Oh please, oh please, oh please!!!
They've tried before. A lot. But I really believe it will be different this time...call me Charlie Brown, I guess. But Oregon has come through before; back in 1998, we had a referendum on the ballot to recriminalize possession of small amounts of weed. We struck it down and struck it down well - the vast majority of comments against it were of the "this is an egregious attempt at a power grab" variety. I was so proud of us!
It is now time for us to kick ass once again in this great state and leave the others in our hempen dust...
actiony goodness down there
There is a bill currently in the Oregon Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee that would legalize agricultural hemp.
http://www.leg.state.or.us/...
Step 1: Contact Senators Prozanski and Nelson letting them know how important and appreciated their efforts are.
Step 2: ???
But there was a public hearing recently. You can listen to it here. Now the bill is back to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee for further consideration.
Step 3: This is where the real mission starts: get the bill passed out of committee for a full floor vote and then to get it passed for reals. So please send comments to this address, urging them to vote this bill up and yay seven ways to Sunday:
natalie.worley@state.or.us
Here is my comment:
I am writing in support of Senate Bill 676 legalizing agricultural hemp. I cannot put words to the economic renaissance lying in wait if Oregon makes this bold move. Legalizing agricultural hemp would absolutely revitalize our farming, textile and manufacturing sectors. We would have an almost infinitely renewable supply of fibers for paper products, e.g. a sustainable source of paper towels; it would be nothing short of a revolution.
It’s also true that national public sentiment on prohibition is rapidly shifting, with support for medicinal marijuana and agricultural hemp, even decriminalization, growing steadily. That bell will not be unrung and it is only a matter of time before we start to see major reform of marijuana and hemp laws. Oregon would stand to benefit greatly by embracing full-scale hemp production one step ahead of the rest.
We have a long and proud history of such pioneering social and civic policy here in Oregon. From being the first state to grant women land ownership, to our visionary land use and public transportation policies, to our fight for death with dignity, Oregon has set an example and led the country. Now we need to live up to our own example and once again be at the forefront of progress.
Legalization would be consistent not only with Oregon tradition, but with American tradition itself; this nation was borne of hemp. Our Constitution was printed on hemp paper. The string in Franklin’s famous kite experiment was hemp. Sails were once made almost exclusively from hemp, so much so that the word "canvas" derives, through similar European variants, from a Latin slang word, "cannapaceus," meaning "made of hemp." Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp, with Washington even directing his staff to "Make the most of the hemp seed and sow it everywhere." Thomas Payne felt that hemp was even vital to our national defenses: "In almost every article of defense we abound. Hemp flourishes even to rankness, so that we need not want cordage."
If it was good enough for those revolutionary patriots, it’s good enough for us. There is simply no valid reason not to avail ourselves of this opportunity, especially in the current economic climate. Agricultural hemp would put thousands of Oregonians back to work and establish derivative industries that would provide the framework to employ Oregonians for years to come.
What are we waiting for?
I would very much appreciate an update on the status of this bill and its prospects for getting a full floor vote.
Many thanks,
Cedwyn
You can also contact your state Senator and the members of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. If your Senator is on it, lucky you. If not, call him/her anyway to indicate support for the bill:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/...
http://www.leg.state.or.us/...
Most importantly, share this with all your Oregon peeps!