CANNABIS
SATIVA
GRASS, POT, WEED, HASHISH, BOO...
By: Al Cronkrite
In spite of rhetoric to the contrary, the
American government loves war. One of its favorites has been the endlessly unsuccessful
War Against Drugs. Marijuana is an enemy in that war. In America, it is illegal to possess
the flowers, buds, or leaves of the “cannabis sativa” plant which have been
legally defined as Marijuana. The word Marijuana coined during the 1930s was derived from
a Mexican slang expression for a tobacco-like product from the flowers, buds, or leaves of
the Cannabis plant.
Hemp is a product of the stalk of cannabis sativa. It is widely associated with rope
but has been used in a variety of other useful and durable products like canvas, blue
jeans, various cloths, and for the production of high quality paper.
Cannabis also produces seeds which are rich in protein and well suited to vegetarian
diets. They can be used to make oil which can produce a diesel like fuel and also be used
in paints, soaps, varnishes, and as a diet supplement.
Along with being a potent intoxicant the flowers, buds and leaves are useful for
medicinal purposes.
In 1937 the United States Congress passed laws against
Marijuana. Current law does not ban the use or possession of the Cannabis roots, stalk
or stems but possession of the seeds is illegal unless they have been sterilized. Since
the roots, stalk, and stems are integral parts of the same plant, it has been impossible
for Americans to grow it without violating the law. The 1937 laws were reportedly passed
in response to public outrage created
by the newspaper empire of William
Randolph Hurst using information supplied by a U. S. Government official named Henry
Anslinger.
DuPont had developed a lucrative business making the chemicals needed to create paper
from trees. William Randolph Hurst owned huge tracts of forest in the Pacific Northwest.
Henry Anslinger, Andrew Mellon’s nephew by marriage, had been appointed head of the
newly created Bureau of Narcotics by his uncle who occupied duel positions as head of the
Mellon Bank and head of the US treasury. Mellon Bank had large outstanding loans to
DuPont. Since Hemp offered an excellent source for the fiber needed to produce paper and
for the constituents of cloth, Dupont’s monopolies in the nylon and chemical business
could have been threatened as well as Hurst’s lumber holdings.
Today, Hemp is being touted as a potential fuel for automobiles. In a 1991 newscast
Hugh Downs said, “It is estimated that methane and methanol production alone
from hemp grown as bio-mass could replace 90% of the worlds energy needs.” Hemp
is said to be easy to grow and does not require fertilizer. Following harvest, it leaves
the soil in excellent condition and can be grown each year on the same acreage for
decades. An acre of hemp will produce more pulp for paper than four acres of trees and two
to three times more fiber than cotton. |
Congressman Dennis Kucinich has written an article
outlining the multiple potential uses of hemp. He recommends that drug use be
decriminalized.
Following are some of the problems for which Hemp advocates claim it is a panacea:
“We have cut down vast tracts of the original forest cover to make paper that
we could have been making from hemp.”
“We produce plastic that does not biodegrade and harms us by introducing chemicals
into our food and our environment that we could have made 100% biodegradable from
hemp.”
“We produce toxic based paints that poison our air and water and houses that could
have been made from hemp oils.”
“We make things like Styrofoam, diapers, car parts, computer parts, and thousands
of other items that, if they were made from hemp, could return to the soil as fertilizer
after their use.”
“We run our cars on a polluting non-renewable source of fuel when we could be
using unrefined vegetable oils like hemp oil in slightly modified diesel engines. Diesel
engines were invented to run on vegetable oils but were modified early on to run on diesel
fuel, a byproduct of gasoline refining.”
“We feed 40% of the world's grain production to cattle for a protein source (which
is enough to feed 3 billion people) when we could be getting that same protein in a more
digestible source from hemp seed .”
“We have weakened immune systems from eating over-processed foods devoid of any
Essential Fatty Acids when we could have a diet rich in Essential Fatty Acids simply by
adding hemp oil.”
“We dump half the worlds pesticides on cotton, when we could be using a by-product
of the hemp paper industry to make strong, comfortable clothing.”
Both Rudolph Diesel and Henry Ford
designed engines to be fueled with vegetable oils including hemp. There is no doubt
that vegetable oils are an alternative engine fuel and that hemp might be an excellent
source. Though several hemp promoters claim the potential of cheap fuel, other sources
calculate it as more expensive.
In the case of Cannabis Sativa it certainly appears we may have thrown the baby out
with the bathwater.
The War on Drugs is in practice a second cousin to the former international policy
involving a balance of power. Why do I make that statement? There is adequate evidence
available that our own CIA might be involved
in importing the drugs against which our government has declared war. The War in Iraq
involves a similar situation. Invading and occupying Arab land actually foments the terror
we are supposed to be fighting. We are living under a regime that seems to create the
enemies it then sends our citizens out to fight.
When there is demand for a product it is impossible to eradicate its use. The War on
Drugs cannot be won and should never have been started. It is tantamount to Prohibition
and is creating many of the same problems. If the laws governing our nation were proper
and properly enforced there would be no need for a war on drugs.
Under God’s legal system intoxicated (by any means) drivers responsible for the
death of innocents would be subject to the death penalty. Losses sustained by innocents
would require a remuneration of several multiples. It would not be the substance or the
use of the substance that would be illegal but the actions of the citizens involved. Under
God’s legal system individuals are responsible for their own behavior. Actions are
illegal not inanimate objects. The Bible condemns drunkards not wine.
Even though there is a temptation for writers with an agenda to overemphasize in favor
of their position, it appears the Cannabis Sativa plant has potential benefits Americans
ignore to their own detriment.
