Prince Harry, third in line to the throne of England, has been discovered drinking beer and smoking pot. Average behavior for a 16-year-old, and it would have been strictly a family matter if only the family in question wasn’t so bloody famous. It’s legal for 16-year-olds to drink in England and while smoking pot is technically illegal, authorities tend to turn a blind eye. Prince Harry’s great-great-great grandmother, the famously sober Queen Victoria was a pot smoker. She toked to relieve menstrual cramps. The first pot café opened in England last year, offering an alternative to the UK’s famous formula of beer-and-brawling. Eleven of the 15 nations of the European Union have either legalized marijuana or do not prosecute its use. And now you can buy pot with Euros.
On this side of the Atlantic, somewhere between 15,000-20,000 citizens of this great nation are currently behind bars for possession of marijuana. The United States remains trapped in the throes of marijuana prohibition, a prohibition far more stupid than the failed alcohol prohibition of 1919-1933. We don’t call it prohibition, though; we call it “the war on drugs.”
Soldiers in the war on drugs got George Patton for a leader last year when John Ashcroft was named attorney general. In his confirmation hearings, Mr. Ashcroft promised to “escalate,” “renew,” “refresh” and “relaunch” the war on drugs. And so he did. California banned prosecution of doctors who recommend the therapeutic use of marijuana for a variety of ailments, so General Ashcroft sent in federal agents to raid and shut down medical marijuana distribution facilities.
Like so many of America’s domestic wars, the war on drugs is waged primarily against the poor. Some examples:
In 1995, Will Foster of Oklahoma was found with 39 marijuana plants in his basement. Mr. Foster grew the pot to treat his rheumatoid arthritis. He was sentenced to 93 years in jail. In 1992, a Missouri man was convicted of intent to distribute marijuana, after he was caught growing 60 plants. He was given probation, but his uncle was then governor of Missouri – John Ashcroft. In the war on drugs, it’s not what you grow, but who you know that counts.
In New Jersey, a man got 50 years for growing pot in his house; in California, the son of Republican Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham got two and a half years after he was caught with 400 pounds of pot. I could go on, but you get the picture.
As of February 6, the Drug Enforcement Agency will attempt to ban foods containing hemp from grocer’s shelves. If you’ve been to the local co-op or health food store in the past few years, you may have noticed a proliferation of hemp products in the non-dairy case. There’s hemp rella, a cheese-like substance eaten by vegans and the lactose intolerant. There’s hemp granola, hemp bread, hemp energy bars, hemp pretzels. Wait a minute! George W. passed out after eating a pretzel last Sunday. You don’t think it could have been… No way, you can eat these products all day and all night and you won’t get high, or fall off the couch. The difference between marijuana and hemp is as great as the difference between sweet corn and field corn.
If eating hemp rella won’t alter your mind or your mood, why should the DEA care if it’s sold? Because eating hemp-based foods will cause you to test positive for marijuana on your drug test.
Drunk people get surly and fight, but booze is legal. Stoned people get mellow and eat junk food, but pot is illegal. Then we have to ban hemp, which is not pot, because it interferes with our war on marijuana.
In other drug news, thanks to the success of U.S. military operations, Afghan farmers are once again growing opium poppies.
Princes, Presidents, Pretzels
Prince Harry, third in line to the throne of England, has been discovered drinking beer and smoking pot. Average behavior for a 16-year-old, and it would have been strictly a family matter if only the family in question wasn’t so bloody famous. It’s legal for 16-year-olds to drink in England and while smoking pot is technically illegal, authorities tend to turn a blind eye. Prince Harry’s great-great-great grandmother, the famously sober Queen Victoria was a pot smoker. She toked to relieve menstrual cramps. The first pot café opened in England last year, offering an alternative to the UK’s famous formula of beer-and-brawling. Eleven of the 15 nations of the European Union have either legalized marijuana or do not prosecute its use. And now you can buy pot with Euros.
On this side of the Atlantic, somewhere between 15,000-20,000 citizens of this great nation are currently behind bars for possession of marijuana. The United States remains trapped in the throes of marijuana prohibition, a prohibition far more stupid than the failed alcohol prohibition of 1919-1933. We don’t call it prohibition, though; we call it “the war on drugs.”
Soldiers in the war on drugs got George Patton for a leader last year when John Ashcroft was named attorney general. In his confirmation hearings, Mr. Ashcroft promised to “escalate,” “renew,” “refresh” and “relaunch” the war on drugs. And so he did. California banned prosecution of doctors who recommend the therapeutic use of marijuana for a variety of ailments, so General Ashcroft sent in federal agents to raid and shut down medical marijuana distribution facilities.
Like so many of America’s domestic wars, the war on drugs is waged primarily against the poor. Some examples:
In 1995, Will Foster of Oklahoma was found with 39 marijuana plants in his basement. Mr. Foster grew the pot to treat his rheumatoid arthritis. He was sentenced to 93 years in jail. In 1992, a Missouri man was convicted of intent to distribute marijuana, after he was caught growing 60 plants. He was given probation, but his uncle was then governor of Missouri – John Ashcroft. In the war on drugs, it’s not what you grow, but who you know that counts.
In New Jersey, a man got 50 years for growing pot in his house; in California, the son of Republican Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham got two and a half years after he was caught with 400 pounds of pot. I could go on, but you get the picture.
As of February 6, the Drug Enforcement Agency will attempt to ban foods containing hemp from grocer’s shelves. If you’ve been to the local co-op or health food store in the past few years, you may have noticed a proliferation of hemp products in the non-dairy case. There’s hemp rella, a cheese-like substance eaten by vegans and the lactose intolerant. There’s hemp granola, hemp bread, hemp energy bars, hemp pretzels. Wait a minute! George W. passed out after eating a pretzel last Sunday. You don’t think it could have been… No way, you can eat these products all day and all night and you won’t get high, or fall off the couch. The difference between marijuana and hemp is as great as the difference between sweet corn and field corn.
If eating hemp rella won’t alter your mind or your mood, why should the DEA care if it’s sold? Because eating hemp-based foods will cause you to test positive for marijuana on your drug test.
Drunk people get surly and fight, but booze is legal. Stoned people get mellow and eat junk food, but pot is illegal. Then we have to ban hemp, which is not pot, because it interferes with our war on marijuana.
In other drug news, thanks to the success of U.S. military operations, Afghan farmers are once again growing opium poppies.