Jack D. Johnson, 04660-030
Fed. Marijuana Prisoner & Glaucoma Patient
P.O. Box 5000 FCI-GRE
Greenville, IL 62246
3 Feb 98
Gen. Barry McCaffrey (rtd)
Office of [Spl. Interest] Drug Control Policy
750 17th St. NW, 8th Floor
Wash. DC 20503
Re: Cannabis [marihuana, hemp, et al] Politics, Science, Ag. Crop
Dear General & Staff:
As an Iowan farm-raised Cannabis geneticist & prisoner of
the federal war on Cannabis (with many marijuana related arrests), I offer the following:
I am a 52 yr old ex-farmer, Republican, opposed to all illicit drugs ~
except the myriad-beneficial herb/plant Cannabis.
The present federal laws scheduling & prohibiting Cannabis
are not publicly credible, & due to that absence of necessary credibility,
unenforceable. Attempts to enforce incredible law by 'right of might', bureaucratic
& political disinformation is viewed with contempt because, contrary to most folk's
values, it is dishonest. Corrupt.
My own Senator, Chuck Grassley, refuses to recognize the truth, let
alone act upon it & is blind to all but political status quo, aka, self-serving
corruption.
More, not less Americans are offended by the clearly self-serving &
dishonest [bureaucratic fraud] scheduling of Cannabis by the DOJ's DEA, leading
to further erosion of public trust in government, executive & legislative, &
particularly bureaucrats.
The federal government's war on Cannabis is adversely
affecting more & more people. The people do recognize this war's deceptions
& resultant steady destruction of Constitutional protections; a sophist judiciary
failing its balancing duty & adherance to truth; a few old Congressional crones
out-of-touch with today's reality that public contempt is expressed by not voting 'cause
the incumbant scum is not worthy of the effort; a prison boom & draconian sentences
that produces, in the end, more, not less, hardened men & women; the effect of causing
a more militant & aware populace now fleeing the cities, the hoarding of arms &
defensive articles. These are but a few warning signs that folks are aware of the
growing decadence of the government & are preparing for the inevitable government vs.
citizen conflict. The longer the government continues its assault on a peaceful
& otherwise law-abiding segment of the general populace, the nearer we come to an
actual internal armed conflict.
To avert this catastrophe, a leader, a true patriot, must use his
position to bully-pulpit the politico-bureaucracy from the solid foundation of truth.
On that basis, there will be a ground-swell of support for his honesty, & for
reform of things beyond correction of Cannabis laws & scheduling.
Your "statement On Industrial Hemp" was fairly specious,
& far from frank & honest, so I'll assume you were touting the party-politico-line
so-to-speak, & prompted this letter.
Sir: First, be honest with yourself on the subject & examine the
(independent of government disinformation) "true scientific & social
facts" on Cannabis. (Note: When Senator Grassley was requested to
provide documentation of his position on Cannabis from any source not influenced
by a self-serving government agency or funding, I took his silence as consent he has no
independent supporting material. The request was repeated three times without
response. The logical conclusion is "his political position is based on
fraudulent government sources." Text is on Internet @ http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/NORML/LETTERS/).
Legalization [anywhere] sends a bad message to [those
government agencies reliant upon Cannabis prohibition for their budgets], is the
wholesome truth.
That [as your statement read] "legalization [of Cannabis]
sends a bad message to the [government duped] public", is bad in-and-of itself
because, let's face it, it is a governmental-monumental-absolute-lie.
I offer you the same opportunity as Senator Grassley, ie, provide any
non-political/government, independent sourced documentation on how & why legalization
of industrial-use Cannabis would send an undesirable message to an honestly
informed public. This request is for verifiable facts, not sophist argument.
To make a distinction, I do not support decriminalization of Cannabis
for military, commercial transport, air traffic controllers, pilots, vehicle drivers, etc.
personnel, or anyone in a position directly affecting lives, health & welfare of
others, ie, being under on-duty effect would be a crime equal to DWI.
This is to observe that "zero tolerance" is a military
standard, not a civilian one, & should be applied accordingly. To apply any
military standard to a civilian populace is unlawful & counter-productive.
You can bet your butt, Cannabis is here in our culture to stay & no
government force to the contrary will change that. Conversely, continued war on Cannabis
will eventually have disastrous consequences. People, particularly free Americans,
do not like government impositions on their basically harmless recreational or medical
choices. Oppressive measures will not be tolerated for many more years.
As a personal perspective, my experience has been that Cannabis has
been beneficial for my aches, pains & glaucoma & has not damaged me, but the
government has definitely damaged me, my family & a host of others due to its lies,
fraud, & political corruption.
There is much I admire & respect about my country & its
government, but its wholesale manipulation of people about Cannabis is not one of
them, rather, it's contemptible.
In terms of National policy on Cannabis I have a few ideas as
follows:
1. Reclassify & reschedule in terms of THC delta-9
concentration (%) to wit:
A. Maintain delta-9 THC acetates &
oils as Schedule I.
B. Reschedule Cannabis plants per
concentration delta-9 THC* as 3% & above Schedule II; 3%-2% Schedule III; 2%-1%
Schedule IV. Less than 1% industrial non-criminal.
C. Classify delta-8 CBD, in any
concentration, medicinal & legal, non-criminal.
D. All other compounds, stalks, fibre,
hurds, seed oil, legal, non-criminal.
*at time of harvest or sampling - flowers, buds, tops, etc.
The above wouldn't detract from DEA & may even justify some
growth in Compliance & field testing. % concentration kits were available in the
'70s so that technology is existing.
Like it or not, hemp products are a growth industry & the plant's
versatility exceeds that of the peanut.
The up-side is it'd slow currency going to Mexico, reduce illicit
import as domestic production increases, & it'd shrink the underground non-tax-paying
economy & add to our GNP.
Thanx for your attention & if you'd have any questions, ask.
Sincerely,
Jack D. Johnson