Cannabis and the Growing Potential Tree of Wealth and Wisdom \tCannabis is Earth's complement to American people because it allows one to grow for himself, yet provide for his country. The hemp plant corresponds with industry on a natural level. When one grows, one provides a natural good which roots us to Earth and allows us to make money by providing a green good to our community. Cannabis assists capitalism because it is versatile in the economy. It is the power to grow one's own medicine without having to buy it from anyone. \tIt is more efficient than corn in producing ethanol, so it can help the gasoline industry. An acre of hemp provides four times more wood pulp than an acre of trees. It also does not require harmful bleaching chemicals that tree wood pulp uses. Seeds of the plant are high in protein and essential fatty acids. Hemp also provides livestock feed and bedding, nutritional supplements, essential oils, body care products, molded plastics, textiles, means for construction and much more. "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford \tCannabis is the natural means to provide the things that move us forward. It puts power in the people's hands because it creates a culture of self providers and community growers. The plant teaches culture because it helps communities grow stronger and more connected. Cannabis is liberal conservation because it gives one freedom to go green. The male plant, hemp, represents industrial progress and wealth. The female plant, Marijuana, represents medicine and wisdom. Marijuana abuse by youth could be curbed by educating them with the real facts and explaining how it's particularly harmful while one is still growing. Besides, it's easier for kids to get pot than alcohol, which is already legal. True, legalization could lead to more people trying it but if we look at statistics from another country which has relaxed drug laws such as Portugal, we see that drug use and addiction rates actually decline when we treat drug use as a public health issue and not a criminal one. Also, Marijuana would not be a “gateway drug†if it were legal because people would be getting it from regulated entities and not drug pushers. On January 1, 2008 more than one percent of the adult population was in prison or jail. Nearly 1 in 3 women in prison today are there for drug-related crimes. The nation is taxed $68 billion a year to uphold this system. \tPot appeals to our most basic animal instinct that says “I think for myself and work for Earth.†Legal or not, it continues to be used. Rapid industrialization and urbanization hurts Earth because highways and buildings result with nature being stripped away. The reason that Cannabis has the potential to heal our nation is because it can be grown privately and industrially. It puts green in one's home, on Earth, and ultimately in one's hand. Cannabis is currency to Earth because plants put oxygen into the atmosphere. Considering global warming, it is only fair to assume that growing plants is not a bad thing. Increasing pollution rates of factories across the world combined with deforestation should set off the alarm that something is not right. “Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." - George Washington "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein \tHemp is Earth's most helpful contribution to a capitalistic economy and nature should be a fundamental right of human beings. Nature is what connects us to the planet. Americans are currently showing a 50-50 split on support for legalization. That is because we know things about pot we didn't know ten years ago when research was not properly funded and the “War on Drugs†was on full attack. Marijuana is a drug but why would we wage war on peace? Industrialization and urbanization is an attack to our land, unless it's done the green way. Human beings have a relationship with Earth and relationships include obligations and rights. \tPlanting a seed is like saying, “I'm sorry Mother Earth. We screwed up, I know. I'm ready to make it up to you.†Earth Meets the Economy \tCannabis is astronomical in money making potential, but it is rooted to Earth. Growing it can incite an awareness that invites friends, one home at a time, and one patch of soil at a time. If it is planted, it will grow. With these conditions on Earth, the plant WILL grow. It will give purpose and meaning to a seemingly more confused world. It connects and grows, deep and open, here yet far. Its purpose is good and green. It creates persuasion to find one's own methods of profit without having to get it from anyone. \tEvery human being is born with a mission. That mission is to establish role and relationships and make the most out of it. 2012 is the year to establish the relationship with Mother Earth, time, the sunshine, the water, the soil and everything in between. This world needs the greens, but do we have the goods? She has the potential we need to believe in. We would know that if we learned from our history. If we want good love out of our planet, we need to plant good plants inside of her. That is something to believe in. Connect. Grow. Ash it and Move on Bro. \tThe Cannabis plant holds potential. It uplifts the spirit and it is green, so workers will share a love in the work, yet experience what they love. When that happens, the country progresses and invites a most natural virtue. That is progress. It is natural, yet it moves us forward. The plant grows, lives, and breathes. Who are we to outlaw life? The Cannabis plan is able to incite a better global conscience through economically connecting minds. Every person holds the power to invite good ideas into your head and good plants into his or her home, one seed at a time. The Problem: Poverty The Key: Cannabis Why? Economic potential •The plant is scarce (compared to consumer demand) at the moment. It can and will grow in potential, especially being that the United States has such a highly increasing consumption rate. •It satisfies a need and a want. •The factors of production can be found in and around one's own home; land, capital, labor, and entrepreneurship. •Resources are used on a personal and coherent level. •Capital, tools, equipment, machinery, and factories are relatively cheap, simple, easy to find, and nature-oriented. Most people do not need set ups to grow pot. It grows relatively well in most climates. •Financial gain potential: revenue flow and a back and forth, positive relationship with Earth. •The labor is in one's green thumb. In a country that has so rapidly industrialized and urbanized, the significance of agriculture has declined by a long shot. Cannabis offers a chance at personal agriculture. •Cannabis is an economic product from Earth. •It is a green good, for consumers and capital. •It is a valuable service which is not being used to its full potential. •That is a paradox of value. It takes the money out of the American's hand and puts it in the hands of the Mexican drug cartel. •It is a chance to open up a market and make it personal. •It is significant in the economic, productive, and factor growth of an increasingly comfortable, yet confused nation. •It grows the economy and on Earth. •Division of labor is recognized on a personal level. •The specialization in job training is not so difficult. •It is a chance for us to make an attainable and sustainable resource of economic interdependence achievable by letting nature run its course of work. •It is a chance to work for one and think for oneself. •It satisfies a good that many people need, a ton want, and even more will want. •It passes economic opportunity from hand to hand to supply a good to a consumer and directly make money off of it. Plans for taxation and regulation could be made if it weren't a Schedule I controlled substance. •It is a durable, renewable good and service that is green and natural. •It is naturally created and beneficially adapts to humans. •It is valuable and useful in attaining wealth. •Some want it, some don't need it. •The ones that use it understand the potential. •It is a utility that can be spread. It is tangible and real. It is something that one can grow and share with whom one deems suitable. •It is a service to a grower, but a good to the buyer. That is the most direct economic potential. •It is natural and it can make you money. •When factors, products, and consumption add up, it's time to move forward. Opportunity of growth occurs when: growth meets productivity over a specified time period. In this day and age, everyone wants to work for themselves, because they can't trust who to think for them. So do what's natural. Make it green. Productivity relies in ability to get human resources. It is fueled by economic interdependence. Those are the wants and needs for goods and services. The goal comes at a cost. •Trade off: Conventionality. The government and everyone else have to be convinced people are ready to grow for ourselves and tap into our own renewable resources of cash grown straight out the Earth. •Opportunity cost: Right now, it's the police. That needs to stop. Nature and its plants belongs to its people. •Production possibilities: Endless. It is an endless source of money, ideas, and potential grown straight from the Earth. \tIn a cost-benefit analyzing way, it makes sense. In a let's-go-green view, it makes sense. So it will lead to a better standard of living by believing in it. \tThe opportunity cost is growing in experience and experientially growing. It can be measured in time, resources, and money. Cannabis is an alternative to government-served education in economic growth. Growing it expresses thinking for oneself, working for oneself, and learning the experience for oneself. It is the potential that needs to be redirected into something positive. Because you Can. \tThe nation has come a long way. Technology and comfort are much more advanced and accessible than ever. Leaders and intellectuals will continue to strive for higher education and better jobs that truly make a difference in the world. However, there are also sick people in our world who cannot get jobs. There are people who cannot afford to get educated. There are people who cannot afford transportation, food, nor other necessities. They should be allowed to grow plants. For those that don't have better opportunity, it could prove to be a better alternative or even addition to welfare. \tLegalizing marijuana would open up so many jobs. Dispensaries, growers, and glass blowers are some major examples. It would also make it more available for study, which is great for the scientists of our day. THC and related cannabinoids have shown anti-carcinogenic properties, so there is much to learn about how it can help people. The path to legalization could be long and difficult, but a proper first step would be to license a certain amount of growers to supply medical marijuana dispensaries. The Call To Nature Earth, at this point in time, needs to put forth its very best ideas on how to work on a greater good. Times are economically stressed. The nation is in a seemingly confused state of mind. What can boost economic freedom more than anything else? What can make you work and think for yourself without having to get a government-served education? The answer is an economic food web of Cannabis being brought out from under the roots. It is a bright young idea and a plant which can reach out from its shady roots to an enlightened sky and spread an awareness that is the conscience of the human-Earth relationship. Cannabis has the potential to let people make friends because they like the same thing that you do. It's a product of culture. It's a love for nature. It's also a very decent alternative to antidepressants, anxiolytics (anti-anxiety meds), pain killers, cigarettes, and alcohol. More and more studies are showing that it is not as harmful as we have been saying it is. It's time to end the propaganda. It's time to start the research. The government puts forth a lot of effort in making sure education is accessible to the people that need it. Efforts like those create progress. However, we cannot pretend that education is the only purpose for every child born. There are so many reasons why people cannot attend school. Whether the problems are internal or external, one issue remains. Kids sometimes drop out of school. At that point, when the jobs won't hire, the only way to make money is clear and simple. Selling drugs is easy and it doesn't require a license. Maybe that's why so many people do it. Growing pot takes some effort, but the product is a much better replacement to the various pills, powders, and other sources of self-entertainment people seem to crave. Cannabis is the opportunity to get it for yourself and so many people could be doing it. People can grow in their homes, in their backyards, on green valleys. It makes sense because it's green and it's good. And people get green off of it. Get it? It's a “Call Back to Nature†and “Save the Economic Future†2 in 1 combo deal. Nation's going through hard times. It seems like everyone wants to decide everything for us and tell us where to put it. But time and again, it's just wrong. Cannabis is in every way, the link between Earth and the Economy. Make money and get on with it, because it is natural and it is real. It gets you somewhere and spreads the love, at a natural, economic, personal level. 2012 You knew you were in for something. These bad ideas; they have to stop. If anyone was looking down on us they would be royally pissed. They would probably say something like “That plant that pretty much solves all their problems, they're telling people not to grow it? No wonder they think they're all going to die.†The government was helpful in getting us where we are now but here is one key ingredient of this whole deal. We have a right to free thought, free speech, freedom of awareness, and a freedom to share it. And if you don't “get itâ€, you don't have to. I will move on the next person who can handle it. That is the message in Cannabis use. You do not have to do it. Pass the joint to someone who wants it. This plant helps people; the sick, the wise, the old, the natural, the money-making, the self money making, and the purposed. If you knew it all along, you would have just gotten it for yourself already. It wouldn't be so hard if the government didn't make it. In the past 300 years, industrialization has taken over a huge part of the American economy. It has made us money so quickly that we didn't have time to question whether or not it's the right thing to do. Rapid industrialization has contributed to global warming and pollution, which is toxic to the environment. In addition, the wealth and comfort of today's world makes it increasingly easy to support a family and leads to overpopulation. Industrialization takes a toll on human psychology when it happens so fast. A few hundred years ago, people lived in villages and worked out in nature. Food was grown from the ground or bought from the local butcher. Now, everything is computerized, standardized, and one-size-fits-all. No wonder people need drugs. How do you find identity in a world that is so impersonal? Growing Potential This is a last call to America and to the greener side of the World. It is time to make decisions. It is time to show that we are ready to think for ourselves. Cannabis is growing. It is very much in season. The Earth knows her purpose. She will provide greens to the ones who need it. The sun knows his, which is to shine good light on the human race as well as the green things in life; the ones that matter and seem to keep us rooted to Earth. Water will continually renew the energy of the human body and it will feed Cannabis among other plants. The soil needs more plants. Humans tear down rain forests and jungles for wood. Hemp provides a safer and more efficient paper. If we can feel good about getting something green, we can feel really good about it. That is the human nature and the product and the relationship explained. It is too real to ignore anymore. It is money in your hands and plants all around. Imagine a greener world. Got it? OK. Now, go get it. What to do about it? Legalize and love. Share open-mindedness and purpose. Someone out there will reach out and grab that good plant and invite it over. Who knows, maybe the two of you can get to be friends over it. It helps us out because it makes dollars and friends. It is the economic opportunity we have been waiting for and it will make us money. Growing Cannabis is growing ideas and love you can share with whoever you want. It is a call to nature and a nature to money. It is what capitalistic people need so much at this point in time. Humans have known about and used Cannabis for thousands of years. We spread it around the world, and nature managed to keep it where it needs to be, even when it is illegal. It could be the reason that people misinterpret roles on Earth. Maybe it is all about going green. Maybe we had to be ready for it. It is indeed due time. The Cannabis Opportunity in America A Right to the Constitution and the Rights included. The Constitution includes a right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happinessâ€. Marijuana is plant life and the liberty to grow it doesn't harm anybody. George Washington himself would have told you all about the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution allows for free speech. Why don't we use that while it is still available? Let people know that you have to give it to get it and that's the only way we can make this world work. A Right to Earth Nobody should have the divine authority to outlaw a plant from its people. That is ridiculous. It is a regressive chapter of human history, but it is relevant. It relates to how human theory evolves and makes laws that are in accordance with progress. It is a balance with people and a balance with nature. Global warming is happening. Right now, this Earth is getting hotter because sun rays are being trapped in our atmosphere. We have been cutting down on the use of plants and humans are getting cancer. We chop down rain forests and drop bombs. We turn land into highways, and everything is electronic now. We owe it to Earth. Population is booming. By 2050, there will be an estimated 9 billion inhabitants on Earth. There are now 7 billion. Not everybody that comes into this world gets an easy opportunity at getting an education. Even for the ones that do, there's a good chance that the education does not teach the necessary skills for surviving life. Growing is a great option for the stay-at-home type of people, who cannot commute to a workplace regularly. A Right to Get Together It's a right in progress of tuning in the greener side of life and making friends, money, and a living out of it. It's a utility of socialization. It is a lot like tobacco and alcohol in nature, except that it's natural. People can smoke it and feel good. Cigarettes are very addictive, and have 599 potential additives, 100 of which are known carcinogens. Alcohol kills too many people, rots too many personalities, but is enjoyed in moderation. It is also extra enjoyed in extra moderation, a skill we might be too fond of. The old wouldn't be so cranky and the young wouldn't be so ignorant, if everyone could get along on the green ship. A Right to a Belief If we believe in Earth, we wouldn't have absurd theories like the world ending on December 21, 2012. That is a global waste of time. We need to get to know what makes us human and find a calling. It is the right to believe we can make it past this year. It is the right to believe that in 2013, you will be in the United States of America that you want to be in. Cannabis is also used a religious sacrament. Rastafarianism is a religion that does this. A Right to Education If we quit wasting taxpayer salary on law enforcement against a plant, we could put it where it matters: the education system. This world needs more teachers. The world needs better teachers too. It is a global education process because the science is adding up. The propaganda needs to stop because the message in anti-drug advertisements is simply not true. Cannabis is not as harmful as we thought it was a few years ago. That is true especially since more and more people choose quality over quantity, and use water filtration (water pipes) as a preferred method. The government has withheld a lot of information for a long time. It is time to let democracy work its way in. Marijuana use is a public health issue, NOT a criminal one. A Right to Jobs The government tried, yet failed in creating jobs. What else is new? The Cannabis industry will grow jobs in glass industry, art industry, and there is still a lot to study about it so science and psychology take a win. Medicinal dispensaries and smoke shops will thrive. Not to mention, it's a chance to show the world that the greener path to the future was right under our feet. Also, an acre of hemp grows four times as much wood pulp as four acres of trees annually. It is safer paper and lasts much longer. A Right to Health Alcohol leads to drunk driving and other alcohol related deaths. Cigarettes are death sticks for your lungs. Cannabis is natural, grows from Earth, and has never killed anyone. It is also a medicine which people should not have to go to the black market for. It is here to stay in this day and age. It is true that some people will use all three. But by providing a safer legal alternative, many Americans will not feel the desire to use the currently legal toxins. Cannabis will be mainstreamed so it will no longer be “the cool thing to do.†Cannabis is a medicine. That in itself, sounds like something kids should know not to get into. Healthcare should become less of a hassle because people will be healthier choosing Cannabis over alcohol and cigarettes. The population of the nation is expanding fast, but the land is not. Not everybody can afford transportation and higher education but it's not that hard to grow pot. A Right to Protection People wouldn't misinterpret the roles of the police if they didn't feel victimized. African Americans and Latinos are at disposition for racial profiling. The pot smoking youth wouldn't feel like it is a target to a police state authority, if it wasn't. The result of Cannabis prohibition is that pot smokers are categorized as “drug users†and fall into the same social group that abuses cocaine, heroin, and meth. There's better, more natural ways of getting high. People would quit disapproving the government if we knew they recognized our potential. But they don't because we're not growing. It's time to take the money out of the drug gangs' hands and put them into America's hands. A Right to Nature We need to go green. That is what keeps us on Earth. Eating fruits and vegetables is getting on the right track but there's a flower that we have been forgetting to grow. It is a flower that is growing in potency, just like the human race itself. It is a seed with potential, and some buds that can sell. It is roots to Earth and money in your hands. It's a chance for our economy to increase cash flow the natural way. It's a capitalism-goes-green kind of world now. A Right to Get High People already do that. Marijuana smoking is happening right now. It's been around for thousands of years and it is here to stay. This year should be all about showing that potential. It's natural and it's a reason to feel comfortable. It's a right to grow confidence about something we already do. It's a time to quit looking backward and start looking into the future. A Right to Stop the Imprisonment We know better. Putting human beings in jail for smoking or using a plant is regressive thinking. It is not letting people use their resources to their full potential to connect with Earth. As soon as we stop demonizing it, we can tune in the potential. The United States has the highest percentage of its population in jail. The majority of citizens are in prison for drug related offenses. The majority of drug related offenses are Marijuana possession. A Right to Bridge the Gap The gap between the rich and the poor will decrease. The rich are already working and they are most likely educated. But the poor sometimes don't have to resources to get them out of debt. The poor sometimes can't walk out of their own home because of health reasons. They need money. A Right to Hemp Hemp/Cannabis/Marijuana is useful for medicine, food, fuel, fiber, bricks, plastics, textiles, paint, and oil. Hemp is the most versatile plant known to man. Hemp has the potential to start an entire industry of its own and to provide a safer alternative to some of the ingredients industries use now. The industry will create safer and more durable products. Many hemp products are biodegradable. A Right to End the Drug War Money is being wasted and people are dying. Case closed. I do not encourage or condone the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of illegal drugs. I am not involved in illegal activities of any sort. I encourage public education and law reformation.