Re"hash"ing History

Alright fuckers.... I left you alone on the weed thing for a while to see if any of your stoner asses would actually put down the spliff and sign the damn petition. I've been keeping track of the petition. As far as I can tell, only 3 of you signed the thing. I swear to Dog the next stoner I run into that starts bitching about how "it shouldn't be illegal" is getting the red smacked out of his/her eyes. It's a pathetic occasion when a group of people with a common interest can't get out of their own way to fix something. Need we go over this again? I hope not, I don't have the energy for it twice.

Does anyone remember anything about history? Bet you were to busy getting stoned to show up for history class. The Ford Model T had components that were made of Hemp. The original diesel engines from Europe ran on a fuel similar to hemp biodiesel. It was used as a medicine nearly everywhere in the world until the US got this "we hate beaners" mentality. We brought the Mexicans here to help build shit, then suddenly, when they're done we go "lets get em out of here, they're not white enough" and so the story of Marijuana persecution begins. Marijuana has a history around the world as a medicine and ceremonial item. Certain Native American cultures used Marijuana as a sacrament. Prior to prohibition in the 1930's the roots were commonly used in a tincture to treat rashes. Since then we've found that it works for Wasting Syndrome (the cause of death for most AIDS cases), alleviation of digestive disturbances brought on by chemotherapy, Glaucoma, and countless others. Fuck, the FDA approved Marinol which is nothing more than delta-9 THC with a fancy name - Dronabinol. The problem with Marinol is that if your stomach is fucked up, that greasy pill isn't staying down long. Hell, there was a Supreme Court Justice that called Marijuana one of the safest, most therapeutically useful plants on earth, ordered that the plant be rescheduled (for those of you that don't understand that please search for The Controlled Substances Act online) from Schedule 1 (which bans all research) to a lesser schedule, which would have allowed for the proper research to be done.

The large majority of people in jail for a simple possession charge are there for Marijuana. The Netherlands legalized back in the 1980's and their drug related crime rate has dropped like a rock, but they also cracked down on the "hard" drugs at the same time, thus lowering the rate of drug use nationwide. They generate a lot of tourism from that policy, mostly from Americans.

Hemp once grew in fields around Mt. Vernon, the residence of George Washington. Being one of the few fibers that withstands salt water, early sails were made of Canvas, which was made from hemp. Almost all of the hemp fiber available for sale in America is grown in Canada, where hemp farming is a lucrative, sustainable occupation. Hemp oil can be eaten, rubbed on the skin, or used to fuel a car or generator (as biodiesel). Hemp is naturally rich in good proteins, containing a nearly full set of amino acids. It's also no where near as hard on the soil as cotton, and can be grown at a much higher density per acre.

As far as it's use as a drug, this has likely been going on nearly as long as man has had fire. Wouldn't it just fuck with you if that was why fire was sought after in the first place.... to smoke a shitload of weed. Or if the wheel was created to help bring more weed back to the "cave". I doubt either of those are true, but it's fun to entertain the idea. Seriously though, no one has ever die from smoking pot, not even Bob Marley (gangrene from an untreated broken bone). It's physically impossible to overdose, except maybe if you could somehow get your hands on 400-500 high potency Marinol pills, but you've got a better chance of getting chewed on by a shark in a landlocked lake than getting that much Marinol at once. So, it's just out of the question.

What great harm has this plant ever done to society? Can't think of any? Me, either. One voice can change the world, it's just got to get out of the little debbie aisle first.