Should hemp(no THC) growing be legalized in the US?
464667
The first legislation written about it in America was that every landowner was required to grow it because it is so invaluable. Yes, we should grow it. You literally need to smoke several pounds of it in a short period of time in order to get even the smallest buzz. It's wonderful in making rope, paper, the oil is wonderful for skin and it can help reduce deforestation.
677223
no, but i wish they would legalize it :)
104796
probably.  most industrialized countries are heading this way, and there have been state initiatives (like in alaska) to legalize it.
575828
AGREE! of course...lol jk...idk...maybe\nIt's cool, but wat would happen if legalized?\nLegalizing marijuana would allow ppl to smoke it openly rather than hiding it. But would it bring down the number of ppl that smoke it, or would it bring it up? It does help with Gleucoma and other diseases, so I guess for "medicinal" purposes it should be legalized.\nEither way ppl will b doin it anyway, \nwhether legal or not
586211
You will find most of your answers here:\n\nhttp://www.thehia.org/facts.html\n\n2) Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and U.S. farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.
983315
son, you are not the first one to come up with it. it would be great, but we have to change how society thinks about weed not being a drug. california tried and failed. in the 90's
21554
Hemp represented a threat to the cotton and wood pulp industries.  \n\nHarry J. Anslinger, the guy that was charged with forming the Bureau of Narcotics (now known as the DEA) needed something more than opiates to get his agency going (and advance his career).  He teamed up with William Randolph Hearst, who owned a lot of timber that he sold back to his newspapers.  Hearst wanted to protect his profits, Anslinger wanted to make a name for himself.  Hearst threw his yellow journalism skills into the mix, and it became illegal.\n\nIt stays illegal for 2 reasons -- continued opposition by the industries that would be affected by increased hemp production, and an irrational linkage of marijuana with harder drugs.
921950
There are a couple of states considering medical marijuana legislation but it probably won't work because the supremacy clause of our constitution says that federal laws override state law, and on the federal level its illegal. Even if it was legalized in those states for medical purposes it still would be legal for just anybody who wanted it to have it; you would probably have to have a terminal illness to get a prescription.
736693
I agree. I don't smoke marijuana but think it should be legalized. Think of how much money the government would save/make.\n1 The government spends loads of money to try and prevent people from using marijuana. With advertisements and all.\n2 the government has to spend tax money to build new prison's, because so many people get arrested for possession.\n3 Government could tax it similar to how they tax tobacco and alcohol, so they could potentially make Millions maybe even more.\n4 police could spend time actually helping people rather than trying to bust people for smoking a little marijuana every now and then.\n5 could create new jobs and stimulate the economy with people buying and selling.
746333
yes!!! the effects from "weed" are far less than the effects of alcohol, if it was legal it would free alot of space in our prisons, where they are placed for a non-violent crime, and i believe it would cause alot less people to use harder drugs! and people who need it for medical reasons wouldn't have to go thru all the garbage they need to now for relief!!!
137646
I have rethought my position on legalization of marijuana. I think it should be legal under certain guidelines and locals.\n\nThe first reason it should be legalized it will mellow out the liberals. They are way to shrill.\n\nReason number two, if a liberal is high they won't care about voting and we can easily elect conservative representative, congressmen, and president. Conservatives will never again have to deal with R.I.N.O.s if this happens. Imagine if there was no Arlen Spector or John McCain.\n\nReason Three assuming that only liberals and libertarians are for the legalization of drugs they can fight amongst themselves, and we conservatives have a way to sure up our power\n\nThe Previsos\n\nmarijuana would only be legal in Blue States. If you are caught with marijuana in a red state you get a trial and immediately executed after the trial, no appeals. The reason for this is to get potheads out of here and since it seams as if the Blue states want to legalize it let them.\n\nIf someone who is high robs, steals, or causes an accident after THC is detected in their system ALL their possessions become the property of the estate of the victim. (applies to all fifty)\n\nIf they have children, the children are removed from the home and are never returned (applies to all fifty)\n\nThe only treatment for those who want to quit smoking marijuana will be the intake of tobacco products, or beaten with a bong. Paid for by the offender (the way they train dogs not to make messes on carpets) Again all fifty.\n\nIf this works for marijuana I would propose the same for all illicit drugs. But no one would accept this proposal so I will have to continue my opposition to this and ALL illegal drugs.
722877
The reason why hemp is illegal is not because of any residual psychedelic properties it might have (even the government recognizes you would get sick before you had smoked enough hemp to get high), but because if it were legal it would make the ban on marijuana completely unenforceable.\n\nThe leaves of both the marijuana and the hemp plants are completely indistinguishable by any means other than testing in a laboratory. They cannot be told apart by any visual or sensory means (smell, taste, etc). As such, if a person were carrying what looked like marijana leaves dried and crushed up for smoking, a police officer would have NO ability to express reasonable suspicion or probable cause that the leaves were not from a hemp plant, and could not then have the authority to seize and test any such product. The fact that hemp leaves dried and crushed for smoking would be useless would not matter to a judge.\n\nI fully believe that marijuana, like dental cocaine, has some legitimate medicinal value, and that hemp can produce some economic gain for small farmers and businessmen. I am not saying your petition is without merit. However, I think it is important that you realize why the government is so adamant about maintaining the ban on marijuana and hemp together, and that a lot of people who have employment that requires trust between themselves and the government (ie- having some sort of license or permit from a state or federal government entity) will not be in a position to sign such a petition.
401831
Well, that depends on what substances you are talking about.  Personally, I think that an adult should be allowed to engage in activities that are not harmful to anyone else and do not infringe on the rights of others.  Having said that, I do not necessarily believe that full legalization is the way to go.  In the case of marijuana, for instance, it is theorized that the price might actually increase if the government started regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana.  I think a more logical solution, at least in the case of marijuana, would be decriminalization.  The government would not regulate the industry; instead, they could monitor the sale of the plant to minors, insuring that everyone who chooses to buy marijuana is an adult(just like cigarettes).
619372
This is more of a morals question.  Since the cocaine is more valuable than anything else, why would anyone grow it for any other reason.  With hemp, there is work to make the plants low THC, so they could have another use.  Some web sites to consider:\n\nhttp://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/coca.htm\n\nhttp://www.cocamuseum.com/htm/historycoca.htm
328008
Myth: United States law has always treated hemp and marijuana the same. \n\nReality: The history of federal drug laws clearly shows that at one time the U.S. government understood and accepted the distinction between hemp and marijuana. \n\n\nMyth: Smoking industrial hemp gets a person high.\n\nReality: The THC levels in industrial hemp are so low that no one could get high from smoking it. Moreover, hemp contains a relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid, CBD, that actually blocks the marijuana high. Hemp, it turns out, is not only not marijuana; it could be called "antimarijuana." \n\n\nMyth: Even though THC levels are low in hemp, the THC can be extracted and concentrated to produce a powerful drug.\n\nReality: Extracting THC from industrial hemp and further refining it to eliminate the preponderance of CBD would require such an expensive, hazardous, and time-consuming process that it is extremely unlikely anyone would ever attempt it, rather than simply obtaining high-THC marijuana instead.\n\n\nMyth: Hemp fields would be used to hide marijuana plants.\n\nReality: Hemp is grown quite differently from marijuana. Moreover, it is harvested at a different time than marijuana. Finally, cross-pollination between hemp plants and marijuana plants would significantly reduce the potency of the marijuana plant.\n\n\nMyth: Legalizing hemp while continuing the prohibition on marijuana would burden local police forces.\n\nReality: In countries where hemp is grown as an agricultural crop, the police have experienced no such burdens. \n\n\nMyth: Feral hemp must be eradicated because it can be sold as marijuana.\n\nReality: Feral hemp, or ditchweed, is a remnant of the hemp once grown on more than 400,000 acres by U.S. farmers. It contains extremely low levels of THC, as low as .05 percent. It has no drug value, but does offer important environmental benefits as a nesting habitat for birds. About 99 percent of the "marijuana" being eradicated by the federal government-at great public expense-is this harmless ditchweed. Might it be that the drug enforcement agencies want to convince us that ditchweed is hemp in order to protect their large eradication budgets? \n\n\nMyth: Those who want to legalize hemp are actually seeking a backdoor way to legalize marijuana.\n\nReality: It is true that many of the first hemp stores were started by industrial-hemp advocates who were also in favor of legalizing marijuana. However, as the hemp industry has matured, it has come to be dominated by those who see hemp as the agricultural and industrial crop that it is, and see hemp legalization as a different issue than marijuana legalization. In any case, should we oppose a very good idea simply because some of those who support it also support other ideas with which we disagree? \n\n\nMyth: Hemp oil is a source of THC.\n\nReality: Hemp oil is an increasingly popular product, used for an expanding variety of purposes. The washed hemp seed contains no THC at all. The tiny amounts of THC contained in industrial hemp are in the glands of the plant itself. Sometimes, in the manufacturing process, some THC- and CBD-containing resin sticks to the seed, resulting in traces of THC in the oil that is produced. The concentration of these cannabinoids in the oil is infinitesimal. No one can get high from using hemp oil. \n\n\nMyth: Legalizing hemp would send the wrong message to children.\n\nReality: It is the current refusal of the drug enforcement agencies to distinguish between an agricultural crop and a drug crop that is sending the wrong message to children. \n\n\nMyth: Hemp is not economically viable, and should therefore be outlawed. \n\nReality: The market for hemp products is growing rapidly. But even if it were not, when has a crop ever been outlawed simply because government agencies thought it would be unprofitable to grow?
588548
Actually the main lobbiers against legal marijuana are the people in the lumber industry. Surprised ? I know I was. It seems that hemp can be used to make most of things they use wood for. It also replenishes the soil and grows faster.
1042834
I think it should be legalized....you don't hear of people getting stoned and killing someone...whether driving or not.  Stoned people just want to chill and eat....legalize it now and start dealing with the true drug problems like meth, coke, and heroin