Black Hempstory Month: Origins of Western Prohibition
Written by Dan Isenstein
There seems to be no end to shameless conspiracy theories about the origins of cannabis prohibition. Among the most disseminated are that William Randolph Hearst wanted to ban hemp to protect his vast timber holdings and that the DuPont corporation wanted to eliminate competition to their newly patented thermoplastic - nylon. The evidence supporting both sounds better when you’re high.
No, racism is inarguably at the root of reefer madness and ultimately cannabis prohibition. And, if racism was not the motivation for the making of cannabis illegal initially, then the execution of the law, which saw blacks and people of color arrested and incarcerated at more than double that of whites and sentenced to much longer jail terms, certainly provided the law with plenty of racist cred.
This Black History Month open your eyes, and your mind, to the reality that the easiest explanation is often the truth. Was cannabis prohibited because DuPont and Hearst conspired to protect their own self-interest or did the United States, which has been racist AF since its inception, pass a law to preserve the dominant social order?
Medical Cannabis in the Hemp State? No Relief in Sight
Written By Dan Isenstein
Kentucky is one of just 13 states that still criminalize all marijuana use and possession. During the spring 2022 Kentucky legislative session, House Bill (HB) 136 was passed by Kentucky's lower house with bi-partisan support (59-34). Once again, however, Kentucky’s Republican controlled Senate blocked the bill to the floor for a vote.
In response to the continued Senatorial inaction in the legislature, Governor Beshear formed the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee. Less than a week after the Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Report was released, President Joe Biden announced that he was issuing pardons for all federal marijuana convictions.
So what does that mean to the average Kentuckian looking to consume cannabis legally?
The Seven Cannabis Factions - Part III
Written By Trent Hancock & Shayney Norick
Many in the cannabis community are going to disagree with Pharmaceuticals having a spot in the industry. Most of us choose cannabis because we believe in a more natural route. That being said, there is a large population of people with health conditions that trust the pharmaceutical process.
It is not too much to ask that the government free people who had minor charges so that they can support and be with their families. Requesting that people are no longer imprisoned for a small-time cannabis distribution conviction or specific homegrow quantities would resonate with the majority of the public, and could potentially free the majority of cannabis felons.
The Seven Cannabis Factions - Part I
Written By Trent Hancock & Shayney Norick
If you look closely enough at the groups with interest in the future of cannabis, they can be broken down into seven factions. They all have a different vision, and none of them are going anywhere. Instead of the situation boiling over politically, the best course of action is for all factions to negotiate a future that is best for everyone. Each cannabis faction’s concerns need to be addressed via amendments written to update current state cannabis laws.
The Stigmatization of Cannabis Is Still Alive and Well in California
Written By Dan Wittmers
Consuming cannabis is so far outside their definition of personal preference that maternity patients are forced to sign a physical document before delivery demanding they “do not trust anyone who is using marijuana to care for [their] child.”
This extremist document was presented to us as an agreement that “just states you won’t bring cannabis in the hospital or use it while you’re on-site.” It should be noted that they did not take the time to discuss with us the effects of drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, or taking opioids while breastfeeding, nor did they present to us any similar documentation regarding those drugs and their potential effects on parenting an infant. Likewise, when they prescribed my wife fentanyl for her discomfort because it wasn’t yet time for an epidural, there was no discussion about its potential effects on the baby still in her womb.
Dissecting Biden’s Statements on Federal Marijuana Reform
Written By Bri Smith
A statement Americans and cannabis advocates have said for literally decades was finally uttered by President Biden yesterday during his statements addressing federal marijuana reform. The phrase was both welcomed and yet infuriating for advocates who have been fighting for federal cannabis reform since Harry J. Anslinger preemptively ruined the lives of millions of people. Indeed, for 15 years short of a century, we’ve been shouting from the mountaintops, “It makes no sense”... and also, “What the fuck is going on?”.
For many Americans, it was a monumental day in the United States. In what is likely one of the biggest steps toward federal acceptance and decriminalization of cannabis by any president, Biden declared three areas of action for his (more on this later) failed approach to the War on Cannabis.
Cannabis: A Fearless Light in the Shadows of the Psyche
Written By Kaitlin Coghill
There is a fear of cannabis that comes from a place of not knowing. There is a “not knowing” of how the plant works, or how “safe” the plant is, or how illegal it is, or how it’s supposed to feel and look and taste. But greater than all of these “not knowings” is the “not knowing” of who we really are beyond our earthen layers. The biggest fear of cannabis is rooted in the fear of learning the truth about ourselves and our lives, and, even more terrifying, feeling that truth in our bodies.