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<$Project P.E.A.C.E. -- Planet Ecology Advancing Conscious Economics$>
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>
> Pharmacies dispensing Cannabis are analogous to herbalists selling Prozac. Proper medical use of
> Cannabis requires some instruction for people. Most pharmacists don't have the depth of
> knowledge
> and experience concerning the use of Cannabis that people who have direct experience with it do
> have. Because the distinction between "drugs" and "herbs" has been blurred by prohibitionists
> for
> so long, people swallow the government terminology without thinking about the pratical
> differences
> between the two. Pharmacies in the U.S. could conceivably, eventually be places to dispense
> herbal
> products, as is common in Europe, but at present, it would be a mistake to try "fitting a square
> peg into a round hole."
>
> The most obvious difference between drugs and herbs is that drugs don't produce seeds. Cannabis
> being the vivacious creature that it truly is, grows just about everywhere. Attempts to control
> home cultivation by prosecution only creates a black market, encourages political and police
> corruption, and criminalises a significant number of peaceful, otherwise law-abiding, productive
> members of most communities. Prohibition cripples food security, stifles important research,
> education, agricultural development, and alternative industries, all of which are desperately
> needed.
>
> Secondly, you can make a drug out of an herb but you can't make an herb out of a drug. The
> differences in safety and synergistic effect distinguish herbs from the concentrations concocted
> by the pharmaceutical industry. To get an idea of the huge difference between drugs and herbs,
> consider the number of fatal over-doses, from Cannabis (0) and pharmaceutical drugs
> (+120,000/year, U.S.)
>
> Those two facts establish, beyond doubt, that Cannabis is an herb, and not a drug. Attempts to
> constrict availability only create a "forbidden fruit," making Cannabis more attractive to
> naturally rebellious youth, who choose to experiment with tobacco, alcohol, Cannabis, mushrooms,
> chemical drugs, glue, gasoline and a variety of other substances that have all proven impossible
> to control through prohibition.
>
> "Every herb bearing seed" was given to every one of us to use with gratitude and respect. Beyond
> the obvious differences and rationale for Cannabis freedom, the personal relationship that
> patients develop in caring for their Cannabis plants has a therpeutic effect, in itself.
>
> If people were free to grow their own Cannabis to produce 'marijuana,' then the industrial
> production of alternative fuels, nutritionally healing foods, paper, cloth, building materials,
> etc. using Cannabis would improve the quality of life for everyone, in many ways.
>
> It is time to stop pretending that prohibition does other than create the problems it pretends
> to
> solve. Otherwise, scarcity of the most healing herb, the world's most nutritious food, and the
> most useful agriucltural resource on Earth, will continue to engender mysery, empower the
> chemical
> industrialists and institutionalise the black market.
>
> for peace,
>
> Paul J. von Hartmann
> Cannabis scholar, minister, biodynamic agriculturist, photojournalist, filmmaker
> Project P.E.A.C.E.
> Planet Ecology Advancing Conscious Economics
> http://www.webspawner.com/users/projectpeace
> with links at the bottom of the page
>
> Cannabis Ministry International
> www.thc-ministry.org
>
> ENCOD Member
> www.encod.org
> California/France
posted by projectpeace @
2:01 AM
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Thursday, October 20, 2005  |
Dear Editor,
Cannabis patients, medical professionals and human rights advocates are issuing two petitions,
calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to acknowledge scientific research that proves 'marijuana' (hemp, hashish) has unique therapeutic effect. If the
Cannabis advocacy community prevail in their DQA petition,
HHS will have to change publicly admit that 'marijuana' is now a widely-accepted medical
treatment, allowing doctors to prescribe it to their patients without fear of government prosecution.
According to both petitions, public health must prevail when it comes to 'marijuana' law. Credible research, numerous independent federal reports, and a long, well-documented history of human experience with Cannabis all prove that 'marijuana' is a safe and effective herbal therapeutic for treating chronic pain and nausea, loss of appetite, anxiety, muscle spasticity, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, asthma, glaucoma, spinal injury and many, many other conditions.
In addition, the unique and essential nutritional benefits of eating fresh, fertile Canabis seed far out-ways any real or imaginary threat posed by 'marijuana' use. Making a "forbidden fruit" of 'marijuana' has outlawed the world's most critical source of protein and essential fatty acids (EFAs). If that weren't enough, consider that Cannabis produces more fuel per acre, sustainably, organically than any othe crop.
The benefits of Cannabis freedom far out-weigh the poor choice of a prohibition based in a sixty-eight year old mistake wrapped in corporate lies, political protectionism, racial prejudice, government disinformation and hysteria. There is no law prohibiting Cannabis agriculture, manufacture and trade that is truly legal. Freedom to farm is so fundamental a right, that it is almost invisible in being "self-evident."
Natural laws upon which our nation was founded over-rule and stautes passed since then. The anti-Natural entities who are selling chemicals in place of Cannabis-based products are the same corporate political entities who deny the existence of Global Broiling. Cannabis is our best hope for eliminating environmentally destructive fuels, agricultural chemicals and industrial processes based in scarcity, violence and illness.
Time is the limiting factor in the equation of survival. We must begin an intensive organic rotational planting of Cannabis wherever possible, and tool-up for the conversion of energy from plant material. Cannabis leves are the best solar panels on Earth, trapping sunlight in a form we can easily use to generate regional energy independence at a fraction of the real and irreversible costs of petroleum.
Medical 'marijuana' serves as an extreme example, illustrating how far politicians will go to protect the interests of the petroleum, pharmaceutical and other chemically-dependent industries.
As long as the free organic agricultural market is hobbled by 'marijuana' prohibition, while the lucrative black market institutionalises political corruption, our species will continue to gravitate toward anti-natural values, illness, and violence.
Every Spring that passes without planting Cannabis is one year less of a chance our children will have for survival. Until Cannabis prohibition ends, if you really love your kids, you won't have any.
for peace,
Paul J. von Hartmann
Project P.E.A.C.E.
Planet Ecology Advancing Conscious Economics
Rally To Reclassify Marijuana
WHERE: Health and Human Services (HHS) offices in
Washington DC, Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City,
Denver, San Francisco & Seattle.
(For addresses, see
http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=2564)
WHEN: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 12 Noon
WHO: Members of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the
largest national grassroots coalition working to
protect the rights of patients and doctors to legally
use marijuana for medical purposes.
posted by projectpeace @
11:24 PM
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Monday, October 17, 2005 |
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