Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jul 2010
Source: News-Press (Fort Myers, FL)
Copyright: 2010 Thomas Desrosier
Contact:  http://www.news-press.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1133
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n508/a08.html
Author: Thomas Desrosier

PERSONAL CHOICE

The controversy surrounding marijuana use boils down to the same issue
as the controversy about abortion: personal choice.

The big difference is that abortion has no additional "benefits"
(for lack of a better term), while legalized cannabis would provide
many uses beyond just medical or casual use.

The oil from the plant is a rich source for alternative fuel, more
efficient than ethanol made from corn and therefore cost competitive
with gasoline. In fact, Henry Ford designed the original Model T to
run on fuel derived from cannabis grown on his own property! The
plastic-like material used on the body panels of the Model T were made
from the fiber of the cannabis plant, and were lighter and stronger
than steel panels.

In 1937, it was the big corporations like Hearst Enterprises, DuPont
Chemicals and Gulf Oil whose money made sure that marijuana would be
outlawed.

Today it is similar big-money companies that want to keep it illegal
for the same reasons. Their money is keeping our representatives from
changing the law.

If we made fuel from the cannabis plant, we would not need offshore
drilling for oil, nor would we need foreign oil. If we made paper from
hemp fiber, we could save our forests and stop polluting our rivers.

Thomas Desrosier

Cape Coral
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