water treatment;
recycling and waste minimization.
Biocovers and biofilters to optimize CH4 oxidation.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Invoking the Church Arson Prevention Act
I believe that the "Church Arson Prevention Act" could be invoked to prevent future dispensary
raids, if the "medical" dispensaries are associated with a spiritual and nutritional, holistic
wellness center. Eliminating artificial distinctions that have been created to define people's use
of Cannabis broadens the legal defense for our many over-lapping rights to grow and use it.
The British Columbia Compassion Club Society in Vancouver is the perfect example of what a
wellness center could be. One of the reasons that dispensaries in the U.S. don't work for people
as well as they could is because the healing properties of the plant that are offered at most of
the clubs are limited to just the buds. The whole plant has healing properties, as does the act of
growing it outside, and sharing it with others creates a healing community of like-minded, mellow
folk.
I attempt to reflect what I see, and reason a way beyond it, in order not to be blinded or
paralyzed by it. From my perspective, ending prohibition is a conscious healing, not a war.
Our economy is based on toxins and scarcity. Of course we're a sick society. If it were a war to
be fought, rather than an illness to be healed, then we would be in real trouble. Wars are what
the drug warriors are geared up for. To fight against insanity leads nowhere. Re-balancing our
conscious appreciation of Cannabis is much quicker, and leads to sustainability within a
functional Natural Order.
But 'time' is the limiting factor. The sense of urgency for ending prohibition is as important as
the integrity of the rationale. That's why this Spring, 2008, is the season for everyone to plant
openly and publicly, after a coordinated series of educational programs and meetings.
Fortunately, the global brain is waking up, electronically. It is now possible for people to
communicate, instantaneously, for the first time in our species' history. We the People are the
government, if we choose to learn control of our politicians, as a baby learns to control its
fingers.
Most voters support medical marijuana. The government doesn't because the people in office aren't
working for us. Problems are profitable. Prohibition is the weight around the neck of the finest
horse in the stable, and still she is the largest cash crop in the state. That says much about the
value of it.
Here's how I see prohibition ending by next Spring.
1. Drugs don't make seeds. Herbs do.
2. Genesis 1:29 and :31, "every herb bearing seed""every green herb"
3. Article One, the "free expression" of religion.
4. Individual Cannabis Ministries, millions of us claim our ancient, global cultural legacy.
5. Teach what we know to our communities, using digital video and computer technology for the
common good.
6. Cite the Conference of Mayor's Resolution of June 2007 declaring the drug war a costly
"failure," and demand accountability of our elected officials rather than continuing a
counter-productive policy.
7. Formally challenge the government's rightful jurisdiction over an unique and essential natural
resource, invoking "essential civilian demand" as provided for in E.O. 12919.
8. Designate Cannabis as a "critically determinate crop" because of its nutritional value, and
extremely valuable monoterpene production.
9. Plant publicly after conducting regional "Town Hall Meetings"/First Freedom Seminars inviting
cooperation with the Department of Justice.
10. Designate Community Trust-held lands for Cannabis Cultural Centers, including agricultural
demonstration project, hemp seed cafe, a wellness center (i.e. holistic healers, herbalists,
nutritional counseling), where Cannabis is grown biodynamically for seed, fiber and pure outdoor
herbal therapeutics.
Prohibition is a necessary obstacle to assure the competitiveness of the chemical industries.
Behaviorally akin to paranoia, there is created a perceived villain, who is out to get you or your
kids. In truth, 'marijuana' is not the villain, petrochemicals and economic disparity are the
corrupt forces fundamentally warping human values.
If our generation continues to allow prohibition to continue, rather than recognizing our
obligation to reclaim our civil liberties, then our children will suffer for our impotent defense
of the self-evident, god-given, natural freedom to farm.
raids, if the "medical" dispensaries are associated with a spiritual and nutritional, holistic
wellness center. Eliminating artificial distinctions that have been created to define people's use
of Cannabis broadens the legal defense for our many over-lapping rights to grow and use it.
The British Columbia Compassion Club Society in Vancouver is the perfect example of what a
wellness center could be. One of the reasons that dispensaries in the U.S. don't work for people
as well as they could is because the healing properties of the plant that are offered at most of
the clubs are limited to just the buds. The whole plant has healing properties, as does the act of
growing it outside, and sharing it with others creates a healing community of like-minded, mellow
folk.
I attempt to reflect what I see, and reason a way beyond it, in order not to be blinded or
paralyzed by it. From my perspective, ending prohibition is a conscious healing, not a war.
Our economy is based on toxins and scarcity. Of course we're a sick society. If it were a war to
be fought, rather than an illness to be healed, then we would be in real trouble. Wars are what
the drug warriors are geared up for. To fight against insanity leads nowhere. Re-balancing our
conscious appreciation of Cannabis is much quicker, and leads to sustainability within a
functional Natural Order.
But 'time' is the limiting factor. The sense of urgency for ending prohibition is as important as
the integrity of the rationale. That's why this Spring, 2008, is the season for everyone to plant
openly and publicly, after a coordinated series of educational programs and meetings.
Fortunately, the global brain is waking up, electronically. It is now possible for people to
communicate, instantaneously, for the first time in our species' history. We the People are the
government, if we choose to learn control of our politicians, as a baby learns to control its
fingers.
Most voters support medical marijuana. The government doesn't because the people in office aren't
working for us. Problems are profitable. Prohibition is the weight around the neck of the finest
horse in the stable, and still she is the largest cash crop in the state. That says much about the
value of it.
Here's how I see prohibition ending by next Spring.
1. Drugs don't make seeds. Herbs do.
2. Genesis 1:29 and :31, "every herb bearing seed""every green herb"
3. Article One, the "free expression" of religion.
4. Individual Cannabis Ministries, millions of us claim our ancient, global cultural legacy.
5. Teach what we know to our communities, using digital video and computer technology for the
common good.
6. Cite the Conference of Mayor's Resolution of June 2007 declaring the drug war a costly
"failure," and demand accountability of our elected officials rather than continuing a
counter-productive policy.
7. Formally challenge the government's rightful jurisdiction over an unique and essential natural
resource, invoking "essential civilian demand" as provided for in E.O. 12919.
8. Designate Cannabis as a "critically determinate crop" because of its nutritional value, and
extremely valuable monoterpene production.
9. Plant publicly after conducting regional "Town Hall Meetings"/First Freedom Seminars inviting
cooperation with the Department of Justice.
10. Designate Community Trust-held lands for Cannabis Cultural Centers, including agricultural
demonstration project, hemp seed cafe, a wellness center (i.e. holistic healers, herbalists,
nutritional counseling), where Cannabis is grown biodynamically for seed, fiber and pure outdoor
herbal therapeutics.
Prohibition is a necessary obstacle to assure the competitiveness of the chemical industries.
Behaviorally akin to paranoia, there is created a perceived villain, who is out to get you or your
kids. In truth, 'marijuana' is not the villain, petrochemicals and economic disparity are the
corrupt forces fundamentally warping human values.
If our generation continues to allow prohibition to continue, rather than recognizing our
obligation to reclaim our civil liberties, then our children will suffer for our impotent defense
of the self-evident, god-given, natural freedom to farm.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Announcing: CCM's "Cannabis Freedom" Series
The California Cannabis Ministry invites you to celebrate our "First Freedom" by participating in the "Cannabis Freedom" series.
Inspired by the U.S. Department of Justice's "First Freedom Project," the interviews and discussions celebrate Article One in the Bill of Rights as " a fundamental freedom on which so many of our other freedoms rest."
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/religdisc/firstfreedom.html
Because Cannabis is the world's most ancient global culture, with a long tradition of peaceful cooexistence, "hemp" and "marijuana" have enormously significant throughout the evolution of human society. The spiritual dimensions of the Cannabis culture encompass economics, agriculture, art, philosophy, and many other facets that will be investigated from a "religious" perspective.
In the spirit of sincere appreciation for immeasurable sacrifices made by those who have gone before us in the fight for freedom, the California Cannabis Ministry is presenting an on-going series of public access television programs, to initiate environmental, economic and social healing. By exercising "essential civilian demand" for Cannabis hemp seed, recognized in Executive Order 12919 (Clinton, 1994) as a "strategic food resource," we may yet be able to secure our "freedom to farm" in preparation for planting Cannabis, globally, for food, fuel and fiber in the Spring 2008.
Time is the limiting factor in the equation of survival. Every planting season that passes is gone forever. We the People have an obligation to present and future generations to secure the quality of life on Earth. Cannabis is the only common seed with three essential fatty acids. Hemp seed is also, potentially, the best available source of organic vegetable protein on Earth. Because of its true value, Cannabis has never been.
Thanksgiving to the Creator for the harvest is a tradition that bridges issues of food security and spirituality. The California Cannabis Ministry seeks to resolve the gross negligence of institutions that ought to be teaching people about the incomparable nutritional value of Cannabis hemp seed, rather than prohibiting the cultivation of it.
In truth, our "first freedom" was articulated, twice in succession, by the Creator, as quoted on the first page of the Bible (and equivalently, in all other religious texts), in Genesis 1:29/30:
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
Drugs don't make seeds. Herbs do.
Please join us for an open and honest, science-based discussion, investigating the true value of Cannabis agriculture, manufacturing, and the efficiency of regional, organic economics.
Anyone interested in the research and communications being carried out by the California Cannabis Ministry is welcome to visit the Ministry blog or contact me directly. Practical support for this work is naturally encouraged.
for peace,
Paul J. von Hartmann
California Cannabis Ministry
http://www.californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com
Project P.E.A.C.E.
Planet Ecology Advancing Conscious Economics
http://www.webspawner.com/users/projectpeace
(831) 588-5095 cell phone
============
"Cannabis Freedom"
with Paul von Hartmann
Tuesday, September 12th at 3 pm
The mission of MCTV15 is to encourage and support the use of media for sharing thoughts opinions and events by, and for the people of Siskiyou County.
http://www.mctv15.org/Public/HomePage
Inspired by the U.S. Department of Justice's "First Freedom Project," the interviews and discussions celebrate Article One in the Bill of Rights as " a fundamental freedom on which so many of our other freedoms rest."
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/religdisc/firstfreedom.html
Because Cannabis is the world's most ancient global culture, with a long tradition of peaceful cooexistence, "hemp" and "marijuana" have enormously significant throughout the evolution of human society. The spiritual dimensions of the Cannabis culture encompass economics, agriculture, art, philosophy, and many other facets that will be investigated from a "religious" perspective.
In the spirit of sincere appreciation for immeasurable sacrifices made by those who have gone before us in the fight for freedom, the California Cannabis Ministry is presenting an on-going series of public access television programs, to initiate environmental, economic and social healing. By exercising "essential civilian demand" for Cannabis hemp seed, recognized in Executive Order 12919 (Clinton, 1994) as a "strategic food resource," we may yet be able to secure our "freedom to farm" in preparation for planting Cannabis, globally, for food, fuel and fiber in the Spring 2008.
Time is the limiting factor in the equation of survival. Every planting season that passes is gone forever. We the People have an obligation to present and future generations to secure the quality of life on Earth. Cannabis is the only common seed with three essential fatty acids. Hemp seed is also, potentially, the best available source of organic vegetable protein on Earth. Because of its true value, Cannabis has never been.
Thanksgiving to the Creator for the harvest is a tradition that bridges issues of food security and spirituality. The California Cannabis Ministry seeks to resolve the gross negligence of institutions that ought to be teaching people about the incomparable nutritional value of Cannabis hemp seed, rather than prohibiting the cultivation of it.
In truth, our "first freedom" was articulated, twice in succession, by the Creator, as quoted on the first page of the Bible (and equivalently, in all other religious texts), in Genesis 1:29/30:
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;
to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
Drugs don't make seeds. Herbs do.
Please join us for an open and honest, science-based discussion, investigating the true value of Cannabis agriculture, manufacturing, and the efficiency of regional, organic economics.
Anyone interested in the research and communications being carried out by the California Cannabis Ministry is welcome to visit the Ministry blog or contact me directly. Practical support for this work is naturally encouraged.
for peace,
Paul J. von Hartmann
California Cannabis Ministry
http://www.californiacannabisministry.blogspot.com
Project P.E.A.C.E.
Planet Ecology Advancing Conscious Economics
http://www.webspawner.com/users/projectpeace
(831) 588-5095 cell phone
============
"Cannabis Freedom"
with Paul von Hartmann
Tuesday, September 12th at 3 pm
The mission of MCTV15 is to encourage and support the use of media for sharing thoughts opinions and events by, and for the people of Siskiyou County.
http://www.mctv15.org/Public/HomePage
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The case of Hemp-Info: Swiss Courts Corrupted by Chemicals
Last week the District Court of Morat, Switzerland, sentenced Cannabis agriculturist, André Fürst, the owner of Hemp-Info, to 29 months in prison and a fine of 150.000 Swiss francs (approx. 98.000 euros). Mr. Fürst’s "crime" was years of open and public development of agro-industrial ecological methods of hemp utilization, demonstrating realistic solutions to major environmental, economic, and social problems.
Unfortunately, a free market in Cannabis is an economic threat to the black market in drugs, and the corrupted political establishment, economically vested in chemical- and prison-based industries. After years of global activism and harrassment by Swiss authorities, André has finally become a casualty in the global "war on herbs" being orchestrated by the United States. The U.S. has been exerting its economic influence on Swiss drug policy for years, interfering with progressive development in a nation which has traditionally been politically independent.
The authorities in many Swiss states (cantons) were, until recently, applying a pragmatic and humanistic approach to drug policies. Now the Swiss authorities have begun a "witch hunt" of their own, caving into temptations of money and power the fruits of the bad example set by the U.S. "War on [Some] Drugs [and Herbs]."
For decades, the U.S. prohibition has proven to be invariably disastrous environmentally, economically and in its tragic consequences eroding fundamental human rights. Only by dismissing the fact that Cannabis is an "herb bearing seed" and categorizing the world’s most useful plant as a "drug" have the economically corrupted courts been able to usurp control over this unique and essential, strategic natural resource. The anti-natural precedent set by Cannabis prohibition is incalculably dangerous, because it unlawfully extends the legal jurisdiction of governments over people’s Natural rights, that are the original basis for those governments.
In the future, perhaps after the Natural Order has collapsed, beyond recovery, maybe the Swiss people will wake up to reclaim the role of social progressive, properly adjusting to local attitudes of tolerance. In the meantime, free market activists, supporting the god-given right to farm "every herb bearing seed," are under pressures from the corrupted judiciary, which is absolutely unworthy of any society claiming to be "democratic."
If the Swiss National Council had agreed to revise drug legislation as federal authorities had proposed, the case of Hemp-Info would have been dismissed. André Fürst offered Switzerland a future without farmer’s subsidies, that included a workable plan to protect Swiss youth from drug criminality, that disempowered the black market, and cut off a lucrative source of financing for international terrorism.
Fribourg justice, short-sighted and dogmatic, rejected all of André’s reasonable arguments, which are based on irrefutable scientific, political, sociological and economic evidence. The Fribourg judges have failed to uphold laws that protect the Swiss people’s collective interests. The judges in Fribourg have choosen instead to favor the wealthy corporate conglomerates, the parallel, chemically-based economy and the pervasive, hypocritical, pseudo-morality that is poisoning human society with "legal" drugs, while starving most of the world’s children.
In judging André Fürst a criminal, the judiciary is pushing all farmers in the direction of corporate control. People who are ill, that rely on the proven therapeutic properties of ’marijuana’ and other forbidden plants, will now be forced to seek their chosen herbal remedies amid the dangers of the black market, as before. Cannabis users are being forced by the courts to support organized crime, while risking their health in purchasing products of unknown purity and quality.
Besides the incalculable personal tragedies inflicted on the Swiss Cannabis culture, this policy will cause considerable harm to the whole of Swiss society, and the rest of the world. The inevitable, disasterous impacts of prohibition effect everyone.
All this is happening because a phytotherpeutic ("plant healing") herb, which is safer and more useful than either "legal" tobacco and alcohol, presents a threat to the pharmaceutical, petroleum, and other chemically-based multi-national industries in Switzerland and the U.S.. Hemp-Info demonstrated that Cannabis can be used to produce everything that is currently being made from petroleum and timber, using chemically intensive methods and anti-natural resources.
When criminal groups (like the Hell’s Angels and the Yakuza) take over the Swiss Cannabis market (as has already happened in Canada, Sweden, Hawaii, and other places), everybody will bitterly regret André Fürst’s conviction. The organic products and realistic, healthful control measures which he was prosecuted for pioneering will be looked back upon as visionary.
The judiciary authorities in Fribourg must be held accountable for their limited thinking leading to an illogical decision. By favoring policies which are proven to be counter-productive to society their decision is a direct threat to the integrity of the Swiss justice system.
As a result of inducing scarcity of herbal Cannabis, predictable increases in the use of dangerous chemical drugs (including alcohol, methamphetamines, crack, heroin, cocaine, and benzodiazepines) will certainly begin to plague Switzerland, just as they have infected the U.S. and other prohibitionist countries. Organized crime, increasing spread of HIV/AIDS, deteriorating economics, and a "drug war"-impoverished infrastructure will soon degrade the quality of life for all Swiss people.
In spite of Hemp-Info’s obvious determination to base their activities on Cannabis laws proposed and supported by Swiss federal and parliamentary committees, the Fribourg Court has advanced the repressive poliices advanced by the prosecution. In particular, the Fribourg Court failed to render a clear legal decision regarding the different methods of Cannabis analysis. The results of these tests can be so erratic that they can show THC levels, varying from 0.3% to 3.0% in the same sample of hemp. The Fribourg Court also refused to assess the legal juridiction of the THC standard established by French law.
This arbitrary measure is missing any proven scientific or agronomic basis and has no authority in regard to Swiss legislation. The Court inexplicably ignored the fact that hemp is an herb, not a "drug" and certainly not a "narcotic." This decision insults the Rule of Law and the spirit of authors of the drug legislation, by disregarding or changing established legal and historically relevant definitions.
As far as Hemp-Info has not received any response to these fundamental questions and because there are other critically compelling reasons to reject this sentence, André Fürst will continue his struggle for freedom to farm Cannabis and will register an appeal of this decision with the Cantonal Court of Fribourg.
If the people of the world recognise why this case is of pivotal importance to all of our freedoms and the quality of life on this planet, then perhaps there is still hope for reversing the symptoms of imbalance that have resulted from imposed essential resource scarcity. The years of agricultural development that André Fürst has shared with the world at the demonstration project called Hemp-Info, is too valuable to be lost in such a sad and meaningless miscarriage of justice.
Paul von Hartmann , a friend of Hemp-Info
Unfortunately, a free market in Cannabis is an economic threat to the black market in drugs, and the corrupted political establishment, economically vested in chemical- and prison-based industries. After years of global activism and harrassment by Swiss authorities, André has finally become a casualty in the global "war on herbs" being orchestrated by the United States. The U.S. has been exerting its economic influence on Swiss drug policy for years, interfering with progressive development in a nation which has traditionally been politically independent.
The authorities in many Swiss states (cantons) were, until recently, applying a pragmatic and humanistic approach to drug policies. Now the Swiss authorities have begun a "witch hunt" of their own, caving into temptations of money and power the fruits of the bad example set by the U.S. "War on [Some] Drugs [and Herbs]."
For decades, the U.S. prohibition has proven to be invariably disastrous environmentally, economically and in its tragic consequences eroding fundamental human rights. Only by dismissing the fact that Cannabis is an "herb bearing seed" and categorizing the world’s most useful plant as a "drug" have the economically corrupted courts been able to usurp control over this unique and essential, strategic natural resource. The anti-natural precedent set by Cannabis prohibition is incalculably dangerous, because it unlawfully extends the legal jurisdiction of governments over people’s Natural rights, that are the original basis for those governments.
In the future, perhaps after the Natural Order has collapsed, beyond recovery, maybe the Swiss people will wake up to reclaim the role of social progressive, properly adjusting to local attitudes of tolerance. In the meantime, free market activists, supporting the god-given right to farm "every herb bearing seed," are under pressures from the corrupted judiciary, which is absolutely unworthy of any society claiming to be "democratic."
If the Swiss National Council had agreed to revise drug legislation as federal authorities had proposed, the case of Hemp-Info would have been dismissed. André Fürst offered Switzerland a future without farmer’s subsidies, that included a workable plan to protect Swiss youth from drug criminality, that disempowered the black market, and cut off a lucrative source of financing for international terrorism.
Fribourg justice, short-sighted and dogmatic, rejected all of André’s reasonable arguments, which are based on irrefutable scientific, political, sociological and economic evidence. The Fribourg judges have failed to uphold laws that protect the Swiss people’s collective interests. The judges in Fribourg have choosen instead to favor the wealthy corporate conglomerates, the parallel, chemically-based economy and the pervasive, hypocritical, pseudo-morality that is poisoning human society with "legal" drugs, while starving most of the world’s children.
In judging André Fürst a criminal, the judiciary is pushing all farmers in the direction of corporate control. People who are ill, that rely on the proven therapeutic properties of ’marijuana’ and other forbidden plants, will now be forced to seek their chosen herbal remedies amid the dangers of the black market, as before. Cannabis users are being forced by the courts to support organized crime, while risking their health in purchasing products of unknown purity and quality.
Besides the incalculable personal tragedies inflicted on the Swiss Cannabis culture, this policy will cause considerable harm to the whole of Swiss society, and the rest of the world. The inevitable, disasterous impacts of prohibition effect everyone.
All this is happening because a phytotherpeutic ("plant healing") herb, which is safer and more useful than either "legal" tobacco and alcohol, presents a threat to the pharmaceutical, petroleum, and other chemically-based multi-national industries in Switzerland and the U.S.. Hemp-Info demonstrated that Cannabis can be used to produce everything that is currently being made from petroleum and timber, using chemically intensive methods and anti-natural resources.
When criminal groups (like the Hell’s Angels and the Yakuza) take over the Swiss Cannabis market (as has already happened in Canada, Sweden, Hawaii, and other places), everybody will bitterly regret André Fürst’s conviction. The organic products and realistic, healthful control measures which he was prosecuted for pioneering will be looked back upon as visionary.
The judiciary authorities in Fribourg must be held accountable for their limited thinking leading to an illogical decision. By favoring policies which are proven to be counter-productive to society their decision is a direct threat to the integrity of the Swiss justice system.
As a result of inducing scarcity of herbal Cannabis, predictable increases in the use of dangerous chemical drugs (including alcohol, methamphetamines, crack, heroin, cocaine, and benzodiazepines) will certainly begin to plague Switzerland, just as they have infected the U.S. and other prohibitionist countries. Organized crime, increasing spread of HIV/AIDS, deteriorating economics, and a "drug war"-impoverished infrastructure will soon degrade the quality of life for all Swiss people.
In spite of Hemp-Info’s obvious determination to base their activities on Cannabis laws proposed and supported by Swiss federal and parliamentary committees, the Fribourg Court has advanced the repressive poliices advanced by the prosecution. In particular, the Fribourg Court failed to render a clear legal decision regarding the different methods of Cannabis analysis. The results of these tests can be so erratic that they can show THC levels, varying from 0.3% to 3.0% in the same sample of hemp. The Fribourg Court also refused to assess the legal juridiction of the THC standard established by French law.
This arbitrary measure is missing any proven scientific or agronomic basis and has no authority in regard to Swiss legislation. The Court inexplicably ignored the fact that hemp is an herb, not a "drug" and certainly not a "narcotic." This decision insults the Rule of Law and the spirit of authors of the drug legislation, by disregarding or changing established legal and historically relevant definitions.
As far as Hemp-Info has not received any response to these fundamental questions and because there are other critically compelling reasons to reject this sentence, André Fürst will continue his struggle for freedom to farm Cannabis and will register an appeal of this decision with the Cantonal Court of Fribourg.
If the people of the world recognise why this case is of pivotal importance to all of our freedoms and the quality of life on this planet, then perhaps there is still hope for reversing the symptoms of imbalance that have resulted from imposed essential resource scarcity. The years of agricultural development that André Fürst has shared with the world at the demonstration project called Hemp-Info, is too valuable to be lost in such a sad and meaningless miscarriage of justice.
Paul von Hartmann , a friend of Hemp-Info
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