EXPENSIVE AND DANGEROUS MEDICINES ARE PREFERRED

For thousands of years mankind has used hemp (Cannabis sativa) as a medicine; Sir John Reynolds recommended it to Queen Victoria when he was court physician.

It has no lethal side effects, has been widely used and well studied, and can be grown from Siberia to the tropics. So what fool made it illegal?

Those who traded old-for-new and got themselves some high priced dope instead. Dope that is addictive or kills, but as long as it is authoritatively packaged and FDA approved, gets bought. Drug companies rake it in.

On the side of this stupidity are a number of American laws which were enacted to aid and abet the drug companies and are in conflict with states' rights. Currently San Diego County in California is working to restore the balance, but such efforts have usually been thwarted by far-right activitsts who like to make an easy living on drug deals. San Diego Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. is taking into submission this very issue and is expected to make a ruling in December. In that state, the medical marijuana inittiative passed with 56% of the public vote (Proposition 215).

One part of the discussion was on the requirement of states to enforce federal laws, which, according to the California Dept. of Justice, is not their job. However, there is the concern that if they do not work along federal guidelines, then federal money could be withheld, which runs into the billions of dollars for San Diego County.

Perhaps they could stand to make much more than that by growing medical and industrial hemp?