[shiftmonkey]

Originally Posted by Firstlook

Legalization is a good one. I was just watching the trailer for "How weed won the west", and listening to Rick Simpson talk about hemp oil.

Its gonna happen. When is the question.


peace

Sorry about the rant but I just wanted to comment on legalization since it's an issue that is very close to home for me.

Medical marijuana is already legal here in California and the growers here aren't convinced that legalization will benefit anyone except the government and big corporations. It certainly will not benefit the growers as they will tell you first hand.

Most of the growers here are families that work very hard to earn a living at it. Yes some make a good living, but they are very meticulous in their growing methods and most grow organic. They are already under an insane amount of imposed state restrictions that just keep piling up.

After legalization the federal restrictions will further undercut the small family operations and open the door to big corporations like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. These companies already own thousands of acres in South America just waiting for the legislation to go through. Restrictions will be such that it will be illegal to grow your own medicine.

After legalization cigarette companies will be the medical marijuana "industry" and you will likely see mergers and acquisitions between them and the pharmaceutical companies. It should already be apparent by examining the effects of the health care/pharmaceutical cartel that industry and medicine do not mix. Take a look at what tobacco companies have done to make tobacco more addictive and the toxic chemicals added to make cigarettes burn a certain way. Do people really want this insidious bunch growing medicine?

I certainly do not want cigarette companies or any corporation deciding what to spray on my medicine. Just stand back for a moment and you can see what's coming. Genetic engineering for maximum yield, chemical additives, toxic pesticides and more taxes to support the machine.

People want legalization but most are extremely short sighted in what the process will actually do. People need to wake up on this issue because legalization the way the government wants to do it is a trap. We need fewer laws and restrictions with less federal control not more.

At what point do people stop relying on the government to give them permission? Marijuana is a god given gift. If you want to smoke it- grow it yourself and smoke it- or at least get it from a source that you know and trust.