From HUSTLER Magazine
A Hemp Revival Is on the Horizon
This may sound like a joke, but top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell is pushing for the federal legalization of hemp. He was enlightened by his farmer constituents in Kentucky. Hurt by the downturn in the tobacco market, they see salvation in hemp, a crop already legalized in several states and Canada.
No wonder. Industrial hemp is the single most versatile plant on Earth, used for everything from clothing, paper, fiberboard, insulation, fuel and food to toxic cleanup. Hemp requires considerably less water than cotton and virtually no toxic herbicides and pesticides. And there’s not enough THC in it to get anyone high. How this most beneficial crop was outlawed in the 1930s—by collusion between Republican Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger and the petrochemical and timber interests who feared hemp as a competitive product—is an object lesson on government corruption by big business. Forget all the antigovernment rhetoric by corporate interests—they love Uncle Sam when he can be arm-twisted into stifling competition.
If McConnell’s enthusiasm for hemp legalization is not shocking enough, consider this: Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has joined the board of a company that cultivates, processes and dispenses cannabis in 11 states! “I’m joining the board of #AcreageHoldings,” tweeted Boehner, “because my thinking on cannabis has evolved. I’m convinced descheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities.”
Well, better late than never. Of course, while Boehner was in power, he claimed to be “unalterably opposed” to pot legalization. Why is he jumping on the bandwagon now? Because it’s safer to do so now that sever al states have legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana. Conservatives are always two steps behind on any kind of forward-thinking progress. And perhaps the most important reason: McConnell and Boehner are simply adhering to what should be the real motto of the GOP, money talks. There is big money being made in the pot business today.
But leave it to liberals to do something more significant and far-reaching. Senators Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Kirsten Gillibrand have been advocating for the revolutionary Marijuana Justice Act, which would remove pot from the Controlled Substances Act, thus deterring Jeff Sessions from interfering in states where legalization has passed. The act would also withhold federal funding for states that continue criminalization and even expunge convictions for pot possession. As Bernie tweeted, “We are spending $80 billion locking people up. Think about what it would mean if we invested that money in our people instead of more jails.”
After nearly a century of corrupt and vicious cannabis policies that have damaged our environment and industry while ruining many people’s lives, it appears that sanity, at long last, is finally prevailing.
