One of the desperate measures taken by prohibitionists was the attempt to get liberal environmentalists on their side by talking about the destruction of public lands and use of toxic chemicals in illegal marijuana grows, etc. This meme was pushed by the ONDCP, by law enforcement, and at times, by some media.
Of course, they were assuming that people would be too dumb to see the obvious — that it was prohibition that was causing this.
It seems pretty clear now that this particular obnoxious ploy has run its course. This article in Mother Nature Network shows why: Why the legalization of marijuana may be good for agriculture
Energy-efficiency isn’t the only benefit that may come with legalization. From better management of irrigation to monitoring of fertilizer runoff, bringing the industry out in the open has the potential to greatly mitigate the harmful impacts of cultivation. As I’ve speculated before, marijuana growing may also provide a gateway for some young people into horticulture as a profession.
And just in case you aren’t sure how geeky pot growers can get, here’s an example of the kind of in-depth discussion that’s been going on in the industry . Who knows, maybe our tomato growers could learn a thing or two?
A few days ago a Medford station (KDRV) ran a story about Noble Police! cleaning up Toxic Waste! left by Evil Mexican Cartel! growers. The “reporter” might as well have been reading a press release.
From the land of “officer-involved” shootings.
Here in Shasta County, CA, LE is riding the environmental destruction meme very hard in an attempt to circumvent Proposition 215 by banning outdoor cannabis cultivation using zoning ordinances.
Of course it’s obvious that such a ban would just lead to more outlawry and might actually bring about the dangers and harms it’s ostensibly made to prevent.
However, given that the powers-that-be here really would like to make cannabis disappear, having more problems with cultivation tends to get people on their side, even if their end goal is a complete fantasy.
I’m pretty sure they’re trying to figure out how to use federal dollars intended for public land cartel grows to go after medical marijuana entrepreneurs on private land.
When you finally strip away the pretense, it really does come down to hate, doesn’t it? There isn’t any other explanation. I might understand if I could figure out why someone would hate pot heads SO MUCH. Really it’s a mystery to me, we’re mostly harmless, in the truest Douglas Adams sense of the term.
Yup.
My theory: the “pothead” (quotes to indicate that I mean the social category, not the individuals so labelled), like the classic scapegoat, embodies that which the ostensible moral majority would jettison from our midst.
It is an image of inverted morality that displaces the locus of evil from the “hearts of men” to a thing in the world. Under the guise of controlling evil, evil is done.
I guess most of this is really Thomas Szasz’s ideas.
But I think there is something properly Christian about the focus on material substances. After St. Augustine it was very clearly sinful to look to the world to relieve the suffering bequeathed us by Adam and Eve’s disobedience. That was, after all, how it all started.
Yes, I do think the hate people feel for druggie loser potheads is this deep-seated.
Well, there are many reason why they hate us. We didn’t heed their lies that marijuana would damage our brains, give us cancer, ruin our lives, etc, etc. We didn’t even heed their lies when they enlisted our parents and teachers to lie for them. We finished school, got jobs, became ‘productive’ members of society — supposedly their tightly controlled society — and we often flourish beyond them. When they tried to interrupt the flow of the marijuana plant, we took to growing it ourselves in backyards, nearby woods, greenhouses, and closets. We created gourmet marijuana that was far superior than what they tried to keep from us. We kept cannabis culture alive no matter how hard they tried to stomp it out (or how old some of us became). We kept throwing their lies back in their faces until more and more people started listening to US. And now they are desperate and know their attempts to impede us are becoming more feeble by the day. They are losing. We are winning. They hate us because…
We did not give up.
So, uh Howard… you’re saying decades of persistence and perseverance aren’t amotivational behavior?
That’s a good point. But not because we questioned the lies about cannabis. Because we went on to question the other lies, too. It’s because this doesn’t end with pot anymore than it started with pot.
Darkcycle, It definitely is/was more than just about pot (and other drugs). For many (but not all), deeper shifts in attitudes and the use of certain drugs go hand in hand. But reigning authority has always believed that if they could just eliminate those surface ‘symbols’ we would all morph back to some non-existent 1950’s ideal. You know, pluck a few diseased leaves off the tree and ignore the problems with the roots.
I was a surf/skateboard punk in the early 1970’s. I’ll never forget the suggestions from certain civic leaders that if they could ban skateboarding and restrict surfing hours we would all march back to our high school coaches and play football or run track. They couldn’t understand it was much deeper than that. Why in the world would we be lorded over by some bellowing coach when we could surf or skate for hours by ourselves? They didn’t get it then, they still don’t.
What interests me most about cannabis culture is how multi layered it’s always been. But these days, although some underground elements remain, so much more is above ground. It’s a fascinating process to watch unfold. I’m grateful to be around to see it.
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Well the haters are running out of choices. They can’t hate (and be politically correct) including but not limited to black people, Irish, Jews, Polish, commies, gay/BLT people, feminists, poor white trash, or fat people.
Fat people were actually next on the list but got skipped when the country’s obesity problem achieved penetration of 1/3 of the population.
Hating rich people is still OK but the rich people don’t care so there’s no emotional fulfillment. It’s the same as doing the so called “dog whistle” code words. Atheists are approved but there aren’t really that many of us, and it appears to me that we don’t care if morons hate us.
The haters even get called on hatred of Muslims excluding al Queda and umm…what’s Mr. Obama’s other name? Barry Sowetoe? You know, the name on his “real” birth certificate? It really isn’t all that easy to stay up to date on the arcana of blanket hatred.
But it’s still A-OK to hate potheads, so there you go. But maybe we deserve it? After all we’re all unemployed layabouts. Do you realize that if every single cannabinoidian got a job that the nations unemployment rate would be negative?
pretty crappy article really… too shallow, too much assuming of “facts.” Deforestation? Really? Fly over Oregon’s forests sometime…
Of course somehow the writer fails to mention virtually all enviro harms arising from cultivation stem from cannabis prohibition.
Well here’s some good news…it appears that medical science is on the verge of perfecting brain transplants for the prohibitionists:
Not only do they have shit for brains, it’s defective shit. It probably won’t work but I can’t see any downside in giving it a try. Mama Stollman must be very proud of her bouncing baby boy.
The procedure is called “Repoopulation”. They give heavy duty antibiotics to wipe out the bugs there, and then “repoopulate” with healthy bacteria. It’s a sound idea. I have a few doctor friends, it’s quite the topic right now (I suspect because they are actually nine year olds with white coats).
There’s nothing new here. I learned about this technique back in the 70’s. Back then they just mixed it into a chocolate milkshake. No, I’m not kidding.
Not possible. The acids of digestion kill, and I mean destroy, the bacteria that you’re looking for. That’s why “pro-biotics” are a total waste of time In this case the bacteria are transferred without being subjected to acid (digestive) and base (biliary) processes. Digestion is a destructive activity, it will kill nearly everything, unless you are talking disease organisms specifically evolved to encapsulate themselves to survive those processes. Like e. coli. for example.
I hate to take an easy shot, but you’re talking out your ass.
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Wow DC, I’ve got to say that for the last 6 months or so I’ve added probiotics to my daily supplements and it sure as heck keeps me regular. But I’m likely a statistical outlier because of not having a working stomach since 2007.
Legalization without over taxing and regulation fees can stop the illegal grows,,at least that will take the real terrorists of the environment out of the environment,,SWAT teams dumping unmixed chemicals on the ground and then claiming growers damaged the ecology by just using those chemicals to grow marijuana. Of course they are the same chemicals and fertilizers used by every other gardener and herbalist around the world but pot makes them toxic.
Just making the authorities quit stealing people’s property in civil forfeiture would go a long way towards making this problem disappear.