War Breaks Out Within
the Marijuana Legalization Movement (Part 1)
[09/24/2009]
=======================================
A war is breaking out between the Cannabusiness Community, that hopes to
profit from draconian regulation of Marijuana, and the pillars of the
drug reform movement that insist that the self cultivation of Marijuana
become an untaxed, unregulated sacred right. The first shots
were fired by a speech by Jack Herer and the firing of Dennis Peron from
Oaksterdam University. Could this be our "Concord" moment?
The first part of this series
documents how the Moneyed Drug Reform Organizations ignored castigated
the two most important figures in the Marijuana Re-Legalization
Movement: Jack Herer and Dennis Peron. =======================================
Jack Herer and Bruce Cain at the "Earth Community House"
in Detroit, Michigan. Photo taken in the early 1990's.
Over the past few weeks two things
have occurred that should be of paramount interest to both the majority
of American Citizens favoring the Re-Legalization of Marijuana and even
those that don't yet support Marijuana Re-Legalization.
First on Saturday September 12th,
2009, Jack Herer made a short but historic speech at Oregon's HempStalk
Festival. And despite suffering a stroke and heart attack, back in
2000, it is abundantly clear that he put every ounce of energy and anger
into this speech. It is clear that this anger is directed at the
Cannabusiness community as you will understand by the end of this
article. Here were the most important words from that fiery speech:
"I don't want to f**king give
the United States government one f**king dollar of taxes. I think that
they should go to f**king jail for getting you and me and 20 million
people getting arrested for pot. It is the safest thing you can do in
the universe. And that is what we are going to do in California. Okay?
Come over to my booth, over there, and I will see you next time."
In this video
Jack Herer vehemently denounced the attempts by the Cannabusiness
community to push for the government taxation and regulation of our
Marijuana during his speech at the HempStalk Festival in Oregon (09/12/2009).
Unfortunately he suffered a heart attack shortly after delivering what
could become his most important speech.
Next on Tuesday September 15th, 2009,
Dennis Peron was fired from Oaksterdam University. According to
journalist Craig Canada, his firing was the result of Peron's opposition
to his employer's state wide initiative to "tax and regulate" Marijuana.
Dennis Peron announced on
Tuesday (09/15/2009) that he returned from Burning Man to discover he
had been fired from Oaksterdam University because of his opposition to
taxing and regulating medical marijuana. Oaksterdam University has
announced it intends to spend a million dollars to promote an initiative
that would tax, regulate and control marijuana by city and county, as
well as at the state level.
What both Herer and Peron are
reacting to is the great "bait and switch" on Marijuana policy by the
Cannabusiness community and our very own government. In a nutshell
what is going on is a reaction to the fact that a majority of American
Citizens -- 52% according to a 2009 Zogby poll -- now support the
complete Legalization of Marijuana for all citizens: not just the sick
and dying.
What should also be made clear is
that both Jack Herer and Dennis Peron are two of the most important and
respected members of the Marijuana Re-Legalization movement. And
despite this they have been demonized by groups that purport to support
Marijuana Re-Legalization for many years: NORML, DPA and MPP.
Jack Herer is the author of the
"Emperor Wears No Clothes" which was first published in 1985. This
book clearly documented the censored history of Hemp (e.g., Marijuana or
Cannabis) and essentially became the "bible" for the Marijuana reform
movement. You can read (or preferably purchase) the entire book
through the following link:
Dennis Peron has also made incredible
contributions to the movement towards Marijuana Re-Legalization as
documented by journalist Craig Canada:
Peron has been hailed as the father
of the medical marijuana movement and was the guiding force and
co-author of California's Proposition 215.
He became a marijuana dealer after returning from Viet Nam to San
Francisco in 1969 and through the 70s he ran the Big Top marijuana
supermarket from his home.
In 1978 he organized Proposition W which directed the district attorney
to stop arresting people for possessing, transferring, or growing
marijuana. Though it was passed by 56% of the electorate, it was never
implemented by the Feinstein Administration.
In 1991 he organized Proposition P which made enforcement of laws
against medical marijuana the city's lowest priority. It passed by 79%.
In 1993 he opened the Church Street Compassion Center in San Francisco's
Castro District.
In 1995 he opened the larger San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club at 1444
Market Street where the medical marijuana movement was born.
In 1996 he co-authored The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and organized
the signature drive that put Proposition 215 on the ballot.
Together they both were instrumental
in the authoring and passage of the first Medical Marijuana Initiative
in the United States which is now known as "Proposition 215," which was
passed in California in 1996. It was the first palpable evidence
that the American People had changed their minds about Marijuana and
were now poised to do what really needed to be done: and that would be
to completely Re-Legalize Marijuana for ALL adult American Citizens.
This sea change in attitude, by the
American People, is unsettling to both, the Cannabusiness Community and
the Government, because they both profit
enormously by treating Marijuana (e.g., Cannabis) through a policy of
prohibition or through a quasi-prohibition model known as the Medical
Marijuana model. They both know that if adult Americans ever get
the right to "grow their own," without taxation or regulation their
profits will evaporate over night.
Who is the Cannabusiness Community?
First let us consider the
Cannabusiness community. This community evolved after the first
Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition 215, gave Californian citizens
the right to consume Cannabis in November 2006. In the 13 years
since Proposition 215 was passed 12 additional states have passed
similar initiatives and many more states are poised to do the same thing
in the next couple of years. It should be noted that many of the
original supporters of this initiative - including it's authors Peron
and Herer -- saw "Medical Marijuana" as but a stepping stone towards
complete Cannabis Re-Legalization. And many activists use the term
Re-Legalization to remind other Americans that for most of American
history, Cannabis was, in fact, completely legal to both cultivate and
consume. That ended in 1938 with the passage of the Marijuana Tax
Act.
So in the 13 years since "Medical
Marijuana" became legal a very predictable trend began to emerge.
"Medical Marijuana" dispensaries began to open in all of the 13 states
and enterprising corporations began to get in the business of offering
"Medical Marijuana Cards" to distinguish the "real" Medical Cannabis
users from the "recreational" Cannabis users. Of course the whole
thing is a sham since in California you can basically pay your annual
$150 fee and be given a "Medical Marijuana Card" for a stubbed toe.
But that is not the point.
The point is that these
Cannabusinesses were now making literally millions of dollars each
year and the last thing they wanted to see is for these profits to
evaporate in the wake of complete Cannabis Re-Legalization. They
knew that, if American adults could cultivate their own Marijuana as they
can presently produce their own "home brewed" beer and wine, their
empire would quickly dissolve like castles in the sand at your local
beach. So to protect their new empire they began using their money
to steer the activist community away from the true Re-Legalization that
both Peron and Herer foresaw. Because if Peron, Herer and other
succeeded at allowing Americans to "grow their own" without taxation or
regulation, their financial empires would crumble to the ground.
And frankly, that is exactly what needs to happen right now.
And while a comprehensive analysis is
beyond the scope of this present article I can provide a few examples
that make clear this is exactly what the Cannabusiness community is up
to.
* In early 2009 Rob Kampia, the head
of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), began to embark on the 14th
Medical Marijuana Initiative in Arizona. But their was something
markedly different about this initiative. The last 13 initiatives
granted the patient, or a caregiver, to grow at least 12 plants to
provide "medicine" to the patient. But the Arizona initiative is
actually structured to eventually prohibit all self-cultivation.
It does this by insisting that, unless you are more than 25 miles from a
dispensary, you will NOT be able to cultivate anything: you will be
forced to buy it from the dispensary. Even an unabashed "stoner"
would realize that eventually no one will be able to grow and your only
option will be to buy your Cannabis from the "dispensary" at prices
that range from $300 to $500 an ounce.
* In August 2009 Allen St. Pierre was
discussing the great success of "Medical Marijuana Cards" on the radio
show "Time for Hemp." Allen is the head of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He was just
ecstatic over the fact that Oregon now has 25,000 Medial Marijuana
consumers who now pay a $150 dollar annual fee to the Cannabusiness
community for the privilege of having legal access to Marijuana.
It is insightful to recognize that the Cannabusinessman, currently
making 3.75 million in gross profits, each year from the issuance of
these cards, is none other than Paul Stanford who heads both the "Hemp
and Cannabis Foundation" (THCF) and the "Campaign for the Restoration
and Regulation of Hemp" (CRRH). Basically the THCF is responsible
for the distribution of "Medial Marijuana Cards" and the CRRH is
responsible for making sure we adult Americans never get the right to
grow our own Marijuana so that Stanford and his Cannabusiness buddies
can continue to profit at our expense. Ironically THCF was a major
sponsor of the HempStalk festival (09/12/2009) where Jack Herer spoke
and succumbed to a heart attack immediately after walking off of the
stage. At the beginning of the video of Jack's speech you will
notice that it is the THCF banner that virtually dwarfs the stage.
* This week The 2009 National NORML
Conference – “YES
WE CANNABIS!” - is being held Thursday, September 24 through
Saturday, September 26 at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco, CA.
One of the panels at the conference asks "Has
support for legalization reached a critical mass/tipping point?"
One of the 3 participants on the panel is Rich Lee, Proprietor of
‘Oaksterdam University’ and Campaigner for ‘The Regulate, Control, and
Tax Cannabis Act of 2010.′ You should be aware that I have already
made reference to Rich Lee. He is the guy that recently fired
Dennis Peron because Dennis is opposed to the "taxation and regulation"
of Marijuana.
So then who comprises the
Cannabusiness Community? It is comprised of "reform organizations"
including the "Marijuana Policy Project," NORML and the "Drug Policy
Alliance." It is also comprised of dispensary owners, "Medical
Marijuana" growers and distributors of "Medical Marijuana Cards" such as
Paul Stanford. And what do they all have in common? They do
not want you to ever have the right to grow your own Marijuana: even as
an adult.
Now all of these Cannabusiness people
would argue that this is not the case. But even this short list of
examples, above, make clear that they are all lying through their teeth.
And why don't they want you to ever
have the right to grow your own Marijuana? Because if adults
did have the sacred, inalienable right to "grow their own" Americans
could grow all the Marijuana they needed for free in their gardens or
they could grow it for about $20 dollars an ounce under LED lamps within
their own homes. And that would put an end to "Medical Marijuana
Cards" and drastically reduce the price that you currently pay for
you Cannabis both on the streets and through these stupid dispensaries.
For those that don't consume Marijuana let me give you an idea of what
consumers are now paying for both "illegal" street Marijuana and
Marijuana bought through the "dispensaries;" it is between $300 to
$500 an ounce!
Now you can buy low quality "dirt
weed" for as little as $120 an ounce, but you will only get a headache
from smoking it and it is far worse for your health because you will
have to smoke more of it. There is no reason that any American
Citizen should have to settle for "dirt weed" when they could be growing
their own for free.
It is instructive to consider that
Marijuana, even according to the Cannabusiness Community, is far safer than drinking beer.
And do you really think you should need to spend $200 a year for a
"Medial Beer Card" to give you the privilege of drinking beer?
So why should anyone have to pay $150 dollars each year for the
"privilege" of consuming Cannabis? Is it really necessary to
provide any additional information to make the claim that these
Cannabusiness people are greedy, psychotic nuts that are really just out
to screw us out of our hard earned money and liberties?
Their deceptive behavior reminds me
of a favorite quote from Upton Sinclair:
"It is difficult to get a man to
understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding
it."
Upton Sinclair
Well, I can only hope that this essay
helps these Cannabusiness "bait and switchers" understand the utter
hypocrisy of their attempts to screw the American People. It is
never too late to repent and change your stupid attempts to "tax and
regulate" our right to "grow our own" Cannabis.
Why Untaxed, Unregulated
Self-Cultivation Need to be Made Legal Now
And there are a number of other good
reasons, for Marijuana consumers and abstainers alike, to demand that
our right to grow (e.g., our Marijuana Rights). And this goes far
beyond the "money" issue of the greedy Cannabusiness community.
By taking the "black market" profits
out of Cannabis consumption and cultivation a number of great things
would occur almost immediately:
* The Mexican Drug Cartels would go
out of business in a matter of weeks.
* The sick and the poor would instantly have access to free, or at least
cheap, medicine.
* The police would no longer have an excuse to invade you home in hopes
of discovering a few Marijuana plants.
It should be understood that none of
these things can occur as long as we allow the Cannabusiness community
to push their quasi-prohibitionist "Medical Marijuana" model upon us.
Under this model they are the only winners and the vast majority of
non-violent Cannabis consumers become mere victims: just to insure that
they make a profit.
The issues here are complex and not
well covered in the mainstream media. To help you better
understand these complexities I have authored the MERP Model which
provides a justification for untaxed, unregulated self cultivation as
well as a road map for implementing our right to "grow our own."
In addition I have created a website where you can read and watch
numerous videos where I explain the need to implement the MERP Model
immediately. Here is the link to the website:
What You Can Do to Help
Re-Legalize Marijuana for all Adult Americans
Regardless of whether you consume
Marijuana I encourage all that agree with this article to get on my
mailing list so that I can keep you up to date on the progress of the
MERP strategy to make "self cultivation" a right of all American
Citizens. You can sign up for the mailing list for free at the
following link:
In the second part of this series I
will explain how the government is also conspiring to create a
"Government Marijuana Dispensary" system that will force you to buy your
Marijuana from the same government that has been busting cultivators and
consumers for 72 years because they insisted that Marijuana was too
dangerous. Ironically they now want to become your new "Marijuana
Drug Dealer" and force you to pay $300 to $500 an ounce for something
you could be growing for free.
My feelings about that are very
similar to Jack Herer. F**k that and let me "grow my own."
In addition to this there are other
things that you can do to expedite the immediate implementation of the
MERP Model and end Marijuana Prohibition once and for all:
* Denounce all 2010 Marijuana
Initiatives other than Jack Herer's CCHH Initiative. This is the
only initiative that conforms to the MERP Model. Here is a telling
excerpt from the CCHH Initiative:
"No person, individual, or
corporate entity shall be arrested or prosecuted, be denied any right or
privilege, nor be subject to any criminal or civil penalties for the
possession, cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of
cannabis hemp marijuana."
All of the other
initiatives are "Trojan horse" initiatives that only benefit the
Cannabusiness Community. Here is a link for more information on CCHH:
* Withdraw all financial support to
NORML, DPA, MPP and the rest of the Cannabusiness community. This does
not include local chapters of NORML that are also often in agreement
with the MERP Model and at odds with National NORML.
* If you attend any convention for
any "drug reform" organization challenge them to explain what they are
up to and insist that they grant full support and funding towards
implementation of initiatives and legislation that conform to the
requirements of the MERP Model.
* Call the President and your elected
Representatives on a weekly basis demanding that the MERP Model is
implemented immediately. You can find more information for doing
this at the following link:
As I write this Dennis Peron is
without a job at Oaksterdam and Jack Herer is now lingering in a coma
for his 13th day. I cannot think of a better way to commemorate
these great Americans than to make sure that their dream of untaxed,
unregulated Marijuana becomes a right for every adult throughout the
United States. It is high time to "just say NO" to the
Cannabusiness Community and our Corporately Controlled Government.
The time for action is now!
Yours in Peace and Freedom,
Bruce W. Cain
Editor of New Age Citizen
Author of the MERP Model for Marijuana Re-Legalization.
Here are the two organizations headed by Paul
Stanford whose THCF corporation makes millions each year by forcing
"patients" to purchase a "Marijuana Card" at $150 per person, per year.
I highly recommend that you peruse this site to
understand just how controlled this event has become under the influence
of numerous NORML Cannabusiness representatives and through the
sponsorship of Paul Stanford whose economic interests are absolutely at
odds with those of us the favor untaxed, unregulated self cultivation.
You can also view a litany of HempStalk videos by
clicking here. This does not mean that HempStalk is a bad
event etc. as there were many people at this event calling for the
complete legalization of Marijuana. I just want people to be aware
that money talks and that you should be aware of who is operating the
controls behind the curtain.
Seattle Hempfest 2009 - Paul
Stanford on Hemp and Cannabis Reform
Hempstalk 2009: Allen St. Pierre,
NORML - Reach One, Teach One
Marijuana is shown to protect users
from head and neck cancer
Please send the link to
activists throughout the planet. The translation bar should allow
this to be read in any language. The 5-Point Strategy for
Marijuana Re-Legalization should be easy to implement in any country
throughout the planet. I encourage all groups celebrating the
Global Marijuana March to make the immediate implementation of the MERP
Model a primary focus of the event.
Call President Obama and your Representatives and demand:
(1) Immediate clemency for Marc Emery and
(2) Immediate implementation of the MERP Model through an Emergency
Session of Congress, similar to what was used to pass the TARP Bailout
on October 3rd, 2008
President:
U.S. Senate switchboard:
202-224-3121
U.S. House switchboard:
(202) 225-3121
The President:
Comments: 202-456-1111.
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
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