14
th speech in this series to the Josephine County Commissioners, September
2, 2009.
Another
finding in A Resolution Regarding
Marijuana is:
“WHEREAS Josephine
County’s farmers could make money growing marijuana and hemp and making hemp
products on their own land;”
Apparently,
the Oregon legislature has already seen the light regarding hemp, having
legalized the growing of industrial hemp earlier this summer. Soon afterwards, we heard from a medical
marijuana organization, pointing out that Oregon may not have the best climate
for growing hemp. Certainly, we could
not compete with states that are either hotter or more humid; where we have the
heat, we don’t have the humidity; where we have the moisture, we don’t have the
heat. The Midwest and Southeast are much
better climates for both marijuana and industrial hemp.
Where
Oregon has made a lot of money and could continue to do so, is in the growing
of medical-grade marijuana for the western markets, in particular for our own
smokers. We may not have the perfect
climate, but we have a good enough climate, and the expertise. Southern Oregon NORML is undoubtedly worried
about the impact of fields of industrial hemp pollen on medical marijuana crop
quality; medical and black-market growers pull all the male plants to prevent
pollination and loss of quality; hemp growers have no reason to do so.
Which
brings us to the next reason, “WHEREAS many of Josephine County’s marijuana users could grow
their own marijuana, freeing up their money to spend on other products and
services;”
As I pointed out in an earlier speech, I spend about $300 per
month on marijuana. That’s money that,
if I was growing my own, I could spend on other products and services, raising
the income of legitimate businessmen instead of black market suppliers. Multiply that by the number of pot smokers in
this county, minus the people who are already licensed to grow their own, and
you have an engine of economic development, just by allowing people to grow one
of God’s green herbs that he gave us all for our use.
Add to that the amount that we spend on arresting people and
tearing out their plants, jailing them, trying them, and keeping them in prison
or on probation, for growing a plant God gave us. That is money that could be spent
investigating thefts and punishing thieves.
Our sheriff presently has 1 detective assigned to narcotics, and
none assigned to investigate thefts.
This would remove the most commonly used “narcotic” from his list, and
allow him to concentrate on meth labs.
If, as he has said, these meth makers and sellers are involved in a lot
of theft, he could catch more of them perhaps more easily by investigating
thefts. At least then, he’d catch the
ones who steal.
Rycke Brown, Natural Gardener 541-955-9040 rycke@gardener.com
No comments:
Post a Comment