In 2005 the DEA released the following statement when they began proceedings to extradite Marc Emery from Canada to the United States for drug trafficking related to his activities as an online cannabis seed retailer (emphasis added):
“Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group -- is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the U.S. and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement…
“Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on.”
If the DEA is trying to prevent the flow of funds to “marijuana legalization groups”, then it is in our best interest to make sure that funds continue to flow to these organizations. Our support for organizations helping to repeal prohibition laws in the United States and Canada is what the DEA and those who oppose legalization fear. We should do our best to give them cause to fear us.
A few hundred thousand dollars in donations to these organizations brought the full weight of the United States government onto Marc Emery. In an attempt to neutralize Mr. Emery, the US government was forced to commit resources to this war that they cannot afford, so if we want to end prohibition, if we want freedom, there has never been a more opportune time then now to end the war on drugs.
Below you will find the names and websites of some of the more prominent groups spearheading the battle to end prohibition in the United States and Canada. They are trying to bring sanity back into our lives and I’m sure they would appreciate our help as much as we appreciate their efforts.
The Solution to Our Environmental Woes is to End Prohibition
One of the best solutions to our environmental problems is to repeal prohibition, and our first step towards a sustainable existence should begin with cannabis. Its assimilation back into our civilization is the safest, simplest, most efficient immediate solution that we can implement in time to prevent an environmental catastrophe.
Cannabis is a plant, and its use is as old as civilization itself. It has thousands of immediate and potential applications. Its cultivation rejuvenates the soil, it can replace wood products, it’s medicinal, and it can be used as building material, textiles, paint, plastic, fuel, paper, food and body care. It is one of the most important bounties of nature. It’s a plant that will help us achieve sustainability. It’s a plant that we were meant to use.
The war on drugs is not a war between nations; it’s a corporate war on humans, irrelevant of their nationality or ethnicity. It is a war against citizens of the United States and those of other nations. It’s a war without borders. It has gone through multiple mutations and over the last few decades grown into the monstrosity that it is today. It is a one sided war declared by nations on their citizens. A conflict not yet reciprocated by the citizens. It is a war that is sustained entirely due to ignorance, fear, and greed.
If there is such a thing as a just war, then the war on drugs belongs at the other end of the spectrum. It is a war exclusively waged for money. Every other war throughout history has had at least one other fathomable pretense. The war on drugs doesn’t. (Please note that the first few minutes of the following documentary are in Dutch, but the rest is in English).
The irony is that this war and the destruction that it unleashes can be brought to an end within an instant, if it was so desired. All that is required is to end prohibition, to repeal one law.
We know that the end to prohibition will have positive effects because precedent for this has already been set. When prohibition of alcohol ended, so did most of the violence associated with gang warfare, as did much of the corruption in government. When prohibition ended, precious resources were made available again and a major source of revenue and employment was established.
The only reason that America’s Federal War on Drugs continues to this day is because its so-called adversaries, criminal organizations, as well as certain corporations and sectors of government don’t want it to end since its continuation guarantees them flow of funds.
On the behest of certain corporations and a small minority that profit from prohibition, we have been waging a war on a plant that has the potential to help us reduce our ecological footprint. We have been waging a multi-decade war on cannabis that spans the globe, costs trillions of dollars, destroys millions of lives, and consumes precious resources. Stupid.