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Dear fellow inhabitants of this long white cloud,
I writing on behalf of a plant. One that most people could grow. A plant that threatens so much of the status quo of death and destruction. A plant that empowers Aoteoroa to new heights. This plant is already by cultivated by some of New Zealand’s best and brightest, as they apply their minds to getting the best strains. No, I’m not talking about genetic engineering here, with some swish corporate funded marketing attempt. I’m talking about cannabis. A plant that most of us have tried. A plant most of us know can be abused as well as responsibly used. An innocent plant that is often needlessly destroyed by the NZ police.
As Aoteoroa comes of age and starts making her own decisions, this issue has the potential to define us. We cannot continue to accept the glib lies and deceit being pushed upon us by the rest of the world. NZ has blindly followed America into this state of internal war. A war on drugs. A war on our own. Why? We haven’t benefited from it. Our growing potential has been stomped upon out of fear and greed for profits. Why is it that this ‘war on drugs’ is so important?
And yet in our last two elections, 2002 and 2005, cannabis has been the defining issue for negotiations between the parties. And still some deny that this is an issue! Why does it come down to cannabis? Smaller parties sacrificing concessions on other policies in order to focus on cannabis. I pray more sense and pragmatism comes to the cannabis debate.
Cannabis threatens the powers that be so because it really would change things were the legal status of cannabis and hemp altered. Cannabis presents the raw materials for energy, agricultural and commodity applications, as well as the more common usage at this moment of smoking.
Cannabis Prohibition, what future do they see in it? What options are these presenting to our young people? It is making criminals of them. Getting them involved in the court system. Marginalizing young people is not smart. By equipping young people with criminal records the state is limiting future job prospects, and travel. This is effectively limiting many opportunities to become a ‘successful’ member of this society. We judge the people who get caught, and then make it harder to progress from there. What is the point of arresting random people on the streets for cannabis and making them go through ordeals of the (in)justice system? If you really want people to stop smoking cannabis, how about talking to them? How about realizing it is them that has to make this decision? Enforcement through punishment and alienation is not building a stronger society. It is dividing the community.
Cannabis represents an excuse that police use to pick off our men. Especially if they happen to be young, poor, or Maori. They are herded into prisons where they are encouraged to rot in enforced confines instead of discovering their potential. How is this meant to ‘reform’ them? Unless that is not our aim, instead it becomes about those who threaten the powers that be. Imagine the shivers that a horde of young Maori warriors united and free could cause. The potential within us is quite astonishing, and yet instead, we condemn parts of ourselves to prison. Something that does seem to motivate some of us is growing cannabis. It represents a way for everyday New Zealanders to make enough to feed and clothe their family. I would love to smoke what some people are capable of.
Society is alienating those who happen to be caught by the unevenness of NZ law enforcement. I fear the police may well become armed soon, and find the rationality disturbing. Police should be not relying upon brute force in most situations. Instead of escalating situations which they happen to stumble across, hoping for an arrest, some tact would go a long way. Instead, violence is brought into the reality of plant growers. Why don’t they barge down the door at the local lettuce club?
The culture of violence has to be altered in New Zealand, and legalizing cannabis could be a useful tool in this. Alcohol abuse has many consequences upon our society, and maybe cannabis could calm down some of our angry violent offenders. It’s probably cheaper than sedating them via prison and prescription drugs. Maybe we should explore why we’re so angry. This culture of violence permeates ours, as we live in a country of killing and slavery of the earth and animals, no wonder the children get whacked.
Removing a major market from the criminal world would also mean many so called ‘criminals’ would become law abiding growing citizens, and less associated with guns and violence. Let’s get our children out of the grasps of gangs and organized violence. Lets embrace them in the garden to grow some nice herbs.
Growing cannabis would help New Zealand to be a more responsible global citizen by lessening our impact upon the Earth. Instead of looking to regulate and play Big Brother to Big Business markets which we know to be environmentally corrupt and causing climate change, we should be looking to introduce our own small scale solutions to taking the power back in our communities. Such as growing cannabis. Why bother fighting these selfish bastards with too slow bitter hardfought battles over minor emission rules and ‘phase-outs’. It has to change now! And yet the government and the legal status of cannabis stands in the way of progress of the people.
Increasingly data is coming to the public attention that animal farming is completely unsustainable in terms of carbon dioxide emissions from cows. A viable economic and environmental alternative could be for farmers to grow cannabis for biofuel, or power generation. So instead of being responsible for much methane being released, fossil fuels sprayed upon our land, and nitrates in our rivers, farmers and orchardists could be absorbing carbon dioxide through cannabis and enriching the soil! Interestingly, eating cannabis seed is being explored as an idea to reduce cows flatulence.
The cannabis would also help absorb carbon dioxide. Cannabis grows much faster than trees! Cannabis represents hope for rural sectors, as well as replenishing the earth.. Legalizing cannabis would empower the people, present options for many of our communities, rejuvenate the earth, and make us a peaceful productive nation.
As a responsible land use nation, we ought to be investigating other options. We do have excellent potential as an agricultural nation. However, not to the detriment of the Earth! Cannabis could be used to remediate much contaminated land in NZ, indeed around Mapua, Paritutu, and so on. In Chernobyl hemp is being used to help purify the earth.
Environmentally, hemp is not a disease ridden crop, provided it planted in crop rotations. This means that instead of having to fossil fuel derived chemicals such as herbicide or pesticide, hemp can be grown with an organic fertilization programme to help balance it out. This is a great alternative for revitalizing rural communities, and the soils, around NZ.
More easily digested complete protein can be grown per acre with hemp than with any other crop. By prohibiting NZ’s medicine, we are making ourselves sick, and condemning some very sick people to undue pain and suffering. All in the name if ‘war on drugs’.
I’m not advocating mass drug use here. Merely a weighing up of our options for how to best enjoy our country and its people. To continue to blindly stumble along a path of harsh punishments seems stupid. It’s committing war against ourselves, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and sons, our future. Let’s commit to a peaceful, and productive Econation who contribute positively to each other and the world.
Joined: Oct 12, 2003 Posts: 400 Location: Otepoti, Te Wai Pounamu
Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 6:40 pm
Great letter!! but you're going to be lucky if many people read it all the way thorough...maybe try a cut down edit? I know that its hard to leave certain information out, but thats just the nature of the beast of "getting your average citizen to read something"
yer i actually submitted for a book. dunno if it will make it through though.
i admit it is a total rant. definitely does need editing. and i have 2 cut some of the trains of thought out. there's just so many reasons to change the laws! must focus!
thanks 4 ideas 4 other uses for it. i reckon i will mull over it late at night again soon and then send it off to the press for their opinion pieces? and then also as a letter to MP's? i don't know that there is too much point in the MP's though because it is so easy to dismiss the issue for them. Probably focus on medical marijuana for the MP's letter edit?
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