What
You're Missing in Our Subscriber-only CounterPunch Newsletter
Special Investigation: Why Did the
World Trade Towers Fall?
A scientific explanation
at last, from a physicist and mechanical engineer. P. Sainath recalls
Gandhi's 9/11, one hundred years ago; Chris Sands reports from Afghanistan on the rise
of the Taliban.What you just missed, but can still get, in our
last newsletter: Paul Craig Roberts on the Collapse of America. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers
each month! But
remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the
print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription
to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find
anywhere else, or by making a donation towards the cost of this
online edition.
Remember contributions are tax-deductible.Click
here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please:Subscribe
Now!
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused
to sign AB 1147, "The California Industrial Hemp Farming
Act," which earlier this year passed the Senate (by 26 to
13) and Assembly (44 to 29). The bill would have allowed California
farmers to grow hemp -the cannabis plant that has been bred for
fiber and/or seeds. "Industrial hemp" contains only
trace amounts of THC -.3 percent or less, as defined by AB 1147.
Cannabis is a versatile plant,
bred for thousands of years to be useful (which is one definition
of "sativa"). Hemp fabric can be like canvas or linen.
Hempseed oil is uniquely nutiritious. When hemp fell victim to
the marijuana prohibition, canaries all over America stopped
singing. Nowadays Americans spend an estimated $270 million
annually on products imported or made from hemp grown in Europe,
Canada, and China. Seven states have legalized hemp cultivation,
but the federal prohibition prevents farmers from growing it.
Schwarzenegger cited federal
law as the basis for his veto:
"Under current federal
statutes there is no definition of 'industrial hemp' nor is there
a distinction between cannabis plants based on Tetrahydrocannabinols
(THC) content as delineated in AB 1147. In fact, under federal
law, all cannabis plants, regardless of variety or THC content,
are simply considered to be 'marihuana,' which is a federally
regulated schedule I controlled substance. Any person in the
United States that wishes to grow cannabis plants for any purpose,
including industrial purposes, must first obtain permission and
register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Failure to do so would be a violation of federal law and could
subject an individual to criminal penalties.
"...It would be improper
to approve a measure that directly conflicts with current federal
statutes and court decisions. This only serves to cause confusion
and reduce public confidence in our government system.
"Finally, California law
enforcement has expressed concerns that implementation of this
measure could place a drain on their resources and cause significant
problems with drug enforcement activities. This is troubling
given the needs in this state for the eradication and prevention
of drug production."
Schwarzenegger claims to be
"for" medical marijuana, but by the logic of his veto
message he would have vetoed Prop 215 had it been enacted by
the legislature instead of the voters. (Laws created by initiative
take effect immediately and don't require the governor's signature.)
Former Gov. Pete Wilson -who is now a Schwarzenegger advisor,
vetoed medical marijuana bills passed by the legislature in 1994
and 1995, citing federal law as his rationale.
Schwarzenegger vetoed the hemp
bill in deference to law enforcement, according to Patrick Goggin,
an attorney employed by the Hemp Industries Association and a
Virginia-based lobbying group called Vote Hemp. "At the
11th hour John Lovell, representing the California Narcotics
Officers Association and a number of other police groups, sent
out a memo expressing extreme opposition," says Goggin.
"It was clearly meant to influence the governor. The bill
was already heading back to the Assembly for concurrence. His
main point was that legal hemp would make it impossible for law
enforcement to find illicit marijuana -even though the bill gave
them the right to test and to confiscate any plants in excess
of .3 percent THC."
Both Goggin and an aide to
Assemblyman Mark Leno used the term "political calculus"
in describing Schwarzenegger's decision. "He gave the environmentalists
a win on greenhouse emissions," explains Goggin. "He's
got them; he doesn't need to woo them by supporting hemp."
Supporters of the hemp bill
took great pains to distinguish themselves from the medical marijuana
industry/movement. The Drug Policy Alliance reportedly offered
to provide expert testimony on how different hemp is from marijuana,
but the hemp-bill strategists nixed the idea. Their ideal witness
was a Republican farmer. "The way you have to approach
this is by separating the issue from medical cannabis,"
says Goggin.
Perhaps "separating the
issue" made sense when they were seeking votes from Republican
legislators, but once the bill went to the governor for signing
-the stage that savvy John Lovell knew was make-or-break- it
made no sense at all. Most Californians -including quite a few
Republican farmers- know that marijuana is safe and effective
medicine and that the federal prohibition is absurd and costly.
The Vote Hemp campaign separated the issues, never demanding
that Schwarzenegger stand up to the feds re Prohibition. They
emphasized the environmental benefits of hemp, economic benefits
to California farmers, how easy it would be for law enforcers
to tell the difference between good hemp and that bad marijuana
Schwarzenegger sensed weakness -political and intellectual- and
gave them the big "Nicht."
Our snappy slogan, "Struggle
Against Singleissuism!" continues to be ignored. The trend
is in the other direction -activists are dividing up the single
issues.
NOTE TO
PHIL ANGELIDES
Are you tired of being a 150-pound
weakling getting sand kicked in your face by a musclebound bully?
Why not throw a bale of hemp at the Governor in your upcoming
debate? Here's how to put it to him: "Governor, your logic
in vetoing the hemp bill would have led you to veto our medical
marijuana law if it had been enacted by the legislature instead
of the voters. Don't you think California ought to stand up to
the federal government when we have the science on our side?"
You might have an aide pull up Pete Wilson's veto of the medical
marijuana bills passed by the legislature in '94 and '95 -the
supremacy of federal law was his rationale, too.
Fred Gardner is the editor of O'Shaughnessy's
Journal of the California Cannabis Research Medical Group. He
can be reached at: fred@plebesite.com
Now
Available
from CounterPunch Books!
The Case
Against Israel
By Michael Neumann
CounterPunch
Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid?
CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues,
as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call
CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.
