Industrial Hemp is derived from a low-THC variety of Cannibis Sativa,  and does not have the psychoactive properties of marijuana.

It’s fibers and oils are considered to be some of the finest in the world,  and the Hemp plant has  many,  many surprising uses.

Sadly,  although U.S. manufacturers may produce products derived from the Hemp plant,  it is illegal to grow Hemp in the United States.

Thus,  the raw materials must be imported from other countries.

It is the belief and conviction of the MBCBS that Hemp is the key to reviving the entire industrial base in this country and others.

It is also our belief and conviction that marijuana is as much a miracle substance as is asprin,  and that it should be legalized for both medical and recreational uses for adults over the age of 21.

Therefor,  we dedicate this episode of the MBCBS  Ex-PRESS to the unique issues surrounding industrial Hemp and  it’s sister plant,  Marijuana.

 

Marijuana is an herb that contains elevated levels of  tetrahydrocannabinol,  or THC,   the psychoactive ingredient that is produced from the Cannabis sativa plant.

The ground-up buds and leaves are smoked or eaten as means of delivery to the body.  It can be used as an additive to food, or made into a tea. 

Studies suggest that 50% of the population of the United States has tried marijuana at least once,  but we feel the number is higher,  because most people do not like to openly confess to the crime of marijuana possession or use.

Over the years,  growers have developed strains that contain more THC than the ancestral varieties.

There is NO lethal dose of marijuana.  Overdosing on marijuana usually means the user falls asleep and wakes up groggy.

While in general,  marijuana is usually not addictive in the true sense,  some people prone to addiction can become addicted to it,  and people who use the herb to treat medical conditions can become medically dependent.

In the general population,  marijuana is used to get “high”,  a term that refers to the mind altering state produced when it is ingested by one means or another.

After many years of reading written research on the subject,  MBCBS feels that marijuana is by far the least dangerous of all drugs used to alter one’s state of being,  including cigarettes and alcohol. 

We feel it is less dangerous than psychiatric drugs used to treat minor psychiatric problems,  less dangerous and less harmful than doctor  prescribed painkillers,  tranquilizers and sedatives.

MBCBS does NOT advise the use of marijuana by anyone under the age of 18.

MBCBS feels that marijuana should be legalized and regulated in the following ways:

1. Legal for adults to grow in quantities of less than 25 grown plants (4’ or taller)

2. Possession by minors should be treated and punished the same way as possession of alcohol by minors.

3.  A legal limit should be established for Driving While Intoxicated laws,  and punishment should follow alcohol law standards.

4. Persons who want to possess marijuana legally should buy an annual FEDERAL license to possess marijuana,  either $50 or $75 annually,  and the funds collected should be used to fund Public Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centers across the country. 

5.  Doctors should be free to prescribe legal Medical Marijuana to their patients.

6.  Transferring marijuana to minors should be illegal,  punishable by community service and a fine for first offense,  stiffer penalties for repeated offenses.

According to the UN report, which is a staple of police forces around the world, 16.8 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 smoked pot or ingested one of its derivatives last year.

In 1997,  statistics compiled by U.S. Department of Health stated that in the U.S.,  more currently unemployed people smoke pot than employed.  More college graduates than High School dropouts smoke weed.  Use is pretty much evenly distributed geographically throughout the country,  although the west smokes the most,  the north central is next,  the northeast follows,  and the south smokes the least.

People in large and small metropolitan areas smoke more than people in rural areas.  White people smoke more pot than blacks or Hispanics.  Males smoke more than females. 

Most people used it to relax,  although a high amount of people used it because friends used it (peer usage).

According to the DoItNow Foundation,  although marijuana use extends across all demographic groups, it continues to be most prevalent among the young. More than 97 million Americans have tried pot, with 2.1 million trying it for the first time last year. An estimated 14.5 million Americans smoke it on a regular basis.

Hashish consists  of the THC-rich resinous material of the cannabis plant, which is collected,  dried, and then compressed into a variety of forms, such as balls, cakes,  or cookie-like sheets. Pieces are then broken off, placed in pipes, and  smoked. The Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are the  main sources of hashish. The THC content of hashish that reached the United  States, where demand is limited, averaged about 5 percent in the 1990s.

Everyone born after 1920 in the United States and most other Western countries knows someone who is a drug abuser.

That might seem like a shocking statement until you take into account all the people on prescription sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants and painkillers who take more than they should, or who don’t really need them but take them anyway.  In part the doctors who prescribe them are at fault, because they don’t monitor their patients closely enough, and they rely too much on the easiest path of treatment to get the patient “healed.”  

However, do they mention to depressed people that there are many patients who can get off those antidepressants after the depressive episode has passed, and that there are non-drug ways of coping with depression,  or that many episodes of depression are temporary episodes of Reactive Depression (reacting to stressful situations with depression) and that talk therapy might work just as well in those cases? 

The answer is, that all too many doctors take the easy course and medicate their patients,  putting them on drug regiments that in effect are inducing medically advised addiction in their patients.

But doctors are not the only ones to blame.  The patients are also to blame for their addiction to prescription medication.  We’ve forgotten how to cope with pain,  relying instead on anything that can get us out of pain,  whether it be physical or emotional in nature.  We have become dependent upon the pharmaceutical industry.  We’ve gotten weak because we can no longer tolerate pain and when we have pain, we go running for the shelter of mother’s little helper(s).

The bottom line is, we are a nation of drug addicts,  making excuses about why we are using and abusing prescription drugs.

Now, we all understand that there are legal “doctor” drugs and illegal “street” drugs.  But do we understand the drugs themselves?  The pharmaceutical companies are notorious for cover-ups and profiteering at your expense.  The police label the illegal drugs - and legal drugs illegally used - as “Controlled Dangerous  Substances”.  There are two key words in that phrase:  “Controlled” and “Dangerous.”

Medical addicts seem to think that because a doctor gives them a drug, that the drug is not as dangerous as a street drug.  Bull.  If you take oxycontin it is still the “Controlled Dangerous Substance” that some pill head junkie pops for fun.  Same drug, same physical result.  A lot of doctors now prescribe Methadone for pain.  Same drug junkies can legally substitute for heroin,  but it is also just as, if not more, addictive.  What’s the difference?  Only the drug,  not the addiction. 

Now about marijuana and hashish...  A lot of people think pot and hash are the same as opium and just as addictive.  Well, there are people out there who might get addicted to them,  but some people can get addicted to anything,  and the majority of pot smokers - while they might be emotionally addicted to weed - are not physically addicted.  Same with hash.  Unlike people who might be addicted to pain meds or psychoactive meds, thanks to their doctors.  Or cigarette smokers who can legally puff up and harm themselves and others with the smoke, but who are unable to quit.

Sure, some criminals smoke weed.  Hell, the mere fact that it’s not legal makes them criminals.  But so do teachers, judges, politicians, cops, doctors, and icons of business and entertainment.  Not to mention the girl nextdoor and your friendly neighborhood mechanic and trash collector. 

You can overdose on drugs and die, true, but if you overdose on marijuana, you fall asleep,  unless you have an underlying psychosis or something and wind up freaking out,  but you will NOT die from smoking pot.  There are no additives to pot (unless you have an unscrupulous dealer),  unlike cigarettes.  If you added nicotine to weed,  then maybe you could get physically addicted, but no one in their right mind would ruin the high of weed by adding nicotine to it. 

Politicians in my state still quote old studies,  still refuse to look at the evidence all around them.  Society is not falling apart because of marijuana.  Society is falling apart because of self-righteous politicians and lazy doctors who keep their patients over-medicated so they won’t have to actually work at their profession (by researching the drugs they blindly prescribe). 

The evidence for pot’s relative harmlessness when compared to really bad drugs, including doctor drugs, is everywhere.  Our present and last 2 Presidents have smoked weed.  Walk down any crowded street and you will probably pass almost as many people who’ve smoked pot as those who haven’t.  

It’s time we held these idiots - the politicians - accountable.  It’s time we got real, people!  Stand up or admit defeat.  This is one fight we can win if we want to.  The studies all point to pot as being less harmful than these other medicinal and recreational drugs.  Why is it still illegal?  Because (here’s that other key word) the establishment hasn’t found a way to “control” it,  since it’s just a plant that anyone with some land or a sunny window can grow.  The pharmaceutical companies and politicians haven’t found a way to make money off it.

If the politicians care so much about drug abuse,  why are they cutting funding for mental health and drug rehabilitation all across the country?  It’s hypocrisy, pure and simple.  They know pot is not addictive.  They just don’t want you to get something for nothing. 

MBCBS (My Brain Can’t Be Saved) exists in the hearts and minds of it’s loosely organized (or disorganized) membership.  There are no membership lists.  Either you are an MBCBSer or you’re not,  and we know who is and isn’t.

Since 1971 we’ve been speaking out on various issues,  from the Vietnam War to Marijuana Legalization,  to Free Speech and Native American Rights issues. 

In the 1980s and 1990s we raised funds for Native American Rights issues through a series of benefit concerts in New Jersey, and we still support Native American Rights.

We are people of all stripes, religions, races, political views and professions, but we know who we are, which is more than most people can say. 

You cannot apply for membership.  Membership is granted on a whim.  We decide if you are worthy of such a disorganized organization.

We are TOTALLY non-profit.  No one has ever made a penny by belonging.  We could have applied for 501c3 status once upon a time, but we decided that we didn’t want to answer to the government because that would limit our Free Speech and make us beholden to a government  that at any given point in time we might be at odds with.

All operational funds are out-of-pocket. 

That’s who we are.  We ask nothing of you other than that you keep an open mind and seek the truth.