Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,talk.politics.misc,talk.religion.misc,misc.legal
From: [b--r] at [kestrel.fsl.noaa.gov] (Bear Giles)
Subject: Hemp Initiative (was: Who's next? Mormons and Jews?)
Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 16:51:44 GMT

In article <[1993 May 7 040904 25288] at [fsl.noaa.gov]> [b--r] at [kestrel.fsl.noaa.gov] (Bear Giles) writes:
>A group in Colorado has been trying to get a citizen initiative on the
>ballot to decriminalize possession of marijuana.

By coincidence, a column in today's paper discusses the 1994 ballot
initiative.  It would:

1. Repeal the state's laws against possession, use, sale and transportation
   of marijuana, and direct the Legislature to replace them with laws no more
   restrictive than the laws governing cigarettes and alcohol.

2. Ban passage of new laws that could be used to prosecute adults for using
   or growing hemp or cannabis.  It would also ban the state from seizing
   people's property for possessing, using or growing hemp or cannabis, and
   would make it illegal to deny people any right or privilege for the same.

3. Allow private citizens to produce up to 6 kilograms of cannabis a year
   for their personal use without any regulation or any paying any taxes.
   This is directly modeled on the fact that private citizens may brew
   over 100 gallons of beer for personal use each year.

4. Ban urine tests to determine if someone has smoked pot.  Behavioral tests
   to test for current impairment are explicitly permitted.

5. Provide that cannabis produced and sold commerically be taxed like alcohol.

6. Establish a board to promote non-drug commerical uses of the hemp plant.
   This list is quite extensive: the plant can be used for cloth, cordage,
   and paper; the seeds can be used for protein meal and vegetable oil.

7. Authorize CU medical school to conduct research on the medicinal uses of
   cannabis.  Known uses include alleviating symptoms of glaucoma and nausea
   associated with chemotherapy.

8. Allow people convicted of marijuana crimes to expunge their records,
   provided no other criminal action was involved.

BTW, note item 6.  Many people are becoming environmentally conscious and
trying to use natural fibers in preference to synthetics.  Unfortunately,
_cotton_ is an extremely destructive natural fiber since it requires
extensive use of pesticides during growth plus extensive chemical processing 
after harvesting.  Hemp was used for a long time to produce ropes, and
apparently it can be grown without extensive use of pesticides.  I know
at least one of the organizers of this initiative owns a hemp-fabric shirt.

-- 
Bear Giles
[b--r] at [fsl.noaa.gov]