328 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
328 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
Dear Fellow Concerned Citizen;
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The following information was compiled from literature that I received
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at the July 4, 1993 Pro-Hemp rally in Milwaukee, WI. The rally was sponsored
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by the Milwaukee Chapter of NORML - The National Organization for the Reform
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of Marijuana Laws. I personally have not smoked marijuana in many years, but
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feel the repeal of marijuana prohibition will have a positive socio-economic
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impact on our country, in addition to reducing the strain on our dwindling
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natural resources.
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Please take a few minutes to read this, and if you find our position
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to be valid, I urge you to write your senators and congressmen expressing your
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views. Your opinion DOES matter, but it won't be heard in Washington unless
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you send a letter. Elected officials are obligated to act in accordance with
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their constituent's wishes, but very few voters ever write to Congress. This
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means that your single letter is speaking for thousands, if not millions of
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your fellow citizens. Exercise your rights as an American, and exercise them
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often, or somebody else will speak for you. If you have any comments or
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questions, please contact your local NORML chapter. Thank you for your time.
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Todd Mailandt
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5379 Eastway, Apt. 2
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Greendale, WI 53129
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(414) 423-1740
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For More Information:
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NORML
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P.O. Box 92251
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Milwaukee, WI 53202
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(414) 273-HEMP
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HEMP & THE ECONOMY
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(Compiled by the Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp - BACH)
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Hemp's Role in Economic History
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Hemp is regarded as probably being the first crop cultivated by
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humans, as early as 8,000 B.C. in the Middle East. It provided the sails for
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ships that allowed commerce and made Columbus' trip to America possible (other
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fibers would have decayed somewhere in mid-Atlantic). Hemp replaced papyrus as
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the source of paper that fostered the spread of written knowledge. Hemp was
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the largest cash crop in the world until the late 19th century, when new
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technology began to replace it. But marijuana is again the largest cash crop
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in America; it generates almost four times as much revenue ($41.6 billion/yr)
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as does it's closest competitor, corn ($13.37 billion), according to the
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federal Drug Enforcement Administration. But this is only a small fraction of
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the potential revenue that will be generated when hemp again takes it's
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rightful place in the agricultural, textile, food, fuel, cordage, fabrication,
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pharmaceutical, paper and other affected businesses. Currently, enforcement of
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the prohibition and eradication programs cost taxpayers hundreds of millions
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of dollars, has created a non-taxed black market of tens of billions of
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dollars and has increased the domestic marijuana crop, according to the DEA.
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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) estimated that there were 29
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million regular users of marijuana and hashish in 1985 and 21 million in 1988.
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Most sources regard these federal figures as being low. However, even based on
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the low figures, it is clear that there is a lucrative market in smoking
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paraphernalia worth billions of dollars that is suppressed.
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Hemp Saves Farms
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Hemp was the major cash crop of the U.S., including most of the areas
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suffering from family farm foreclosures, until just before the Great
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Depression. But the "cash crop of tomorrow" cannot legally be used to end the
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farm crisis of today.
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Hemp For Clothing
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Fabrics made from hemp are warmer, softer, stronger, more water
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absorbent and last 26 times longer than cotton. This amazing plant fiber holds
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it's shape as well as polyester, but "breathes" and is biodegradable because
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it is organic. It has been valued for it's durability since before recorded
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history. It can be woven as smooth as silk or as intricately as lace. The
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canvas sails on generations of ships and the original Levi jeans were made of
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hemp. The quality of this fiber has yet to be surpassed.
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Hemp For Paper
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Paper made from hemp lasts many times longer than that made of wood
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pulp, without yellowing or otherwise deteriorating. It does not require
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dangerous chemicals like wood, and has been called the "archivist's perfect
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paper". The Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were both
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originally drafted on hemp, the basis of our free press. The Gutenberg Bibles
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were made of it, as were illuminated manuscripts of the middle ages. It
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replaced papyrus as a source of paper. But prohibition laws have led to the
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destruction of 70% of America's forests since 1937. Help us restore hemp to
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it's rightful place in history.
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Hemp Could Save S&L's
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The Savings & Loan industry could recoup many of it's losses by
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allowing debtors (i.e., real estate) to invest in hemp. By way of comparison,
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the federal cost overrun of the S&L bailout program submitted by President
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Bush in August, 1989, is $50 billion, and money from marijuana sales for 1988
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was 41.6 billion, meaning that the money generated by sales of relaxational
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hemp alone could pay 80% or more of the difference. Estimates of the total
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legitimate revenues that would be generated by legal commerce in hemp range
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from 10 to 100 times that amount. But hemp is held hostage by protectionist
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laws. Help restore competition & security to the American economy.
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HEMP FOR FUEL
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(Excerpted from Energy Farming in America, by Lynn Osburn)
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Biomass conversion to fuel has proven economically feasible, first in
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laboratory tests and by continuous operation of pilot plants in field tests
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since 1973. When the energy crop is growing, it takes in CO2 from the air, so
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when it is burned, the CO2 is released, creating a balanced system. Biomass is
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the term used to describe all biologically produced matter. World production
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of biomass is estimated at 146 billion metric tons per year, mostly wild plant
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growth. Some farm crops and trees can produce up to 20 metric tons per acre of
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biomass a year. Types of algae and grasses may produce 50 metric tons per
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year. This biomass has a heating value of 5000-8000 BTU/lb, with virtually no
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ash or sulfur produced during combustion. About 6% of contiguous United States
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land area put into cultivation for biomass could supply all current demands
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for oil and gas. The foundation upon which this will be achieved is the
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emerging concept of "energy farming", wherein farmers grow and harvest crops
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for biomass conversion to fuels.
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Pyrolysis is the technique of applying high heat to organic matter
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(lignocellulosic materials) in the absence of air or or in reduced air. The
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process can produce charcoal, condensable organic liquids (pyrolitic fuel
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oil), non-condensable gases, acetic acid, acetone and methanol. The process
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can be adjusted to favor charcoal, pyrolitic oil, gas, or methanol production
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with a 95.5% fuel-to-feed efficiency. Pyrolysis has been used since the dawn
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of civilization. Ancient Egyptians practiced wood distillation by collecting
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the tars and pyroligneous acid for use in their embalming industry.
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Methanol-powered automobiles and reduced emissions from coal-fired power
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plants can be accomplished by biomass conversion to fuel utilizing pyrolysis
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technology, and at the same time save the American family farm while turning
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the American heartland into a prosperous source of clean energy production.
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Pyrolysis has the advantage of using the same technology now used to process
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crude fossil fuel oil and coal. Coal and oil conversion is more efficient in
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terms of fuel-to-feed ratio, but biomass conversion by pyrolysis has many
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environmental and economic advantages over coal and oil. Pyrolysis facilities
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will run three shifts a day. Some 68% of the energy of the raw biomass will be
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contained in the charcoal and fuel oils made at the facility. This charcoal
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has nearly the same heating value in BTU as coal, with virtually no sulfur.
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Pyrolytic fuel oil has similar properties to No. 2 and No. 6 fuel oil. The
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charcoal can be transported economically by rail to all urban area power
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plants generating electricity. The fuel oil can be transported economically by
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trucking creating more jobs for Americans. When these plants use charcoal
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instead of coal, the problems of acid rain will begin to disappear. When this
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energy system is on line producing a steady supply of fuel for electrical
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power plants, it will be more feasible to build the complex gasifying systems
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to produce methanol from the cubed biomass, or make synthetic gasoline from
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the methanol by the addition of the Mobil Co. process equipment to the
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gasifier.
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Farmers must be allowed to grow an energy crop capable of producing 10
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tons per acre in 90-120 days. This crop must be woody in nature and high in
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lignocellulose. It must be able to grow in all climactic zones in America. And
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it should not compete with food crops for the most productive land, but be
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grown in rotation with food crops or on marginal land where food crop
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production isn't profitable. When farmers can make a profit growing energy, it
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will not take long to get 6% of continental American land mass into
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cultivation of biomass fuel -- enough to replace our economy's dependence on
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fossil fuels. We will no longer be increasing the CO2 burden in the
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atmosphere. The threat of global greenhouse warming and adverse climactic
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change will diminish. To keep costs down, pyrolysis reactors need to be
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located within a 50 mile radius of the energy farms. This necessity will bring
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life back to our small towns by providing jobs locally.
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Hemp is the number one biomass producer on planet earth: 10 tons per
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acre in approximately four months. It is a woody plant containing 77%
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cellulose. Wood produces 60% cellulose. This energy crop can be harvested with
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equipment readily available. It can be "cubed" by modifying hay cubing
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equipment. This method condenses the bulk, reducing trucking costs from the
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field to the pyrolysis reactor. And the biomass cubes are ready for conversion
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with no further treatment. Hemp is drought resistant, making it an ideal crop
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in the dry western regions of the country. Hemp is the only biomass resource
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capable of making America energy independent. And our government outlawed it
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in 1938. Remember, in 10 years, by the year 2000, America will have exhausted
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80% of her petroleum reserves. Will we then go to war with the Arabs for the
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privilege of driving our cars; will we stripmine our land for coal, and poison
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our air so we can drive our automobiles an extra 100 years; will we raze our
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forests for our energy needs? During World War II, our supply of hemp was cut
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off by the Japanese. The federal government responded to the emergency by
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suspending marijuana prohibition. Patriotic American farmers were encouraged
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to apply for a license to cultivate hemp and responded enthusiastically.
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Hundreds of thousands of acres of hemp were grown. The argument against hemp
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production does not hold up to scrutiny: hemp grown for biomass makes very
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poor grade marijuana. The 20 to 40 million Americans who smoke marijuana would
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loath to smoke hemp grown for biomass, so a farmer's hemp biomass crop is
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worthless as marijuana. It is time the government once again respond to our
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economic emergency as they did in WWII to permit our farmers to grow American
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hemp so this mighty nation can once again become energy independent and smog
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free.
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NORML
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YOU DON'T HAVE TO SMOKE MARIJUANA
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TO JOIN NORML
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By Don Fiedler, National Director
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When Keith Stroup founded the National Organization for the Reform of
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Marijuana Laws in October of 1970, he defined NORML as the marijuana
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consumer's lobby. In an interview in Gallery magazine in August, 1978, the
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first National Director estimated that there were "15 million regular users of
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marijuana". Stroup went on to say, "Can you imagine? If you can get 15
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million people that cared enough about reforming marijuana laws...?" Can you
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imagine? Can you imagine if each marijuana consumer would have sent NORML just
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one dollar a year since Keith made that statement more than a decade ago?
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There was, and is, a political sleeping giant snoozing away with our natural
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constituency. If there ever was a time for an awakening, it is now; and a rude
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awakening it will be.
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The Drug War:
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The plan serves up the casual user of marijuana as one of the main
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courses, with recipes of zero tolerance, user accountability and demand
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reduction that threaten the marijuana consumer's liberty, assets and job
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security. The sobering fact is that, even if our natural constituency becomes
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activated, it is going to require another important ingredient to stop the
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marijuana prohibition pendulum's repressive swing backward. Simply put, the
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issue was, is and always will be one of choice. The nation's citizens should
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have the right to make responsible decisions regarding how they control their
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bodies, especially when intoxicants like alcohol and tobacco are legal and
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pose a far greater harm than marijuana. You do not have to be a woman or have
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an abortion to be Pro-Choice; you do not have to use marijuana to support
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NORML. There can be a strong case made for non-marijuana users to join NORML.
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The current marijuana laws are draconian enough. After the National Drug
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Control Strategy is implemented by Congress, enforcement of the new laws will
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present the next major step in the creation of the police state/martial law
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mentality which is so pervasive in the country today.
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True Justice:
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In the age of Pericles, some 2,500 years ago, a famed Athenian jurist
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named Solon said, "True justice will exist only when those not affected by a
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law are as indignant as those who are." There are millions of indignant
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non-marijuana users who are fearful of what America is becoming in the name of
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a drug-free society. When the prohibition becomes worse than the drug itself,
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it is time to end the prohibition. You do not have to use marijuana to share
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these thoughts.
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Constructive Use of Tax Revenue:
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The over-burdened taxpayer understands the hypocrisy of alcohol and
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tobacco being legal and taxed, while marijuana is neither legal nor taxed. The
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difference between enforcement costs to continue the prohibition and the tax
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yield with regulation is conservatively estimated at $50 billion - another
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fact which supports the proposition that NORML is not just for the marijuana
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consumer. With the $50 billion tax revenue, NORML offers the best solution to
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the drug problem. Solutions which can answer the question the politicians
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can't: How do you take an inner-city youth (which, as Jesse Jackson says, is a
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code word for "Black or Hispanic"), and motivate him or her to get a job
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working at Burger King for $3.50 an hour, when that youngster can go out on
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the streets and earn $350 an hour selling crack? And it's not just a financial
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question. The minority viewpoint - and a justifiable one - is that they can
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count on their buddies or fellow gang members more than they can expect any
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help or hope from the government. The increased tax base from legalized
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marijuana offers funding which could go for educational and occupational
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programs that are meaningful, and to an alternative way of living that offers
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hope. No one in America is more willing to pay the cost of solving the
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problems which go to the very roots of drug abuse than the marijuana smoker.
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That fact alone should motivate non-smokers to join NORML.
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Marijuana as Medicine:
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Marijuana prohibition prevents doctors from treating their patients
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with the plant's therapeutic powers. Marijuana spells "relief" to those
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unfortunate fellow citizens in the throes of nausea from cancer chemotherapy.
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Marijuana has a stabilizing effect on intra-ocular pressure of the eye, which
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is a primary symptom of glaucoma. Marijuana can be used effectively in
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conjunction with other medicines to reduce the frequency and severity of
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epileptic seizures. Marijuana literally has given such relief to victims of
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multiple sclerosis that they are able to get out of their wheelchairs. Use of
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marijuana as a folk medicine for headaches, depression, stress and menstrual
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cramps is documented throughout recorded history. The friends and families of
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loved ones as well as the patients themselves who are denied the therapeutic
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aspects of marijuana do not have to smoke marijuana to support NORML.
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Industrial Hemp:
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Of course, marijuana's potential as a cash crop should motivate
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farmers to grow legally a crop that is more valuable than oil, a crop that is
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not used just for recreational purposes. Virtually every part of the hemp
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plant, which produces marijuana, has some major use in the marketplace,
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whether it be cloth, paper, particle board or methanol.
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Marijuana and the Environment:
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Hemp is a big industry in China, Korea, Italy, France and the Soviet
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Union. Hemp offers environmentalists positive solutions for acid rain, the
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ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, and as an alternative energy source. All
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of these uses go undeveloped in America because of marijuana prohibition - all
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more compelling reasons why it is not necessary to smoke marijuana to support
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NORML.
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Sign Up a New Member:
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To accomplish our goals, we need your generous donations, energy,
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wisdom and moral support. However, we must broaden our membership base. Let
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this be a call to action for every person to recruit one more supporter in
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this membership drive - not necessarily a marijuana smoker. NORML has evolved,
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from a marijuana consumer's lobby into an organization that has a much broader
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constituency. You should know this; other marijuana smokers who are not
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members of NORML should know it. But most important of all, the non-smoking
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public should know: YOU DON'T HAVE TO SMOKE MARIJUANA TO SUPPORT NORML.
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: The NIRVANAnet(tm) Seven
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Taipan Enigma 510/935-5845
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408/363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510/527-1662
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Lies Unlimited Mick Freen 801/278-2699
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The New Dork Sublime Biffnix 415/864-DORK
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The Shrine Rif Raf 206/794-6674
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Planet Mirth Simon Jester 510/786-6560
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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