Pubdate: Wed, 20 Feb 2002
Source: Sidney Herald Leader (MT)
Copyright: 2002 Sidney Herald Leader
Contact:  http://www.sidneyherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1769
Author: Jim Hightower
Note: Radio talk-show host and author Jim Hightower is a former 
agricultural commissioner of Texas. His latest book, "If The Gods Had 
Meant Us To Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candidates" (Harper- 
Collins), has just been released in a fully revised and updated 
paperback edition.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

CONGRESSMAN BOB BARR- THE FARMER'S ENEMY

Being an idiot is no bar to being a member of Congress, and as 
exhibit number one to prove this point, I offer the fatuous Bob Barr.

What a doofus. This right-wing Georgia Republican's latest flight 
into extremist fantasyland comes in the form of a press release from 
his office declaring excitedly that Barr "is taking a strong, 
proactive stance against the spread and marketing of..." - of what? 
Something awful, right, like crack cocaine or land mines or child 
pornography? But, nooooo.

What has Bob's undies in a wad is the spread and marketing of hemp products.

Yes, such products as strong rope, fine writing paper, graceful 
clothing, nutritious foods, non-polluting fuels, and even earth- 
friendly plastics are made from the humble hemp plant - and Bob Barr 
doesn't like it one tiny bit!

Never mind that hemp has been used to make maritime, farm, industrial 
and household products for thousands of years. Never mind that such 
American icons as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson cultivated 
hemp as a major cash crop. Never mind that the Declaration of 
Independence itself was drafted on hemp paper. Never mind that hemp 
would be a profitable, environmentally sound crop for family farmers 
today. Never mind all this, says His Bobness, because "Hemp and 
marijuana both come from the same plant."

Hello...Bob. Bread and beer both come from the same plant, and I 
don't hear you ranting about taking wheat products off the nation's 
shelves.

Yet that's exactly what he and our thuggish Drug Enforcement Agency 
(DEA), are calling for in regard to cosmetics and foods made of hemp 
- - banning them from sale here in the Land of the Free. Hey, 
knuckleheads, get a clue.

While hemp is a biological cousin of marijuana, it is NOT a drug or 
hallucinogen. You couldn't get high on it if you ate an entire extra- 
large hemp sweatshirt or smoked a 30-foot hemp rope.

Barr and the DEA are examples of "drug war" idiocy in action.
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MAP posted-by: Josh