Industrial Hemp
At SolFest '97 I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on industrial hemp given by Joe Hickey of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Association and John Roulac, author and hemp advocate. Afterwards I had a chance to talk to both of them.
Their messages were similar. They talked about how hemp can replace most wood and petroleum products, what a incredible food it is, how quickly the hemp industry is growing worldwide and how American farmers and entrepreneurs are being left out of this booming industry. They talked about reversing the industrial revolution and how farms should be the base of our economy. They believe that hemp is essential in redeveloping a sustainable rural economy and a key component to bio-regionalism. They think that hemp can be an important rotation crop that will help farmers reclaim their soil. They have no fear of the DEA and view them as an annoyance. They project that with all the current legislation, industrial hemp will be legal within two years. They suggest that you write to your representatives demanding that regulation of hemp be taken from the DEA and given to the Department of Agriculture. Instead of trying to educate your representatives ask them for information about industrial hemp, this encourages them to research hemp in order to answer their constituents.
Medical Marijuana: The Good News
Ukiah Cannabis Buyer's Club (UCBC) has Cannabis Liberation
been open for business for about eight weeks. Much like the medicinal herb it provides, it is growing fast, basking in the enlightened spirit of cooperation and acquiescence shown by this county's Board of Supervisors, who recognize Proposition 215 as state law. As long as a "low profile" is kept by UCBC the supervisors have instructed the D.A. and Sheriff not to prosecute UCBC, their providers or their 70 clients. COMMET has visited the site and has requested to grow a demonstration medicinal marijuana garden there. Of course UCBC said, "Yes!"
On April 30, 1997, U.S. District Judge Fern Smith issued a preliminary injunction barring the Justice Department from taking any punitive actions against physicians who prescribed medical marijuana. According to UCBC director, Cherrie Lovett, since the injunction several Mendocino County physicians have begun to prescribe or recommend marijuana to their patients. Lovette said there are five local attorneys who have offered their services free to UCBC, their physicians, clients and their providers. UCBC is considered the caregiver for their clients and the herb growers are considered the caregivers for UCBC. Many growers have approached UCBC including several people who have never grown before. The Buyer's Club has so far signed only two contracts with growers. They prefer experienced, indoor, organic growers whose crop will be tested for pesticides and mold. They expect to sign five contracts this season. When I asked Cherrie how much she pays for a pound she answered "Way too much!" She hopes to have the price down to $500 a pound by next year. She explained that many of her clients are on Social Security or SSI and can't afford the expensive medicine.
UCBC is located inside the Forks Theater, 40A Pallini Lane, Ukiah, phone #462-0691. Their hours are Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m.3 p.m.; Tuesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.4 p.m.; and Wednesdays, 3 p.m.7 p.m. The public is welcome to come check it out. They are working hard to make their facility comfortable and secure. Students from Ukiah High have planted a wheelchair-accessible meditation and community food garden. Operating on a hemp-string budget, the UCBC is in need of donations. Items on their wish list are: a computer and printer, office phones, office supplies, chairs, couches, bean bag chairs, money and marijuana. Look for them at the MEC's birthday party - they will have an information table, raffle hemp items and possibly sell non-medicinal brownies.
The Bad News
Everything that's budding here on the home front has given the feds a bad reaction. Congressional conservatives are backing several bills that would sanction doctors who recommend the use of marijuana to seriously ill patients. According to NORML, Orrin Hatch (RUtah) is leading a Republican-backed coalition of 27 senators who have endorsed an anti-crime bill that includes language punishing physicians who recommend or prescribe marijuana to a patient. Section 1002 of Senate Bill 3 requires hospitals and HMOs that receive federal funds to certify that no professional at that hospital has or will prescribe or recommend a Schedule I substance - including marijuana - to any person. Physicians who do not comply will lose their federal licenses to prescribe controlled substances. A second, potentially worse bill targeting doctors, Senate Bill 40, would punish physicians who "administer, dispense, or recommend the use of marijuana." Doctors who violate S 40 may be sentenced to up to eight years in prison and/or fined $60,000. Both bills are currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Hatch. At hearings called by Hatch earlier this year, he blasted the passed drug reform propositions in California and Arizona saying, they were the results of "pothead doctorswho want to legalize drugs." Write to Riggs and ask him to show some backbone and stand up to his lunatic Republican brothers.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited