cannabisnews.com: Freedom Rally at Common May Support Us All





Freedom Rally at Common May Support Us All
Posted by CN Staff on September 16, 2006 at 09:42:22 PT
By Miryam Wiley
Source: Metrowest Daily News
Massachusetts --  Want to do something revolutionary today? Consider attending the Freedom Rally on the Boston Common, from noon to 6 p.m. The mood will be the one of a big fair with musical groups and fun. The underlying reasons are much more serious and deserve everyone's attention. The Freedom Rally is part of a large movement that tries to educate everyone about a plant many of us know little about: hemp, or cannabis sativa, basically the same original plant as marijuana.
This is a touchy subject, no doubt, but why stay away from it? Cannabis sativa is indeed a super plant that could help the country and the planet, if all of us organize to understand its intrinsic value.   I started listening when recently, two days in a row, I met advocates of this cause who said exactly the same thing. They both couldn't believe how much they learned from reading the book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," by Jack Herer.   "This book changed my life," said Mitch Fava, a hemp advocate and member of -- http://masscann.org/   Hemp's early history includes its use for making linens as a substitute for flax or cotton. Also, until the 1880s, hemp was a basic resource for making some 75 to 90 percent of all paper, thus including the paper that was used for the draft of the Declaration of Independence.   "Homespun cloth was almost always spun by people all over the world, from fibers grown in the "family hemp patch." In America, this tradition lasted from the Pilgrims (1620s) until hemp's prohibition in the 1930s," Herer writes.   Herer goes on to list the numerous uses of hemp, including the making of varnishes and paints, lighting oil, as fuel and as food, which is the way I have been introduced to hemp in recent months. The nutritional value of hemp is amazing, or, as Fava points out, "I have read that people can live on hemp alone, and they have done that in Russia."   Rich in protein, hemp is also filled with good fats and vitamins. Hemp seed provides both of the essential fatty acids (EFAs) needed in the human diet -- GLA, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid -- as well as a complete and balanced complement of all essential amino acids.   I learned from Fava that the hemp I eat is actually imported, and that has been the complaint of companies throughout the U.S. The nutritious hemp seeds and protein powder could cost much less if we were talking local crops.   Twenty-five states have considered hemp bills or resolutions. Currently, the state that has had bigger news on this is California because of the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which passed the final Senate vote last month and awaits Governor Schwarzenegger's signature.   According to the Web site -- http://www.votehemp.com -- the new law would give farmers the ability to legally supply U.S. manufacturers with hemp seed, oil and fiber and would not weaken anti-drug laws. The bill permits cultivation of only ultra-low-THC industrial hemp grown as an agricultural field crop or in a research setting. Backyard or horticultural cultivation is prohibited.   In Massachusetts, however, advocates have campaigned to legalize the use of cannabis sativa with two different bills that are not about the industrial cultivation: one to support medical marijuana and another to decriminalize the use of it. Not much happened last year but advocates are hopeful for a new beginning soon.   The need for medical marijuana is major because it helps many people cope with pain and nausea. And that point of view is actually backed by medical doctors, such as Dr. Joan Bello, who wrote the book The Benefits of Marijuana.   It was indeed surprising to read in this book that "marijuana has no known level of toxicity" and one would have to eat "five pounds at one time" to have a lethal reaction.   "Everything in moderation," says Fava. "We need to get back to the truth about cannabis sativa. It was used as medicine until 1937. We need to put money on education and treatments."   Fava's devotion to the cause has caused him to memorize information he wants to share with everyone.   "There's a RAND report that says rehabilitation programs are seven times more cost-effective than criminalization, 11 times more effective than border interdiction and 23 times more cost-effective than source country control, like eradicating the crops in Colombia," he said. The United States still makes 700,000 arrests each year because of marijuana use, he said.   Of course I've had the same doubts as everyone else. Is it safe? Are we teaching our children well?   "The benefits far outweigh the precautions that need to be taken," says Fava. "God gave us this most versatile plant and now a few fallible human beings want to take it away."   I think we would be helping our children if we support the measures to make this plant legal. They would learn the facts and how the plant can actually be cultivated to support sustainable development. Hemp as fuel? You bet. Check -- http://www.hempcar.org/ Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)Author: Miryam WileyPublished: Saturday, September 16, 2006 Copyright: 2006 MetroWest Daily NewsContact: mdnletters cnc.comWebsite: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/MassCannhttp://www.masscann.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on September 16, 2006 at 21:08:18 PT
Thank You The GCW
I have it posted now. http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22169.shtml
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Comment #21 posted by The GCW on September 16, 2006 at 20:22:47 PT
FoM,  There's been an Ambushing 
Ambushing the pot initiativeBlue book language will mislead votersHow would you react to a ballot measure allowing an adult to give "up to one ounce of marijuana to another individual 15 years of age or older as long as there is no compensation, although possession for those under 21 years of age would remain illegal"? 
You'd consider the measure for two seconds or less, declare it insane, and decide on the spot to vote against it. Right? Legalize the act of plying kids with drugs? Who authored such madness? No one, as it happens. But you wouldn't know it if you only read the state's Blue Book, which is the pamphlet that goes out to all registered voters and explains this year's ballot initiatives. That misleading line about transferring marijuana to juveniles happens to be included in the final draft of the pamphlet's discussion of Amendment 44. The Legislative Council and its staff have made a serious mistake that will cloud the reputation of the Blue Book for years to come, not to mention tilt the playing field so far against Amendment 44 that the angle resembles a cliff. Amendment 44 would have had an uphill fight under any circumstances, given its goal of legalizing the adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. But at least its backers had a fighting chance if they could appeal to Coloradans who harbor mixed feelings about the nation's drug war, and who resent how law enforcement often lumps pot together with harder drugs. But thanks to this Blue Book blunder, the task for Amendment 44 backers may be infinitely more difficult. Did we say blunder? Strike that: The line was deliberately placed in the Blue Book and is defended to this day by the Legislative Council as a legitimate interpretation. CONT.http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_4993588,00.html
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 16, 2006 at 19:28:53 PT
More Than 50 drug Arrests at a Pro-Marijuana Rally
More Than 50 drug Arrests at a Pro-Marijuana Rally in Boston***September 16, 2006 
 
 BOSTON -- Boston police made 53 arrests at today's Fall Freedom Rally, held on the Boston Common.All of the arrestes were for drug violations.The rally has been held for the past 17 years in support of the decriminalization of marijuana.Police say they arrested seven juvinille males, six adult women and 40 adult men.They are all scheduled for arraignment Monday morning.Copyright 2006 Associated Presshttp://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5417955&nav=F2DO
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Comment #19 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 18:12:21 PT
Dankhank
http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/09/16/ending-the-culture-wars/
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on September 16, 2006 at 16:52:44 PT
Dankhank
I don't really understand what they are thinking. I can't be like everybody else. I never wanted to be like everybody else. I don't want the world to be like me either. 
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Comment #17 posted by Dankhank on September 16, 2006 at 16:23:44 PT
i think .....
Cultural Relativism, herin after, CR, means that the prohibs say, "If you want to legalize pot, how 'bout we legalize rape, too?," as if those were equal.CR, actually is used by the right-wingers to suggest we equate our life with theirs, whoever, and see little difference. It requires a modicum of hubris for them to think we're superior to them meaning little of theirs is important to us.Interesting observations on the drug war, and American Christianity.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 16, 2006 at 16:00:41 PT
Dankhank
I couldn't understand what he was trying to say. I never heard of cultural relativism.
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Comment #15 posted by Dankhank on September 16, 2006 at 15:28:43 PT
cultural relativism ...?
interesting story ...http://alternet.org/waroniraq/41638/
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Comment #14 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 14:12:43 PT
gw 
http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/09/16/collective-messiah/
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Comment #13 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 14:08:51 PT
gw 
If you accept Christ as your own then you will be with friends here. That is not a thing you need to be concerned of.
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 14:06:55 PT
 Eternity and Cold Night
 Await All the People,Who Choose to SlumberLullabys and good sounds lullYou Into Submission, Indenture, Slavery,Receive a part of this GraceThat can feed you to Heaven
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Comment #11 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 13:53:34 PT
have you a hand?
to reach into the belly?The belly of the bloated and godless pig?
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Comment #10 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 13:48:57 PT
behold your plXW
YOUR WORLD,Your PLACE in this world
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Comment #9 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 13:31:37 PT
forget not
That twinkle in your eyeLook with your eyeBehold this universe
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Comment #8 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 13:12:18 PT
re: lessons
Psa 23:1 A Davidic psalm. The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. Psa 23:2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. Psa 23:3 He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name's sake. Psa 23:4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff--they comfort me. Psa 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psa 23:6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live. 
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Comment #7 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 13:04:07 PT
hey whig
what is the lesson?
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 12:56:43 PT
is this some Mexican standoff?
Welcome 
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Comment #5 posted by whig on September 16, 2006 at 12:28:24 PT
gw 
He was assassinated.That is a lesson to all of us, that we not get ourselves too elevated unless we are together.They cannot take us all down but they can surely take out a handful.
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Comment #4 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 11:54:22 PT
re:If you want to be a hero well just follow me
Was he not assassinated?I think of cuddly bugs all warm in a rug, one toke over the line and them bugs are not so cuddly.
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Comment #3 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on September 16, 2006 at 11:12:24 PT
Working Class Hero
As soon as you're born they make you feel smallBy giving you no time instead of it allTill the pain is so big you feel nothing at allA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beThey hurt you at home and they hit you at schoolThey hate you if you're clever and they despise a foolTill you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rulesA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beWhen they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd yearsThen they expect you to pick a careerWhen you can't really function you're so full of fearA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beKeep you doped with religion and sex and TVAnd you think you're so clever and classless and freeBut you're still fucking peasants as far as I can seeA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beThere's room at the top they are telling you stillBut first you must learn how to smile as you killIf you want to be like the folks on the hillA working class hero is something to beA working class hero is something to beIf you want to be a hero well just follow meIf you want to be a hero well just follow me-John Ono Lennon
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Comment #2 posted by global_warming on September 16, 2006 at 10:54:38 PT
There goes that name again Nixon
I wonder if any one has written a psychiatric profile on this man? How did such a deranged animal ever become a US president?I just do not understand American politics.http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/lennon.htm
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 16, 2006 at 10:01:25 PT
The U.S. Vs. John Lennon
The Nation: Music Can Change The WorldSeptember 16, 2006 
(The Nation) This column was written by Jon Wiener.The new documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," which opens Friday Sept. 15 in New York and Los Angeles (and nationwide Sept. 29), tells the story of Lennon's transformation from loveable moptop to anti-war activist, and recounts the facts about Nixon's campaign to deport him in 1972 in an effort to silence him as a voice of the peace movement. URL: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/15/opinion/main2014623.shtml
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