Monday, September 27, 2004

Eat some hemp. It's good for you. DEA's Failed Battle To Ban Hemp Food is Over San Francisco -- Three years after the Bush administration tried to ban food products made with hemp, the government surrendered that front in the war on drugs, attorneys for the hemp industry said Monday. The Justice Department, these attorneys say, will not challenge a federal appeals court ruling that overturned the ban - a victory for more than 200 companies that make such things as energy bars, waffles, milk-free cheese and veggie burgers with the plant that contains only trace amounts of THC, the key ingredient in marijuana. Monday night was the deadline for the government to challenge a federal appellate court's February decision to the Supreme Court that the United States cannot ban the domestic sale of hemp foods. ... The trade group Vote Hemp said it would begin lobbying Congress to allow industrial hemp production in the United States, said Alexis Baden-Mayer, the group's government affairs director. [Thanks, Scott] 7:55:17 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Is Chicago proposal elevating the debate? I expressed some misgivings regarding the proposal in Chicago to switch to fines for marijuana possession. It's in the Tribune again today (an interesting article) and reader Brian suggests: Consider the number of new articles about what a waste of resources it is to prosecute pot charges let alone trying to enforce them. I wonder if they are trying to create some forced recognition of the issue as it exists today. I agree with you that tickets are not perfect, but it is a step in the right direction. I think the biggest issue here is that the topic is being debated at all and the fact that the it is in front of all people. Excellent point. 9:53:36 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Four more voting guides Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, and Kansas are now complete, bringing the total to 15 states. I've still got a ways to go to get them all done before the election, but I'm plugging away. The interesting story this time is the Libertarians in Arizona and Kansas. Without the Libertarian Party in those states, I'd have been hard pressed to come up with very many endorsements (in Kansas in fact, for the first time so far in these state guides, one party swept the endorsements). Here are some additional statements from Libertarians in those states: John B. Crockett (Arizona 1st) "All drugs should be Freely available to all Adults without a prescription." Powell E. Gammill (Arizona 2nd) "People have a right to do whatever to themselves, those who forcefully oppose this are the criminals" Mark J. Yannone (Arizona 3rd) "The federal government is not authorized to regulate drug use." Craig B. Stritar (Arizona 6th) "The War on Drugs is unconstitutional and therefore illegal." Jack W. Warner (Kansas 1st) "The purchase, sale, or possession of drugs is a personal freedom issue and there should be no laws of prohibition" Joseph K. Bellis (Kansas 3rd) "Once again the federal government has no constitutional mandate to carry on a war on drugs. Regulation of drug use is the responsibility of the individual states." I also enjoyed this write-in candidate in Arkansas: Vernon 'Gene' E Mason (Arkansas Senate Write-in) "There are more than 25,000 products to be manufactured from the hemp plant. The hemp industry could employ every single Arkansan." Here are all the state guides so far: Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Montana North Dakota Oregon Virginia Washington 1:14:18 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Freedom March shut down Alabama Marijuana Party's Loretta Nall spoke on Saturday on the steps of the Alabama State Capital as part of a Freedom March, to focus attention on Alabama's Habitual Offender law, harsh drug laws and prison overcrowding. A small, but enthusiastic crowd apparently reacted very well to the speeches, at least until the cops came and shut the event down over controversy over the permit. Read all about it here. Go to page 3 for pictures from the event. Update: Video of the march available at POT-TV. 1:05:30 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []