Fortunately I didn’t get around to reading this until later in life:
The Emperor Wears No Clothes, a book about the history of Hemp in the U.S.A.
It’s fortunate from my perspective, because learning I’d been systematically lied to by any number of influential people in my life including teachers, politicians, medical practitioners and indeed the government establishment itself, probably would have resulted at some point in me being incarcerated in the miserable mess of a prison system sitting beneath what we call justice in this country today.
This blog post is just my little better-late-than-never contribution to help preserve Jack’s legacy. Jack Herer was obviously a great visionary with the nads to go up against hopeless odds for what he believed was true and right. As long as I’m around, these pages will at least represent a timely token gesture towards him on my part, as we enter the Trumpomania era. Hell, Trump’s been doing the Dance Naked since well before the inauguration. So it appears once again, common sense, truth and justice will be defined by avaricious businessmen with little regard for what is truly right or valuable.
It should be interesting to see the new administration’s upcoming clashes with the will of the people in this country. Perhaps that will has already in many respects, been usurped by the election itself. Politics aside, the relatively few studies sneaking through over the past couple of decades have shown the drug’s therapeutic benefits pretty conclusively. With climate change knocking hard on the door and cannabis legalization already in place in a majority of states and many more in the making, we got some ‘splaining to do behind Federal DOE, DEA and FBI doors. DEA began the long, uphill backpedal. Amazing.
I used to go about the workplace(s) making small talk that inevitably touched on business and politics. One of my favorite quips was “I hate Corporate America almost as much as I hate The Government.” Now I’m not so sure those two things are all that much separate and distinct entities. Anything supporting the Federal Cannabis Ban topic in all it’s misinformed stupidity is simply morally indefensible. Despite still being at it to this day, the days where Corporate America enriches itself through Government market control at the expense of it’s citizens’ general welfare are numbered. Anyone remember “pharma bro?” Nobody will use Insys’ garbage if they can can get the real, pure, unadulterated product as nature intended from a plant they can grow themselves quite easily.
The brazen SOB’s at GW Pharma over in the UK even have the gall to attempt market-cornering tactics with legislative moves in states that are not presently even exploring MMJ initiatives. It is anathema to the most fundamental principles on which our free-markets are supposed to be based. I can’t wait to witness the fall of Big Pharma. Unfortunately, it will probably be preceded by implosion of the entire healthcare system as we know it today.
People just wanting to feel good and relieve pain should not need to mortgage their futures to drug companies for that purpose.