Hemp legalization
Hemp is a form of cannabis that is a wonderfully versitile plant. It can be used to produce softer, stronger, and longer lasting cloth than cotton. It can be used to make longer lasting paper with less chemicals than wood. It can be used to make biofuel that burns cleaner than fuel produced from fossil fuels. Hemp is also a renewable resource that is easy and fast to grow. The article claims that hemp could eliminate our need to obtain fuel from foreign countries while eliminating most of the polution and smog produced by burning fossil fuels. In addition to all these benefits, the article claims economical benefits as well by providing more jobs and reducing costs. The article mentions the failures of the drug war too and how we are wasting our resources trying to fight marijuana, another form of cannabis that can be used in theraputic and medicinal capacities better and safer than some pharmaceuticals currently in use. Cannabis is one of the top, if it isn't actually the top, cash crop in the United States. The problem with that is it is all black market money that the government is missing out on. So why is cannabis still illegal when there appears to be a huge number of benefits from its legalization and how would its legalization change the economy? I think the economy would benefit from the legalization of cannabis because it would provide more jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce government spending on a obviously failing drug war.
4 comments:
Several years ago North Dakota passed legislation that would legalize and regulate industrial hemp. Since then, six other states have extended similar deregulations. Hemp advocates argue that it would be an economic boon to farmers and provide a low cost renewable resource that has multiple uses.
Whether hemp legalization provides more jobs is an empirical question. I suspect, however, that the overall impact on employment is less than what some advocates have been suggesting. Assuming that workers are fully employed already, any expansion of hemp production must come at the cost of production of other crops. Thus, it's possible that new hemp jobs will merely be old corn farmers wearing Hemp baseball caps instead of Corn caps.
Perhaps the US government makes a good deal of money off of keeping this substance controlled. I do believe that our court system in the US is a major money maker, and I know (being from California) that a lot of money also goes into our national prison system, of which California has an ineffective penal system!
I think this ban on hemp and marijuana use is more profitable than it might first seem. Although it is a negative trade off in terms of the environment, there is a huge market opening for the government.
If seven states have already legalized hemp, and they find success useing it for fuel and such then surely other states will follow
If seven states have already legalized hemp, and they find success useing it for fuel and such then surely other states will follow
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