Cannabis, Legal tender aka CASH!

Cannabis: I bet you didn’t know this once National Treasure was “legal tender in most of the early settler days of 1631 into the early 1800s. Taxes were paid with Cannabis for over two hundred years, and between the 17th and 18th centuries it was illegal NOT to grow hemp in some areas.”-Link  This now defamed plant was championed by the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin as a cash crop essential for the good of our nation. Sadly Cannabis has been subject to a century-long negative propaganda campaign that ultimately culminated in failure. This failure, although indeed a stain on the American timeline, should be viewed by Patriots as a victory for Republicanism because the people in many states have voted to legalize or decriminalize Cannabis, which is the State Governments working for The People, as our founders intended.

There is likely no other plant on the earth that has been lied about and weaponized against specific groups of people like the Cannabis plant. Sadly, this undue dark history has cast a shadow over the true, benign nature of Cannabis. Its limitless value to our people, the planet, and its crucial role in the founding of America solidifies its bedrock position in American Heritage. Indeed, the founders who were the first American pioneers of the Cannabis Industry illustrates how far we’ve come from our core values. Its due time our stolen birthright to farm, utilize, and prosper from Cannabis is returned to We The People. 

Seed-Bearing Plants are Gifts from God

For a Nation with Christianity at the core of its cultural inception, it’s a wonder how a seed-bearing plant could ever render such condemnation in America when the Bible makes it clear every seed-bearing plant is a gift from God, genesis 1:19: 

“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.” 

Hard as one may look, there is no asterisk on this Bible verse. No, the lost dead sea scroll doesn’t explain how God forgot to mention Cannabis as the devil’s lettuce. There is no fine print in the Bible, Declaration of Independence, or Constitution outlining how our Federal Government can, outside of a popular vote, unilaterally regulate or forbid the farming and use of Cannabis while using tax dollars to fund negative propaganda campaigns against a plant. 

Failed War on Cannabis

Fortunately for the Nation that project failed and the tide has turned with many States voting to legalize Cannabis in some fashion, California included. Additionally positive, in a recent poll one of the more notable demographics to voice support for policy change in regard to Cannabis “was Republicans, 54 percent of whom said they back legalization. That’s compared to 68 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of those who said they had an “other” political affiliation.” This is a huge shift, and Republican leaders are pioneering the way with groundbreaking bills like H.R.3105, “Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act.”

The time has come for Republicans to be bolder than ever when approaching this topic and H.R.3105 is a huge step in the right direction. An opportunity of epic proportions awaits if we collectively shed the lies of yesteryear and forge together in the Republican Party embracing the Cannabis plant and all it has to offer our Nation. We need to completely deregulate Cannabis at the federal level while formulating a bipartisan congressional committee to produce patriotic promotional materials in support of educating the public about the American Cannabis history, and its value to our Nation. It’s only through efforts like this can we right the wrongs of yesterday while forging a brighter future for tomorrow. 

What follows is an overview of Cannabis, its history in American Republicanism, and all of the logical reasons we have the God given right to utilize it in all of its expressions. 

What is Cannabis?

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. 

The number of species within the genus is disputed, however, it’s generally accepted that there are three species: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. 

Cannabis is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Asia, though can be found in nearly every corner of the world that humans inhabit. 

Hemp, Cannabis, What’s the Difference? 

Hemp is historically a term that was used synonymously with Cannabis although today this term is often used to refer only to varieties of Cannabis with low or no medical or psychoactive properties. 

Hemp’s industrial usefulness was part of a short film created by none other than the USDA imploring American Farmers to start growing Hemp for the war effort, made during World War II and released in 1942. 

The utility of this plant as shown by our own government’s history of promotion during wartime further illustrates the injustice of our current federal prohibition as well as current state and county regulations. Indeed, Cannabis, with or without medical or psychoactive properties, can be utilized in the same or similar manners to achieve the same or similar industrial levels of production. As you will continue to see, the only reason we don’t see prosperity with a wide spread Cannabis industry made up of small mom and pop businesses is sadly due to tired propaganda of the distant past. 

These lies are still rippling negative effects into the current day. Coupled with greedy and / or misdirected politicians regulating the mom and pop shops out of the business while, through tax loopholes and other legal shenanigans, those in positions of power are and have been clearing the path for large multinational conglomerates to control the industry. This is very similar to the history of Alcohol Prohibition and its consequences on that industry. Without patriotic grassroots reform Cannabis seems to be heading in the same direction.

Made in God’s image and the Amazing Endocannabinoid system

There are at least 33 Bible verses that refer to Man being made in the image of God. With many Republicans proclaiming their Christian Faith as being the forefront of their internal priorities, it then relies only on ignorance that any Christian would see Cannabis as not only another beautiful expression of God, created in bountiful glory for his children with every other creation, but also a part of themself in the form of a plant. What follows are just a few verses to help illustrate my point for those who do not read the Bible or subscribe to the Christian faith but nevertheless see themselves as Patriotic Americans.

Genesis 1:27 ESV 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26 ESV 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 9:6 ESV 

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Colossians 1:15 ESV 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Corinthians 11:7 ESV 

For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.

God Made Mistakes? 

So, if Man and Woman are created in the image of God, and God is infallible, the inclusion of the Endocannabinoid system as part of the human brain and body would be absolutely impossible without the direct hand of God creating it. Indeed, denial of this important system would be akin to denial of how the heart or pancreas works as a biological system. All of these, in the context of Christianity, equal evidence of divine intervention and God’s handy work. Those who do not subscribe to Christianity might as easily be in awe of the Endocannabinoid system in an evolutionary context as well as the pure coincidental nature of our being on a planet with a plant that just so happens to create a chemical compound that is not only already part of the invisible functions of the human brain, but also a crucial element to our well being found throughout our bodies. 

The Essential and Mysterious Endocannabinoid System

“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a complex cell-signaling system identified in the early 1990s by researchers exploring THC, a well-known cannabinoid. Cannabinoids are compounds found in cannabis.

Experts are still trying to fully understand the ECS. But so far, we know it plays role in regulating a range of functions and processes, including:

• sleep
• mood
• appetite
• memory
• reproduction and fertility
  

The ECS exists and is active in your body even if you don’t use cannabis.” –Link

According to Harvard University in a publication entitled The Endocannabinoid System: Essential and Mysterious, “The ECS comprises a vast network of chemical signals and cellular receptors that are densely packed throughout our brains and bodies. The “cannabinoid” receptors in the brain — the CB1 receptors — outnumber many of the other receptor types on the brain. They act like traffic cops to control the levels and activity of most of the other neurotransmitters. This is how they regulate things: by immediate feedback, turning up or down the activity of whichever system needs to be adjusted, whether that is hunger, temperature, or alertness.

To stimulate these receptors, our bodies produce molecules called endocannabinoids, which have a structural similarity to molecules in the cannabis plant. The first endocannabinoid that was discovered was named anandamide after the Sanskrit word ananda for bliss. All of us have tiny cannabis-like molecules floating around in our brains. The cannabis plant, which humans have been using for about 5,000 years, essentially works its effect by hijacking this ancient cellular machinery.” –Link

1 Corinthians 6:19:

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1 Corinthians 12:12

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Whether it be viewed through the eyes of Science or Christianity, it is very clear the EC System is crucial for our well being as humans and spiritual beings equally as the plant was for the founding of this Nation. Indeed, denial of these truths would be akin to both denial of plain facts and the literal Word of God. What more do we need to discover inorder to reverse the current tide and restore Cannabis Freedom to We The People?

Cannabis was critical to the American Colonies 

The popularity of Cannabis due to its various uses compelled the colonists to plant hemp as soon as they landed in the New World. The plant was absolutely critical for the survival of the colonies so much so that growing Cannabis was mandatory in many areas. Yes, you read that correctly the government would literally levy fines against those who did NOT grow hemp on their land. 

“In 1619, Jamestown announced the order for all farmers to grow hemp seed, and as more colonies popped up hemp cultivation laws became more mandatory. Cannabis hemp quickly became legal tender in most of the early settler days of 1631 into the early 1800s.” 

Mandatory Marijuana Farming 

“Taxes were paid with hemp for over two hundred years, and between the 17th and 18th centuries it was illegal NOT to grow hemp in some areas. Some colonies even enforced jail sentences for those who did not participate in what was quickly becoming a patriotic act, especially during the revolutionary war.” Worldhistory.us

Cannabis and our Founding Fathers

Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills that processed hemp into parchment, that of which was used in many first drafts that later became the documents that America stands by. The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”, the Federalist (and Anti-Federalist) Papers, the Articles of Confederation, and of course the United States Constitution were all written on hemp paper.

George Washington not only grew hemp for clothes (home spun), he actually has a quote from his diary from August 7, 1765: “— began to separate the male from the female hemp at Do — rather too late.” It is debatable, but today that technique is used solely for drug potency in marijuana. –worldhistory.us

Were the Presidents Hemp Smokers?

Dr. Burke, who is a president of the American Historical Reference Society, has noted seven of the earliest presidents as hemp smokers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce. According to Dr. Burke, “Early letters from our founding fathers refer to the pleasures of hemp smoking,”

Diving even deeper into American History some on the internet falsely claim the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were penned on Hemp paper. However, Hemp does play a role in the life of a Founding Father, according to Monticello.org

“Hemp, along with flax and cotton, was primarily used for making clothing at Monticello. Thomas Jefferson grew hemp both at Monticello and at Poplar Forest, his plantation in Bedford County, Virginia.”

George Washington cultivated Cannabis at Mount Vernon

“Throughout his lifetime, George Washington cultivated hemp at Mount Vernon for industrial uses. The fibers from hemp held excellent properties for making rope and sail canvas. In addition, hemp fibers could be spun into thread for clothing or, as indicated in Mount Vernon records, used in repairing the large seine nets Washington used in his fishing operation along the Potomac.

At one point in the 1760’s Washington considered whether hemp would be a more lucrative cash crop than tobacco but determined wheat was a better alternative.” –link

Little did George Washington know that he was on target seeing Cannabis as a more lucrative cash crop than tobacco, he was just 200 years before his time!

Humboldt Patriots support Cannabis Freedom

There is likely no other Republican Central Committee in the Nation that should have more to say about this plant and the important issue of Cannabis Freedom than the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee. I feel safe proclaiming that there are likely more Republicans in Humboldt County who support Cannabis Freedom than Republicans who don’t, or remain skeptical- this author included. It’s not hard to imagine some Republicans who enjoy one of the many recreational Cannabis products available. Given the state of California made Cannabis legal for recreational use via the political process, this should be applauded by Patriots as an expression of our Republican form of government working precisely as intended. 

Republicans have historically been the champions of States Rights, and a federal government of the smallest size that allows basic function but forbade encroachment and bloating. It is no stretch of the words to say our Founding Fathers, many of whom grew and seemingly smoked Cannabis, would have never agreed to its prohibition, especially outside of the Constitutional Amendment process. They’d certainly never approve of an unelected bureaucracy outside the direct control of We The People making these decisions either.

“While the Constitution is fundamentally a compact among the American people (its first seven words are “We the People of the United States”), it was ratified by special conventions in the states. The peoples of the states admired and cherished their state governments, all of which had adopted republican constitutions before a federal constitution was completed. Hence the framers of the new national government had to respect the states’ prior existence and jealous guarding of their own prerogatives. 

They also believed that the role of the federal government should be limited to performing those tasks that only a national government can do, such as providing for the nation’s security or regulating commerce between the states, and that most tasks were properly the responsibility of the states. And they believed that strong states, as competing power centers, would act as counterweights against a potentially overweening central government, in the same way that the separation of powers checks and balances the branches of the federal government.” 1776 Report, Link

Cannabis Regulation, a States Rights Issue

It is clear from these words that our freedom to farm and utilize Cannabis should be, if anything, purely a States Rights issue since the State Governments came before the Federal Government and the former are under no obligation to capitulate with the latter on this particular issue. Furthermore, by leaving this to the States to decide, as it ought to be, provides the Republican form of self government the founders intended. 

Finally, Common Sense Cannabis Reform

Getting little attention in the wake of inflation, rising gas prices, Hunter Biden’s corrupt business dealings, and Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities sliding into oblivion, there is an excellent, republican sponsored bill introduced into congress last May that should receive the support of every House Republican.

Bipartisan Support for Cannabis Freedom

This author, as the 5th District Chair of the Humboldt Republican Central Committee, fully supports H.R. 3105: Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act which seeks to “limit the application of Federal laws to the distribution and consumption of marihuana, and for other purposes.” This bill, sponsored by David Joyce, Representative for Ohio’s 14th congressional district, a Republican, is also co-sponsored by 5 other Republicans and 4 Democrats. 

This groundbreaking and historic bipartisan effort to limit the federal government’s power while restoring the power back to the States has the real world potential of finally ending forever the false story we were sold about this valuable plant.

Humboldt County, CA: Epicenter of Cannabis Freedom

Famous for its culture and economy surrounding the plant, Humboldt County has been a household name regarding Cannabis resulting from the widely publicized “pot farm busts” of operation CAMP (Campaign Against Cannabis Planting) in which began in 1983. A CAMP Statistics document shows a total of 271,056 Cannabis plants seized by this task force in the year 2007 alone. Despite this consistent and well funded crack down stretching over 20 years, these efforts by a federal joint task force with help from local authorities barely made a dent in the overall production of Cannabis in Humboldt County during this period. 

Steadfast and resilient Cannabis Farmers began to observe the specific factors that led to the farms getting busted, avoiding those things while employing every innovation available to decrease detection. Those who maintained these operational protocols continued to grow unmolested by law enforcement to this day. These farmers realized only the largest, most obvious farms were the ones being busted. One of the most famous tactics employed was the use of clandestine indoor gardens and multiple small plot outdoor farms that only the farmers themselves could manage and by “keeping it small” thus preventing discovery by law enforcement. 

This type of grassroots systematic rebellion against an unjust enforcement of unjust laws is quintessential American Patriotism. The Declaration of Independence makes it very clear that Patriots ought to disobey an overreaching and authoritarian government acting like this. 

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” –Link

Fast forward to the current day, Cannabis has been legalized for medical and recreational use by the State of California and many others. In California it is now a misdemeanor for possession of Cannabis at any quantity. There are billboards along the freeway advertising Cannabis businesses and every city has as many Cannabis Dispensaries as they do Starbucks Coffee Shops. 

Humboldt County is no stranger to this change and has enjoyed a booming local economy due to the success of this industry. Much of the taboo nature of yesteryear surrounding this benign and valuable plant has been snuffed out into the ashtray of history. This has been a positive change for the County, State, and Country, though many improvements can still be made both locally and nationally for this important industry that employs so much of our community. 

With all of this said, there is yet still a fight the Nation’s Republicans should take up with pride and enthusiasm. The Cannabis Industry today has been engineered with financial firewalls that prevent the everyday American from utilizing the Cannabis Plant for personal prosperity. While every State has a different way of regulating the Cannabis Industry, California, where we reside, has levied taxes on this industry that is already bringing some larger producers to their knees.

The farming of Cannabis outdoors is no different than farming other crops in terms of scope and technology. There remains no logical reason for treating farmers of Cannabis any differently than farmers of Tomatoes and Potatoes in terms of taxation and regulation. The plant itself poses absolutely no threat to anyone in its natural, growing form. Indeed, the Cannabis plant will not self animate and force children to consume it, nor will the mere experience of the Cannabis Plant being openly farmed somehow alter the nature of American existence in any fundamental way. The only thing that will occur is Freedom. Freedom to prosper from the seed bearing plant God put here and designed our bodies to utilize. 

The time has come to restore the God given right of every American to farm Cannabis and prosper from all of its value.