NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/9755

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-03 | 18.4 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Robert G Halvorson)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Subject: NORML: Cannabis: The Rational View
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Date: 3 Jan 93 18:41:07 GMT
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Please share this as widely as possible.  If there is a BBS in your area,
one whose sysop is sympathetic to the _intelligent_ reconsideration of our
traditional societal stand on the management of this particular resource,
especially as it can help our environment and economy, please post this
message on that board.

Thank you.

Wayne
WWU/NORML
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 93 04:49 GMT
From: "Gerald X. Diamond" <[e-mail]>
To: Wayne Smith <[e-mail]>
Subject: A direct appeal for prompt action by responsible people: DISSEMINATE!!

Gerald X. Diamond         535 13th Av.E.No.106            Seattle WA 98102
Tel:[phone]            MCI-Mail 328-1350             January 01, 1993

To: Wayne, Bob, Jerri, Kevin and all my colleagues
    on Internet and out there in Cyberspace:

This is your planet.  The quality of life you enjoy in future years depends
on the values you adopt right now.  Here are three pieces to show you how
we are thinking in Seattle.   Pass these thoughts on to your network and
make the future happen.  Let's hear how you feel on these issues.  Tell the
world...in a loud voice!
                               HAPPY NEW YEAR! -- Jerry Diamond (WCDPR)
==========================================================================

1. Cannabis: the rational view
------------------------------
Today, I brought a bag of catnip to Beate's cat, Sire, who is dying of
leukemia.  At least he could pass his few remaining hours of life in the
presence of an herb that brings him memories of happier times.


                      NUCLEAR POWER AND THE DRUG WAR

Last night I met a dying young man.  He lost his life cleaning up the
radioactive spill from a nuclear reactor accident.

"Was it worth it?" I asked.

"No", he told me, "I know that now -- but it's too late.  Some of us have
to go sooner, I suppose".  He took a deep toke on his joint and began
coughing again.

A verse from an old poem came to mind:

     For some we loved, the loveliest and the best
     That rolling time hath from his vintage pressed,
     Have drunk their cup a round or two before
     And one by one crept silently to rest.

     And we that now make merry in the room
     They left, and summer dresses in new bloom;
     Must we beneath that couch of earth descend
     Ourselves to make a couch -- for whom? (1)

It was New Years' Eve.  We walked the observation deck atop Smith Tower.
Below us -- between the sturdy safety bars enclosing us -- echoed the
lights and horns and fireworks of celebration.  We shared the smoke.  He
shared his feelings...sadness at the waste of his precious time.

His last months were being spent in and out of law courts -- battling to
stay out of jail for growing his own marijuana and sharing it with others.
The battle was far from over.

I thought of half a million other pot-smokers, living an uneasy life.
Many were behind bars for similar reasons, victims of misguided law
enforcement: victims of obsolete laws.

What a waste, I thought.  We all have better things to do with our lives
than fighting battles for our freedom of thought and personal choice.
These are not crimes to be punished by heavy fines and mandatory jail
sentencing.  How many others were dying like this man ... persecuted by the
very laws that were intended to give his life meaning!

--------------
(1) E. Fitzgerald, "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", Dover Publications 1990.
============================================================================
                                   -2-

2. Goals for 1993 by Jeffrey Steinborn, Attorney-at-Law
-------------------------------------------------------
Getting tough didn't work.  It's time we got smart.

Without any perceptible progress towards a victory, the "War on Drugs"
doubled this nation's prison population in just ten years.  It spawned a
black market of enormous wealth and violence, and brought our justice
system -- that crown jewel among American birthrights -- to the brink of
catastrophe.  These rights we once took for granted ... these rights (which
Oliver North reminded us, "a lot of men have died face down in the mud all
over the world defending") ... these rights face extinction.

There is a real danger that the new Clinton Administration understands
neither this impending breakdown, nor its causes.  Unless we educate the
new administration (and thereby perhaps embolden them to lead us), this
clearly unsuccessful and increasingly unpopular "War on Drugs" will lumber
brutally on, waged by career prosecutors and police who have done it their
way for so long, they have forgotten that there is another way.

I join hundreds of thousands of other "Drug War" professionals in proposing
a dramatic, yet simple and basic solution:

                     =============================
                     * CAPSIZE THE WAR ON DRUGS! *
                     =============================

Stop wasting billions of scarce tax dollars on "get tough" law enforcement
policies which serve only to inflate the price of illegal drugs, and
perpetuate the crime, violence and exploitation of vulnerable people.  This
is what causes an illegal black market to flourish.

Instead, we must spend this money where we already know it will have an
impact: on the broad spectrum of activities which have proven to decrease
the demand for drugs by means OTHER THAN THE DEMONSTRABLY INEFFECTIVE,
COERCIVE FORCE OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM!

Government studies suggest that a dollar spent on a head start program is
ELEVEN TIMES MORE EFFECTIVE than a dollar spent enforcing drug laws.
==========================================================================
                                 -3-
                     ==============================
                     THE DRUG PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED
                     ==============================

Non-biased truly professional education programs work; they decrease the
demand for drugs.   It is puzzling that the example of tobacco -- the most
addictive and the most deadly of all drugs of abuse -- is so often ignored:
over the last 10 years tobacco use has been reduced by nearly 20% -- by
providing accurate information in a believable form, and WITHOUT PUTTING A
SINGLE PERSON IN PRISON!  This should be our inspiration.

We must act now, while priorities are being set in the new administration.
We must participate by making our opinions known immediately -- in concert
and in large numbers.  Our leaders and our government must be encouraged to
capsize the "War on Drugs" at every level.


At the PROSECUTORIAL LEVEL:
---------------------------
We need to persuade our attorneys general to change their priorities.
What kind of society are we living in, where an informer can earn $5,000
for turning in a marijuana farmer, but only $500 for a rapist?  Why are
non-violent drug offenders consistently sentenced to longer prison
sentences than violent and predatory criminals?

This isn't what the public wants!

With one stroke of her pen, the Attorney General could capsize the
priorities of her army of prosecutors and police.  Judges would not quarrel
with prosecutors who refused to file charges requiring mandatory sentences
for first-time non-violent offenders.  U.S. Attorneys who left prosecution
of non-violent drug crimes to the discretion of local authorities would not
be criticized.  There is no shortage of other crimes which DO require the
attention of our Federal Government for effective prosecution.

As easily, the Attorney General could order her 7,000 U.S. Attorneys to de-
emphasize the seizure of homes from families with the misfortune to have
one member who grows marijuana, while emphasizing the literally thousands
of predatory financial crimes which go unprosecuted -- and whose fruits go
unforfeited.
==========================================================================
                               -4-
At the LEGISLATIVE LEVEL
------------------------
We must shower our timid lawmakers with letters and calls telling them to
abandon the heavy-handed "zero tolerance" drug policies of the Reagan/Bush
years and instead use our financial resources to provide drug education and
drug treatment on demand.  An enlightened government would place more
financial emphasis on programs which reduce the demand for drugs by
improving the quality of life and hopes for the future.

We must let our representatives know that their constituents are fed up
with the costs, both economic and social, and the unmitigated failures of
the "War on Drugs".  Just as alcohol prohibition proved to be a dismal and
expensive failure, leaving in its wake a well-financed criminal
underground, so has the "War on Drugs" with its impossible -- and yes,
hypocritical -- goal of a "drug-free" society.


At the JUDICIAL LEVEL
---------------------
We must first return to the judiciary the power to act independently.
Second, we must educate our judiciary to the clear failures of the war on
drugs, to their own complicity in these failures, and in the erosion of our
essential rights.

"CAPSIZE THE DRUG WAR IN '93" should be our theme for the coming year.  We
need to make our leaders and the public at large understand that the
overzealous drug warriors have brought us to the very edge of a police
state, while exacerbating the problem and aiding only those who profit from
the "War on Drugs".

Despite millions of arrests and billions of dollars spent, the drug
warriors have failed to make a dent in the illegal drug trade.  They have
only made it more profitable, while assuring that the most vicious and the
most desperate outlaws are responsible for the distribution of drugs in our
society.

With the proper knowledge, Americans can handle an environment which
includes not only alcohol and tobacco, but also those drugs preferred by
less traditional members of our society.

Inform yourself.  Then pass it on where it will do some good.  Write
letters, send telegrams, make phone calls.  Tell our leaders that we will
support them if they choose to capsize the war on drugs.

January 1, 1993
Jeffrey Steinborn

==========================================================================
                                 -5-

3. New Years' Report from WASHINGTON CITIZENS FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
   by: Hal Nelson, Lenny Maughn, Joe and Jackie Nolze

 "CHANGE" ... the buzzword of the 1992 elections becomes reality as we
slink into 1993.  A re-drawn world map, the end of the Cold War, an economy
on the mend, and a renewed environmental concern loom on the horizon as we
reflect on the events of 1992:

Madonna's "SEX,"          L.A. riots
Ren & Stimpy,             Murphy Brown's baby
Howard Stern,             p-o-t-a-t-o-e
bungee jumping,           Garth Brooks
Wayne's World,            Farewells to Johnny Carson, Dennis Miller
"1492,"                     and Ross Perot
Malcolm X,                and Elvis still lives!

Here in the Evergreen State, the "Year of the Woman" brought us a new
Senator, the Erotic (censorship) Music Bill was shot down in flames, Grunge
Rock reigned supreme, and not a single bridge sank!

And in Seattle last April, a diverse group of Washingtonians came together
to DO SOMETHING about the misguided "War on Drugs".  Agreeing that both
U.S. and State policies -- particularly regarding domestic marijuana
growers and users -- are counterproductive failures, a non-profit public-
service membership organization was born: Washington Citizens for Drug
Policy Reform.

The fledgling group immediately put its efforts into signature-gathering
for the Washington Cannabis Initiative.  This measure would have forced a
statewide vote on limited legalization of cannabis/hemp/marijuana.  By the
July deadline, just under half the required 150,001 signatures were
gathered: an impressive showing, considering the time and money
constraints.

With this experience behind us, WCDPR has laid the groundwork for the 1993
Cannabis Initiative.  We expect the approved initiative back from the
Secretary of State in late January.  An intensive statewide signature
gathering campaign will follow.  With your help, the initiative can make it
on a November statewide ballot!

A New Year.  A new Governor.  A new President.  A new opportunity to end
marijuana prohibition in Washington!

On January 20, in come Clinton and Gore, and out go 12 years of Republican
intolerance and the most invasive "War on Drugs" in history.  In spite of
constitutional constraints, the GOP's futile war raged on: sting operations
and property forfeiture, mandatory minimum jail sentencing, "Zero
Tolerance", using the military in domestic law enforcement, and even a plan
to airlift millions of coco-eating moths to destroy the crop in Colombia!
==========================================================================
                                 -6-

The new administration will almost certainly bring more sense and
compassion to the still-raging "War on Drugs".  While they have stated
their oppostion to outright legalization, Clinton and Gore bring a strong
mandate for change.  And the last time a Democrat was president, a wave of
marijuana decriminalization swept the nation.

Realizing the absurdity of criminal (jail time) penalties for simple
possession of small amounts of marijuana, eleven states decriminalized this
infraction to a simple fine, about as serious as a parking ticket.
Marijuana use did not increase in these states and millions of law-
enforcement and judicial process dollars were saved.  To this day, none of
these states (representing one-third of the population) have recriminalized
marijuana.

There is already one very promising sign from Clinton.  His choice for
Surgeon General -- Dr. Joycelyn Elders -- advocates the medicinal use of
marijuana in treating glaucoma, and to relieve nausea and improve appetite
in patients with cancer or AIDS.

If physicians feel marijuana "would be beneficial for use by the patient,
it should be available," she says.

                            ==============
                            LETS GET BUSY!
                            ==============

We can't let the status quo of marijuana prohibition stand still amidst all
the changes taking place.  We now have a unique opportunity to carry reform
across the threshold of change.  The 1993 Cannabis Initiative must be on
the agenda of change.  Discredited demagogic drivel about "drugs" must be
tossed out along with the Bush Administration.

Join us in making these changes a part of your New Year's "Revolution".

We need volunteers to gather signatures, for telemarketing and to help us
establish and strengthen new chapters of WCDPR.  Thousands of copies of the
Initiative must be printed.  Many long distance phone calls need to be
made.  Transition teams must be contacted.  Inquiries need following up.

The success of this effort is purely a function of available resources.
Please give as generously as you can and reach out to your friends and get
them to do likewise.  Don't let this unique opportunity pass without being
a part of it.

Rights are not given: they are taken.

Freedom isn't free: it must be won, and re-won, again and again.

WCDPR, Seattle, New Years' Day, 1993
Hal Nelson, Executive Director
Joe and Jackie Nolze, Initiative Coordinators
Lenny Maughn, Board of Directors

===========================================================================

Here are some challenges that lie ahead:
----------------------------------------
This year, upon revision of laws and codes relating to cannabis, these
things will happen:

o  Prisons will begin to release half a million offenders -- many now on
   parole -- who have been impoverished by the arrests and incarceration
   that altered their lives.  Who will reach out to these people and help
   them to get on with their lives?  What new values can we share -- and
   what new industries can we offer them to work in?  Could retiring mili-
   tary personnel provide the leadership needed to do this?  Who would
   pay for it?

o  Many clearcut forestlands will never grow new trees.  Yet hemp -- grown
   densely for high tonnage per acre -- is an ideal raw material for
   growing in the Northwest.  It reconditions the soil and also generates
   fiber and cellulose.  It will supply the paper industry, the needs
   of homebuilders, the food industry, the fuel industry .... and the high-
   priced pharmaceutical industry to subsidize the others!.  How can we get
   this process started in time to provide all those new jobs?  Who will
   invest the funds needed to convert the industrial machinery -- to open
   the new markets -- to research new uses -- to gain legislative support?

One final concern:
------------------
o  Cannabis has been associated for so many years -- quite unjustly --
   with "illegal, immoral and violent" activities, that many people fear
   it will contaminate their communities, thwart their religious beliefs
   and corrupt their children.  How can we best deal with these puritanical
   hassles?  How can we educate people whose moral and ethical standards
   impair their sound judgment and acceptance of change?  Can we help to
   reconcile the needs of people in our society who fear, abuse and
   exploit cannabis hemp with the needs of people who know how to use it?

We need answers to these questions.  Indoor planting time for Cannabis Hemp
is RIGHT NOW!  Fields transplanted in late April or May should yield 4 to 8
tons per acre by August or September, with a second crop by November, if
harvested for biomass (fiber, pulp, fuel).  The yield from that crop will
prove beyond any doubt that Cannabis Hemp is a viable industry.

Your prompt action will make this possible.

-- WASHINGTON CITIZENS FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM
   Gerald X. Diamond, Technical Director
   Fax replies to: 206-682-9937   Voicemail:206-227-4164
   Snailmail: P.O. Box 1416, Renton WA 98057