CONTEST #3: Essay (Cannabis Justification)

[bartender187]

^^
LMAO

 

[Bigmone357]

Lmao @ Blu

 

[Guest]

alright...it's time to issue an all points bulletin for Dutchgrown....she is quite conspicuous by her absence. I have this mental image of Gypsy chaining her to her computer in order to get seeds boutique up and running....

 

[PFCruz]

 

[Dutchgrown]

Hey everyone, I'm back! Was taken on a 2 week holiday of fun in the sun by Gypsy for my birthday

See, my birthday was June 1st (24 hours after posting that this contest was in the last 24 hrs...heheheheh) and that's when Gypsy swept me off to white sand, blue water, smoking ECSD and relaxing in a spa having all sorts of indulging treatments (facials, manicures, pedicures, aromatherapy massages, deep tissue massages....I've been worked over!) Have got some AWESOME pics to post when I can get the time to upload them.

I didn't forget about the contest threads, but just took my mind off of them for a bit, but am back and will try to get them all sorted in the next few days....PROMISE!

dg

 

[KYHomeGrown]

sounds like you had a great time...best wishes and hope you had a great time, sounds like gypsy knows what he is doing

 

[Dutchgrown]

The Time Has Come....The Winner Is....

The Time Has Come....The Winner Is....

Incredible! This particular essay just might find it's inclusion
in the next issue of IC Mag! It is THAT good and that well put together!
There's little I can say, the essay says it extremely well, shows great
documentation and research.

Thanks to all who entered. As I've stated before, essay's are very hard
to judge. You all did a great job, thank you for taking the time to express yourselves
on a subject which sorely needs addressing, on many levels, in America as well
as most other parts of the world. But seems pretty clear that if one of the world's
leaders (USA) could get it's act together and do the right thing concerning cannabis,
the rest of the world might perhaps follow along.

The winning essay.............comes from.............(drumroll please)









Fredster









Lots of to you Fredster !!

Please send me shipping info for your one pack of Chimera's HIGH END seeds.

Thanks everyone for your patience in waiting for this announcement. Much appreciated!


The winning essay:

Thank you for taking time to visit with me today.

There is so much in the world today that troubles me;

The war in Iraq
North Korea’s WMD program & testing
Growing tensions in Syria & Iran
The genocide of a peoples group & the aids epidemic in South Africa
An education system in America that is falling behind the world’s standard
Elderly health care
Our inter cities are in shambles
Prison over crowding

The list goes on & on;

Surely we can agree that we live in troubled times;

Governmental leadership in troubled times takes dedicated, strong & courageous men & women that have exhibited strong values & morals in the face of opposition. As you are aware, they must be capable of making un-popular decisions for the good of the whole of the people.

I do not envy the task of trying to do the right thing for this great country with every decision.

History & God are watching your every move; I pray for you daily

Mr. President; you are a man appointed for this time in history & have set before you a great opportunity to put into in play a legacy of world changing decisions. I believe you have the chance to help restore the confidence to the citizens of America & to the world that America is the greatest country in the world.

Of the issues I feel I could can have the most impact on, one I am personally connected to & most knowledgeable of, is; the medical, recreational, & industrial use of cannabis/hemp.

As a concerned American, humanitarian, father, medical user & fellow Christian I can not for the life of me understand your administrations medical/industrial hemp/cannabis policy.

Medical use
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/marihuana/index_e.html
http://www.gwpharm.com/

30% of all the meds produced in the world before 1930 were made of cannabis with 27 of them made in the USA.

Evidence of the therapeutic value and limited toxicity of marijuana in the treatment of various symptoms and syndromes is rapidly accumulating

Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. No one has ever died from an overdose, and it has a wide variety of therapeutic applications, including:

Relief from nausea and appetite loss;

Reduction of intraocular (within the eye) pressure;

Reduction of muscle spasms; and

Relief from chronic pain.

Marijuana is frequently beneficial in the treatment of the following conditions:

AIDS. Marijuana can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the ailment itself and by various AIDS medications.

Glaucoma. Marijuana can reduce intraocular pressure, alleviating the pain and slowing—and sometimes stopping—damage to the eyes. (Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It damages vision by increasing eye pressure over time.)

Cancer. Marijuana can stimulate the appetite and alleviate nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy treatment.

Multiple Sclerosis. Marijuana can limit the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, as well as relieving tremor and unsteadiness of gait. (Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults in the United States.)

Epilepsy. Marijuana can prevent epileptic seizures in some patients.

Chronic Pain. Marijuana can alleviate the chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries.

Each of these applications has been deemed legitimate by at least one court, legislature, and/or government agency in the United States.

States that have passed medical marijuana initiatives: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Arizona and California voters approved medical marijuana laws in 1996. Voters in Alaska, Oregon and Washington approved laws in 1998. Voters in Maine approved their medical marijuana initiative in 1999. Voters in Colorado and Nevada approved medical marijuana laws in 2000. Most recently, Montana voters approved a medical marijuana initiative in 2004. District of Columbia voters approved an initiative in 1998 with 69 percent of the vote, but Congress later overrode the law.

Two legislatures have enacted medical marijuana laws. On June 14, 2000, Hawaii's lawmakers passed a bill that protects seriously ill patients who use marijuana medically from local and state criminal prosecution. On May 26, 2004 the Vermont Legislature passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana for patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, or Multiple Sclerosis. It became law without the governor's signature.

Organizations supporting some form of physician-supervised access to medical marijuana include;

The American Academy of Family Physicians
http://www.aafp.org/afp/991201ap/2583.html

American Nurses Association
http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/medical/pot/ana.html

American Public Health Association
http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/MEDICAL/apha.html

The New England Journal of Medicine
http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/MEDICAL/nejm.html

and many others.

The world's leading medical journal, The Lancet, has repeatedly called for legalization and rebuked the government for exaggerated claims about health risks.
http://cfdp.ca/lancet.htm

The "British Medical Journal" another leading medical journal has also taken a similar position.
http://www.thecompassionclub.org/library/bmj.html

Many patients also report that marijuana is useful for treating arthritis, migraine, menstrual cramps, alcohol and opiate addiction, and depression and other debilitating mood disorders.

A CNN/Time poll published November 4, 2002 found that 80% of Americans believe that “adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it. ...” Over the last decade, polls have consistently shown between 60% and 80% support for legal access to medical marijuana. Both a statewide Alabama poll commissioned by the Mobile Register, published in July 2004, and a November 2004 Scripps Howard Texas poll reported 75% support.

In 1972, a petition was submitted to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs—now the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—to reschedule marijuana to make it available by prescription.

After 16 years of court battles, the DEA’s chief administrative law judge, Francis L. Young, ruled: “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. ...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_law1.shtml


In the meantime, patients continue to suffer and your administration refuses to listen too current research & the will of the people, prosecute medical users & spend billions of American tax dollars in a war on medical/recreational cannabis users that sends hurting American's to jail, destroying lives, causing families to break up, all the while trampling privileged Dr. patient rites & the freedoms of choice our fought for with blood charter guaranties.

This is beyond my comprehension of my beliefs in the way 'I believe' God works in the lives of His people & how a country should govern its people.

Our Supreme Court has stated congress needs to pass this law; our congress has the power and the responsibility to change federal law so that seriously ill people nationwide can use medical marijuana without fear of arrest and imprisonment.

In a stunning rebuke; 2 days after S.Court decision on states rights over medical marjuiana; the Rhode Island Senate passed medical marijuana bill S.B. 710 by a 34-2 margin

Clearly the will of the people & current research supports the medical use of cannabis.

Science has proven - the people have spoken - it's time for Government action.

Please support Marijuana’s placement in Schedule II, this would enable doctors to prescribe it to their patients.



Industrial use;- http://www.fbbn.com/cgi-bin/pod.cgi?dir=/Business/Agriculture_and_Forestry/Industrial_Hemp/

95% of all fiber products produced in the world up to 1880 were made of hemp

Cannabis/Hemp as a fiber product –
http://www.rawganique.com/index.htm

The American Farming industry is falling behind; & the full of values family farm has been all but turned to a wasteland by big corporation’s, government regulations/restrictions & high fuel prices

Cannabis/hemp fiber can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.

From the farmers' point of view, hemp is an easy crop to grow and will yield from three to six tons per acre on any land that will grown corn, wheat, or oat. It has a short growing season, so that it can be planted after other crops are in. It can be grown in any state of the union. Hemp's long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, eight to twelve feet above the ground, chokes out weeds, eliminating the need for chemicals or pesticides, 50% of which is used today on conventionally-grown cotton plant alone to produce cotton clothing products that are inferior to hemp clothing in terms of durability, thickness, softness, and sustainability. Two successive hemp crops are enough to reclaim land that has been abandoned because of Canadian thistles or quack grass

Hemp used for anything from fish nets, bow strings, canvas, strong rope, fine bed linen linen garments, towels, paper, clothing, building materials to car manufacturing & oils used by industry & body care.

In fact, anything made out of wood, cotton or petrochemicals can be made out of hemp.

All of these products, and thousands of other everyday items now imported, can be produced from home-grown hemp & can be grown on American farms.

Hemp prohibition has led to un-told numbers of American job losses & had a devastating effect on the American farming & textile industries. In the first six months of prohibition in 1937 we imported over $50,000,000 in raw fibers alone.

During the 1980s, imports of yarns, fabrics, and clothing rose 184%. Foreign competitors have taken 40% of the market share in the U.S., at a cost of 800 closed textile mills and 1 59,000 jobs. http://www.ncto.org/index.asp

Hemp: as crop, will not compete with other American products. Instead, it will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products produced by underpaid peasant labor and it will provide thousands of jobs for American workers throughout the land.

Quoting - "Hemp for Victory,"
http://www.globalhemp.com/Archives/Government_Research/USDA/hemp_for_victory.shtml

a USDA film made in 1942; "A 44-gun frigate like our cherished 'Old Ironsides' took over 60 tons of hemp for rigging, including an anchor cable 25 inches in circumference. The Conestoga wagons and prairie schooners of pioneer days were covered with hemp canvas. Indeed the very word canvas comes from the Arabic word for hemp. In those days hemp was an important crop in Kentucky and Missouri."

Thomas Jefferson grew hemp on his plantation as an industrial crop, selling the dried stalk to the U.S. Navy as outfitting material. George Washington grew it too, harvesting the fibrous seed for a variety of commercial uses, including the same oil now used in the locally sold lotion in question. For more than a century, hemp was legal tender to pay American taxes

Cannabis/Hemp was the fiber our sails of freedom that brought us to America were made of & a large part of why America won the war with Brittan for independence.

The very paper our countries charter was written on was made of hemp, had it been made of today’s paper = it would have long ago wasted beyond restoring

Again; the evidence is over whelming that cannabis as a fiber is a far superior to any other fiber producing plant in the world.

To oppress industrial hemp & remove cannabis/hemp evidence from the history books & the Smithsonian is a travesty of American history/industry & the shaming of some powerful men’s name in American history


Cannabis/Hemp as a food source; read this closely
http://www.rawganique.com/whyhemp5.htm

The United States of America has always led the fight in the world for giving to poor & under-developed countries – yet the pressure & influence the American government has on small world countries to ban cannabis as a foods source has me baffled even more.

Hempseed can be pressed for its highly nutritious vegetable oil, which contains the highest amount of essential fatty acids in the plant kingdom. These essential oils are responsible for our immune responses and clear the arteries of cholesterol and plaque.

Hempseed extracts, like soybeans, can be spiced to taste like chicken, steak, or pork and can be used to make tofu-type curd and margarine, at less cost than soybeans. Sprouting any seed improves its nutritional value and hemp can be sprouted and used like any other seed sprout for salads or cooking.

Of the 3 million plus edible plants that grow on Earth, no other single plant source can compare with the nutritional value of hempseeds. Both the complete protein and the essential oils contained in hempseeds are in ideal ratios for human nutrition. Only soybeans that 'ravage' the soil contain a higher percentage of protein. However, the composition of the protein in hempseed is unique in the vegetable kingdom. Sixty-five percent of the protein content in hempseed is in the form of globulin edestin.

The exceptionally high edestin content of hempseed combined with albumin, another globular protein contained in all seeds, means the readily available protein in hempseed contains all the essential amino acids in ideal proportions to assure your body has the necessary building blocks to create proteins like disease-fighting immunoglobulins - (antibodies whose job is to ward off infections before the symptoms of sickness set it)

Even more important for building a strong immune system, hempseeds are the highest source in the plant kingdom of essential fatty acids. These essential oils, linoleic and linolenic acids, are responsible for the luster in your skin, hair, eyes, and even your thought processes. They lubricate (clear) the arteries and are vital to the immune system.
http://www.rawganique.com/whyhemp6.htm

These essential fatty acids were used by Dr. Joanna Budwig http://curezone.com/letters/dr.Johanna_Budwig.asp (nominated repeatedly for the Nobel Peace Prize) to successfully treat "terminal" cancer patients, as well as those suffering from cardiovascular disease, glandular atrophy, gall stones, kidney degeneration, acne, dry skin, menstrual problems and immune deficiency.

We are well aware there are starving people in this world & an Aids epidemic in South Africa.

We now have studies with positive results; that the essential oils cannabis/hemp produces support & protect the immune systems of persons with the H.I.V. virus & that cannabis helps the suffering of those infected by this horrible dieses.
http://www.pazienticannabis.org/HIV.html
http://www.cdnaids.ca/web/position.nsf/cl/cas-pp-0021
http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/MEDICAL/nejm.html

These insane prohibitions against the most valuable plant on Earth, cannabis hemp, must yield to public demand. The promise of better health and the possibility of feeding the world are at our fingertips."

Cannabis/Hemp as a healthy food source can help bring HOPE to the hungry children & adults of the world that sees no God in action with an empty stomach

I simply ask; how can you have this knowledge, & NOT help our hurting world?

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Renewable cheap energy
http://www.ratical.org/renewables/

80% of all energy produced in the world up to 1850 was made from hemp

The overhauling of our foreign oil dependence is of sound judgment – yet I would question the motive behind so much opposesion to using hemp oil for fuel?

Hemp is Earth's number one biomass resource; it is capable of producing 10 tons per acre in four months.

Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol or gasoline at a fraction of the current cost of oil, coal, or nuclear energy - especially when environmental costs are factored in -

Up to the 19th century we had a carbohydrate based economy, one where plant materials were used for manufacturing products. In the 20th century we switched to a hydrocarbon based economy, manufacturing based on petrochemicals, with the resultant effect of global warming. Anything made from a hydrocarbon can also be made from a carbohydrate (both are plants, oil is just older plants!) Things like plastics can easily be derived from plant cellulose. Hemp can be an integral part of reverting back to a carbohydrate economy as it is the greatest biomass (ie cellulose) producer on the planet.

The environmental benefit of a carbohydrate economy is that no "new" carbon is released into the earths ecosystem (from where it's been locked in the earth crust), but rather it's recycled annually.

Hemp is easy on the soil, sheds its lush foliage throughout the season, adding mulch to the soil and helping retain moisture and its mandated use would end acid rain, end sulfur-based smog, and reverse the Greenhouse Effect on our planet - right now!

Cannabis/Hemp oil can be a benefit to American farming industry, the industrial nation & our planet as a whole providing a cheaper renewable fuel source.

This in-turn will reduce the world’s dependence on Oil rich Arab countries that starve their people & the spreading of democracy.
------------------------------------------------------
Recreational use = ending cannabis prohibition:

Cannabis as a recreational drug;

Cannabis has proven to be a far safer alternative for people who want to ‘recreationally’ express them selves or chose to be an addict.

It could;

give recreational users a drug that is peaceful & beneficial in nature

Help addicts find a safer/cheaper alternative drug that does not make them rob society & kill their bodies.

Make our communities safer; removing marijuana from the criminal market would free up police time so police officers can focus on violent crimes, property crimes, and people who drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any other substance. Tax dollars then could be put to work to incarcerate real criminals who threaten public safety.

Provide tax dollars

A group of more than 500 distinguished economists -- led by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Milton Friedman -- released an open letter to you and other public officials calling for "an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition,".
In it they state & put forth:

That a report just released by Dr. Jeffrey Miron,a visiting professor of economics at Harvard University, estimates that replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year.

That's real money that could be used to address real problems like gaps in homeland security, failing schools, and growing budget deficits.

$14 billion in annual combined annual savings and revenues would cover the securing of all "loose nukes" in the former Soviet Union (estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion) in less than three years. Just one year's savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The Coast Guard has estimated these costs, covering 3,150 port facilities and 9,200 vessels, at $7.3 billion total.

We know that prohibition hasn't kept marijuana away from kids, since year after year 85% of high school seniors tell government survey-takers that marijuana is 'easy to get.' Conservatives, especially, are beginning to ask whether we're getting our money's worth or simply throwing away billions of tax dollars that might be used to protect America from real threats like those unsecured Soviet-era nukes."

I want to sum up my feelings;

As a nation/society we will always have addicts, yet it’s proven in every day life that even addicts can maintain a life level of being productive.

Drugs are a tragedy for addicts, but criminalizing their use converts that tragedy into a disaster for society, for users and non-users alike.

Prohibition has demonstrated it does not deter the supply or the abuse of illegal drugs. Anyone who really wants them, gets them now. The "War on Drugs" has not only failed in its efforts to make America free of "illicit drugs" but in the process has constructed laws that are highly unjust, racist in application, a threat to individual freedom and a danger to our public health.

Milton Friedman, called by you/G.Bush; "a hero of freedom" & Alan Greenspan called him the most formidable economist of the past century.

His quote; "Can any policy, however high-minded, be moral if it leads to widespread corruption, imprisons so many, has so racist effect that it destroys our inner cities, wreaks havoc on misguided and vulnerable individuals and brings death and destruction to foreign countries ?"

As Christians; we have been sent to "bring good news to the oppressed to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners " (Isaiah 61:1) = we are called on by God to speak a prophetic word of judgment and hope to the present situation.

It is not enough for us to pray and ask God to heal the nations; we must combine our prayers with the hard work of seeking justice.

I believe we have a sacred obligation, to feed the hungry & help redress the grievances and correct the injustices of our present drug laws that condemn drug related offenders to harsh penalties and indeterminate prison sentences.

Each of us has fallen short of the glory bestowed on us and at times have engaged in habits we cannot control or break. It's time for the church/government/people to put down the rocks being tossed at medical/industrial/recreational cannabis use.

I do not believe for one second Jesus would send 800,000+ cannabis users a year to jail
http://mpp.org/arrests/arrests.html


All this information & much more are freely available.

I am medically disabled with horrible life threatening deceases & have lost my wife & son over the medical issue of using cannabis instead of the narcotics readily available by prescription.

As a fellow Christian & a voting American, your position baffles/hurts me & I feel as the leader of this great country your current position does not reflect the will of the people for Medical/Industrial/Recreational Cannabis & the heart of God for his people

It’s my prayer you will let God search your heart & do the strong, courageous & right thing for our country as well as millions of hurting lives across this world

I would be happy to provide you with facts for the above material or discuss this further with you or your staff.

I would also like to leave you with my personally signed copy of 'Jack Herer's book 'The Emperor Wears No Clothes'.
http://www.jackherer.com/

Thank you for your time Mr. President,
You & your family are in my daily prayers
Take care & may God bless

Cannabis Time line
http://www.tlmp.org/history_of_marijuana.html

The urban ecology of cannabis
http://www.hemp.on.net/final_folder/about_us/what_weve_done/campaigns/industrial_env/urbecocan.html

Hemp, the plant that can save Mother Earth - by journalist and commentator Hugh Downs speaking for ABC News radio http://fornits.com/curiosity/hemp/abc.htm


Global Hemp
http://www.globalhemp.com/

Drug library
http://www.druglibrary.org/

Major government studies on cannabis
http://www.ukcia.org/politics/studies.html

Medical Marijuana Research
http://www.maps.org/mmj/

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine
http://www.rxmarihuana.com/index2.htm

http://www.medmjscience.org/index.html

http://www.drugscience.org/amu.htm

MPP..
http://mpp.org/index.html

The Media Awareness Project
http://www.mapinc.org/

http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm

:friends:
dg

 

[Guest]

WOW! wonderful!

Congrats Fredster!

 

[Guest]

FREDSTER,
Looks like its time for a celebration Party!Congrat's

 

[Dutchgrown]

I bet he's putting on a rack of ribs now.....oh how I bet those taste
delicious!

:friends:
dg

 

[Guest]

: on guard U non-believers


HIGH END

Thank ALL of you very much; as you can tell it is an issue very close to my heart & one I feel most of us should know more about /

I have a belief'; - "that a good word does not return void” / If I die tomorrow – this good word will live on

I want every one to know;

When I am fully though with it – I will send it to GWB & every Gov leader I can email.

I have already sent this letter to my wife & Pastor & all my church leaders mail list /

I am going to make copies & hand them out to any one I can – including my local head shop.

Take the fight to the people - do the same; make copies & hand them out!

Thanks to every one who entered - all of them had some good in them!

All my blessings & good thoughts.
Fredster


DG - this cook is for you!
The General is a cooking Brisket today!






Drop & Pop time!

 

[Guest]

congratulations to you Fredster, my fine friend!

Enjoy!

 

[Babbabud]

Cangratulations Fred way to go buddy

 

[Guest]

Way to go Fredster!! Nicely done............brisket ya say? I'll bring the strawberry shortcake!!

 

[PFCruz]

Pass it on EVERYONE

Pass it on EVERYONE

Congrats Fredster!!! Pass copies along? Great idea, started doing that last week. Brisket sounds good too.

 

[Sleepy]

nice job, fredster!!!

congratulations...what a comprehensive essay...gold star worthy!

you realize, of course, you will have to read this to the President, right? there are some mighty big words in there!!

 

[bartender187]

Fredster- Wow man... that put me into tears. (EDIT: really man.. it hits it dead on with me. strikes up alot emotion) unbeliavable. much love bro

 

[Guest]

Fredster well deserved!
Congradulations and best wishes!

 

[nycnoob]

good job fred.. yeah it was well deserved.. nice long essay.. lots of detail and proof.. this should be good luck its my 420th post (=

 

[Guest]

thank U again - I am working on it as I type & have some new info for it /

The deeper I dig - the more I come up with - there has been much done on cannabis research - it has been for the most part hidden from us.

Understand the fight is global & we are not alone