Wednesday, September 06, 2006
From Jack Herer
JackHerer.com
Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger
September 4, 2006
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
I have been writing about industrial hemp and campaigning for the legalization of all forms of cannabis hemp since 1985. Growing hemp as nature designed it is vital to our urgent need to reduce greenhouse gases and ensure the survival of our planet. However, AB1147 in its present form could severely compromise hemp’s scarce remaining germplasm and endanger the lives of Californians who legally grow cannabis for medicine.
A provision that seeds originate from native California hemp strains was struck from AB1147 at the last minute, and if you sign it, only cannabis with a minuscule amount of THC (0.3 percent) could be grown in our state. Lower THC strains grown in Canadian studies have resulted in lesser yields and shorter stalks than those with natural amounts of the cannabinoid, which serves as a sunscreen for the plant.(1) Without its natural sunscreen, yields of the crop will be insufficient to justify hemp cultivation in California, and pollen from low-THC hemp could infect native hemp and ruin its seeds.
We cannot let this happen.
A 1916 USDA report found hemp could make four times as much paper per acre as trees, superior paper that does not need chlorine bleach.
Hemp seed oil is the healthful food oil with a better balance of essential fatty acids than even flax.
Hemp is the best plant in the world to make building materials, fabric and fuel, from both its stalk and seed. Currently biodiesel fuel is primarily made of soy, and 81 percent of the U.S. soy crop is genetically modified. Biotechnology forces are mobilizing to cash in on the biodiesel bonanza.
On August 15, Monsanto, which has experimented with hemp, acquired Delta and Pine Land Company, the developer of terminator technology – plants that are genetically modified to produce sterile seeds at harvest. D&PL claims that it is already growing genetically modified cotton and tobacco containing terminator genes. Under the guise of a group called CropLife America, Monsanto, Dow Chemical, Du Pont and other corporations spent $621,000 to oppose Mendocino county's anti-GMO Measure H in 2004. In response, Measure H backers brought in 73-year-old Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser, whose canola crops were contaminated with Monsanto’s patented “Round-up Ready” GMO/GE canola, causing him to be sued by Monsanto for “property theft” and “patent infringement.”
Cross-pollination is also an issue for medicinal marijuana growers, who are protected by Proposition 215, made law by California voters in 1996. John LaBoyteaux, an organic farmer, testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on June 29 saying he and his fellow farmers planned to grow low-THC hemp in a malicious attempt to ruin marijuana gardens in Northern California. Pollen can travel for miles, and large fields of low-THC could well accomplish this mean-spirited goal. It could also drive the crop further indoors, causing environmental problems, overconsumption of electricity, diesel spills, and noise. This is a life or death issue for Californians with AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses.
For all of these reasons and more, I ask you to veto AB1147 and instead call for the legalization of cannabis in its natural form.
I know that you have bravely and honestly admitted your own youthful marijuana use, and I see that it hasn’t hurt your health or ability to accomplish your goals. We want hemp without harassment and no more marijuana smokers clogging California prisons.
Cannabis industries could be a boon for California like our state has never before seen, enabling us to stop using petrochemicals and felling our forests, while recovering our forested lands and protecting our farmlands. It is in your hands to make this happen and make yourself a hero to the planet and its people.
Sincerely,
Jack Herer
1. A 2003 Hemp Report from the Saskatoon Research Center in Canada by Cecil L. Vera of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada concludes that of six hemp cultivars grown in Melfort, SK that year, the one with the best yield also had the most THC. A 1999 study from Thunder Bay showed marked differences between 1 percent cultivars vs. 0.3 percent ones. See: AGF.Gov.BC.ca/SpecCrop/Publications/Ind_Hemp.htm
Myspace.com/HempJack