Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 2009
Source: Circleville Herald (OH)
Copyright: 2009 ACM
Contact: http://www.circlevilleherald.com/forms/letters/
Website: http://www.circlevilleherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4996
Author: Philo Dickey

READER URGES USE OF MARIJUANA AS COMMODITY

Dear Editor,

The presidents of South America are right to call for legalization of
marijuana. They can no longer fight a losing battle against a foe that
should be embraced. And, we can't afford to underwrite the activity. We
can't afford to carry on the battle ourselves here at home.

We need a commodity, or resource, that we can exploit to the maximum.
Marijuana is it. It is exploitable from agriculture to laboratories of
pharmeceutica. Exploitable by state, industry, individually. Domestically
and internationally.

Hemp is what we call it. Marijuana is another side product of hemp. Hemp
is one of the greenest resources on the planet. Renewable every year.
Adaptable to any growing season.

Commercially it could be used to develop products in the paper industry,
the cloth and fashion industry, plastics, food products, pharmaceutical
products, biofuel products, recreational products, etc.

All from Hemp. More exploitable than king cotton or king tobacco.

All taxable, growth license, regulation and control of recreational.

Scientists in Belgium state there is over 100 products developable.

Grassroot industries in every state. The infrastructure are already in
place. Commerce!

Millions of jobs in two to three years!

How can it be that easy?

The history of tobacco is proof of the potential of an exploitable
commodity. The golden era of tobacco starts in laboratories after World
War II. We had an unemployed workforce. Tobacco put them to work.
Agriculturally to grow it. Industrially to process and develop it.
Commercially to promote and sell it. Federally to control and regulate it
AND tax it.

Everybody gets to grow one-pound, if they buy a stamp. Grown industrially
by subsidy and license. Research and development, by license. Recreation
sale by license, use by tax.

One of the problems with our economy is it needs to develop new products
for mass use, multi-purpose, and taxable.

The rest of the world is beginning to get this same idea. South America,
Canada, Belgium, China. We can start this spring and in two years, put one
to two million people to work. By fall, the tobacco companies will have a
plan for processing, selling and using.

This may sound far fetched, but this is a movement that has found its time.

We cannot afford to spend $29-42 billion to suppress marijuana. Hemp.
Think about it.

Philo Dickey

Circleville