Thank you, South Maui, since your vote of confidence and congratulations, America, for voting for change. As the president-elect exhorted, let’s move beyond the arguments of the past, old policies and perceptions that divide us and work together because solutions to our many challenges.
One of the biggest challenges is to end the wars based on lies, not just in the Middle East if it be not that also here at home - the generations-long, incredibly destructive war on cannabis.
Started in the ’30s with a racist rebranding as marijuana, it literally kicked in as "no-knock" laws and went into complete gear in the ’70s when President Nixon, against the advice of his own cannabis commission, created the controlled substances act that declared war on drugs.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have since flowed to local law enforcement. Vice squads that had seven officers went to 70. Even small police forces now bristled with weapons and sophisticated surveillance and interrogation accoutrement. Our prison population ballooned with 60 percent nonviolent drug offenders so that we at this moment imprison more than any other country in the world under what one. circumstances cannabis application has stayed neat much unvaried.
The destruction to our communities from these warriors continues unabated.
Here on Maui, limited and state officials conducted a two-year, covert military-like operation code named "Weed Killer" to destroy a community-based cannabis patient advocacy group, "Patients Without Time."
Headed by Brian Murphy, PWT worked tirelessly over the last several years to help patients to grow their own and fit otherwise unobtainable medicine in safety and regularly. My own friend got great tips as he struggled to grow his own. Mr. Murphy constantly experimented with different strains to address specific ailments. He was particularly proud of the patients he got off of Oxycotin, a deadly, highly addictive pain killer.
PWT and its sister organization, Maui County Citizens for Democracy in Action, registered thousands of voters, submitted legislation and testimony at the state and county level to pursue a democratic change to implement their dream of family cannabis farms. This was based on the Legislature’s own recommendation in a 2004 report for procure growing facilities to readiness the glaring lack of safe increment for those who can’t or won’t grow their allow. PWT regularly invited mosaic code enforcement to help create a system that protected patients and the public interest at the corresponding; of like kind time.
The response: MPD against program in its entirety on grounds of "the world safety" and may transgress federal policy. HPD "Oppose any effort." No cooperation. Then the hammer comes down.
It is obvious that the amount of money and power that has flowed to statute enforcement to maintain prohibition testament be difficult to overcome. It is now note the rate of to follow the lead of Massachusetts and our own Big Island, which voted to rise marijuana enforcement the lowest police priority, and decriminalize all cannabis at the state level.
President-elect Obama and Congress support federal decriminalization proposals and I will be in action with our congressional delegation and my legislative partners to offer a decriminalization/axiom reform to remove law enforcement from decisions that belong between a patient, a physician and a person’sitting own conscience.
We can redirect those resources to building a healthy economically vibrant community that direct one’s speech the root causes of remedy abuse, emphasizing wellness over disease. This can be a sustainable, peaceful society with laws based forward facts, not lies.
Change we have power to believe in? Yes, we cannabis!
Joe Bertram III is a constituent of the represent fully House of Representatives from District 11, South Maui.
News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Maui News, The (HI)
Copyright: 2008 The Maui News
Contact: letters@mauinews.com
Website: News, Sports, Visitor’s Information - The Maui News
Author: Joe Bertram III
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