Cannabis Awareness Day is designed to bring citizens from across Georgia to the State Capitol to show support for cannabis law reform. In the process, we teach citizens how to advocate for or against a bill, how to meet their legislators (State Representatives & Senators), where to find their offices, and meet fellow activists who support the cause.

Itinerary for Monday 27th:

The event is from 9:00am to 3:00pm and a hearing on Senate Bill 105 will take place at 4:00pm.

Feel free to attend any time during the day you are available. It is recommended that you set aside at least two hours for this event if you are going to attend, so that you have time to speak with people.

Some of us will be attending the Wild Hog Supper at 5:30 at the Depot. Take into consideration the hearing at 4:00 could run past an hour. The meeting room and Depot is only a block apart.

• 9:00am:

We will meet in Room 328 in the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB) at 9am -10am for orientation. CLOB is across the street from the capitol on the south side. You will need a photo ID to enter these buildings. For those who have no experience at the Capitol, we will show you around and help you locate your legislator.

You can also do your homework and find the name and photo of your legislators. See Below.

• 1:00 Lunch:

We will gather at the Sloppy Floyd Cafeteria for lunch – lower floor. Pay your way. It has a good selection of sandwiches, salad bar, and other selections ranging from $5 to $10. A snack bar is available on  the 1st floor of the capitol. We recommend you BRING BOTTLED WATER.

Tips for Talking with Legislators:

1. Do not be negative, argumentative, or behave angrily toward the legislator. This behavior will only give them a reason to ignore your request.
2. Don’t identify yourself as being with a group or Georgia CARE Project. It may predispose the legislator to bias in regard to your statements. Identify yourself as a citizen activist. Because you are not being paid, this is completely factual.
3. You will only have a few minutes to speak. Try to be concise. Incorporate the story of someone affected personally by the laws if you can, as this speaks louder than facts sometimes.
4. Make a clear statement about how you want them to vote before you say goodbye. Don’t forget!
5. Report back to us about any conversations with legislators so we can learn and share as needed.

Legislation we support:

• House Resolution 36: Public Vote on in-state cultivation (2018)
• House Bill 65: Medical Cannabis Expansion Bill
• House Bill 465: Industrial Hemp Experimental Crop Research and Commission
• Senate Bill 105: Marijuana Decriminalization (Harm Reduction)

Legislation we oppose:

• Senate Bill 16: Reduces THC limits in Low THC Oil to 3% from 5%

Talking Points:

There are several bills we are supporting. We only want to express our support for the bill and offer a short explanation why. If they have time to engage you in conversation you can further explain why. If they oppose the bill, be polite and encourage their support for the bill. Move on.

Office to Office:

We plan on delivering an information packet to as many offices as possible. Especially to those sitting on committees that will hear our bills.

Parking (See Map):

• Parking is available in the area. It is recommended that you use the parking decks or the lot closest to the CLOB .

The Underground Atlanta Parking deck is just west of the capitol  75 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., SW Atlanta, GA 30303 . This deck is suggested if you are attending the Wild Hog Supper that evening at the Rail Road Depot – 5:30. FEE -by the hour. Pay on exit.

Pete Hackney Parking Deck 62 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE Atlanta, GA 30303. Cheapest $5 flat rate pay on entry. Follow the signs at the elevator to use the walking bridge to the Sloppy Floyd Twin Towers Building on the north side of capitol.

Liberty Plaza Parking Lot – Capitol Ave. located on the southeast side of the capitol. This may be the most convenient parking at $10 (pay station) if space is available. Look for the Flags and Liberty Bell. A flagman is usually there flagging in customers. It is just steps away from the capitol.

The post 2017 5th Annual Cannabis Awareness and Lobby Day appeared first on Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform and Education.

“Re-Establishing Hemp Farming in Georgia – 2015” offers an over view of the history of hemp in America and uses the 2014 Tennessee hemp legislation as a model proposal.

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This crop is now being touted for its use in automotive manufacturing, clothing, food and a multitude of other uses, including horse bedding. Brannon said the crop is 400 percent absorbent as a bedding product, easily topping other materials.

“I saw an issue of Popular Mechanics from 1937 that was declaring hemp as ‘America’s new billion-dollar crop,’” said Dr. Tony Brannon, dean of the MSU Hutson School of Agriculture that participated in a pilot program made possible by both the office of Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer and Congress’ passage of the latest farm bill. Industrial hemp was declared illegal shortly after that story appeared, as it began being linked to narcotics use, as more recent findings indicate, perhaps unfairly.

“This is a big day for bio-energy and for biomass here at Murray State,” he said. “We have had a lot of cooperation on this endeavor. Murray State was the site of the first legal hemp planting since World War II and this truly marks a milestone.”

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“I am putting forth a broad medical marijuana bill as well as allowance of industrial hemp,” Hunt said. “If a bill decriminalizing [marijuana] does pass, I will gladly sign it.”

“Texas closed three prisons and reduced crime rates at the same time,” Hunt said, “The punishment for victimless crimes should be just fines, and I will move in this direction as much as possible. I hope to show a majority of people that moves toward greater Liberty are great for society. I will support changes to the War on Drugs to reduce the impact that drugs have on our society. Much of the impact is the crime related to the drugs being illegal and people being pulled out of society to serve time in prison. I would like to have net savings in our budget by having drug rehabilitation program versus jail time, and would work to get such changes passed into law and implemented. Police could then focus more on protecting the people versus attacking them.” Andrew Hunt

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The report concludes: “[T]he US market for hemp-based products has a highly dedicated and growing demand base, as indicated by recent US market and import data for hemp products and ingredients, as well as market trends for some natural foods and body care products. Given the existence of these small-scale, but profitable, niche markets for a wide array of industrial and consumer products, commercial hemp industry in the United States could provide opportunities as an economically viable alternative crop for some US growers.”

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Commonly known as “marijuana”, cannabis has been used for benefit of mankind for over 5000 years for fiber, fuels and medicine.

Over several decades Georgia has spent billions of tax dollars attempting to enforce draconian prohibition laws against cannabis “marijuana”. The results have been devastating and ineffective in eliminating the desire of Georgians to use marijuana. It is estimated nearly 1 million Georgians use marijuana annually.

In Georgia, more than 35,000 arrests occur for marijuana offenses each year. 85% of these arrests are for possession, accounting for 55% of all drug arrests.

Today, March 14^th, about 100 people will be arrested for possession of marijuana in Georgia.

Prohibition has diverted valuable resources away from real crimes against people and property. Marijuana arrests takes law enforcement officers off the streets; fill our county jails and clog courts; overcrowds our state prison system; renders defendants unemployable and stigmatizes otherwise law abiding and productive citizens.

Organizations Working for Marijuana Law Reform:

Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform & Education – www.gacareproject.com

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – www.peachtreenorml.org

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) – www.leap.cc

Marijuana Policy Project – www.mpp.org

Law Reform:

Many options are available when considering reform of marijuana laws. Medicalization, decriminalization and legalization are all viable options for consideration. Various forms of regulation, control and taxation can and should be considered.

Medical Marijuana:

In 1980, the Georgia General Assembly unanimously passed a medical marijuana research act, (Controlled Substance Therapeutic Research Act – Code 43-34-120) becoming one of the first states to recognize the medical benefits of marijuana. With support of Lt. Gov. Zell Miller, House Speaker Tom Murphy, Rep. Virlyn Smith and Governor George Busbee, this landmark legislation opened the doors to therapeutic cannabis. The law relied upon federal cooperation and supply, therefore rendering the law cumbersome and ineffective in accomplishing its goal to further the research into the benefits of medical marijuana.

The legislation stated: “(Studies) indicate that marijuana and certain of its derivatives possess valuable and in some cases, unique therapeutic properties, including the ability to relieve nausea and vomiting which routinely accompany chemotherapy and irradiation used to treat cancer patients.” It also cited the benefit in reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.

Currently, 18 states, including the District of Columbia, passed medical marijuana laws. These enacting states should be used to determine the best course of action for Georgia.

Decriminalization:

Georgia has some of the most severe penalties for marijuana in the nation. Possession of less than one ounce (28 grams) carries up to one year in jail and $1000 fine. More than one ounce (29+ grams) carries up to ten years in prison.

Georgia should consider what real impact an individual who smokes marijuana has on public safety versus the cost to enforce these laws. Under decriminalization various scenarios can be considered.

Less than one ounce (personal possession) could be considered a civil infraction to be dealt with on the county or municipal level similar to a traffic ticket.

Misdemeanor and felony amounts could be raised. For example, a misdemeanor amount could be up to four ounces with fines and little or no prison time and the felony amount could be set over four ounces.

These scenarios could dramatically reduce the risk of prison time while allowing penalties for possession.

Recommendations:

1. Georgia can begin law reform by elimination of jail and prison time for less than 4 ounce of marijuana. Remaining penalties will be sufficient enough for the state to show disapproval and discouragement of marijuana use. This reform will shift limited resources to more serious offenses. 
2. Parole anyone serving time for possession of marijuana and return them to their families and community.
3. Pardon those who have successfully completed their sentence for marijuana offense so as to not harm their ability to find jobs and earn a living. 

Industrial Hemp

Long before Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana) became widely used as an intoxicant, the world’s farmers and industrialists utilized the plant for food, fiber and fuel. If hemp was legal to grow in Georgia it would create multi-million dollar industries and would generate such goods as: bio-fuels, building materials, textile manufacturing, etc. Listed below are some facts about the many uses of the hemp plant for your consideration.

INDUSTRY FACTS
*Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. He wanted to build and fuel cars from farm products.

*BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an effort to make cars more recyclable.

*Much of the bird seed sold in the US has hemp seed (it’s sterilized before importation), the hulls of which contain about 25% protein.

*Hemp oil once greased machines. Most paints, resins, shellacs, and varnishes used to be made out of linseed (from flax) and hemp oils.

*Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to run on hemp oil.

*Kimberly Clark (on the Fortune 500) has a mill in France which produces hemp paper preferred for bibles because it lasts a very long time and doesn’t yellow.

*Construction products such as medium density fiber board, oriented strand board, and even beams, studs and posts could be made out of hemp. Because of hemp’s long fibers, the products will be stronger and/or lighter than those made from wood.

*The products that can be made from hemp number over 25,000.

SCIENTIFIC FACTS
*Industrial hemp and marijuana are both classified by taxonomists as Cannabis sativa, a species with hundreds of varieties. C. sativa is a member of the mulberry family. Industrial hemp is bred to maximize fiber, seed and/or oil, while marijuana varieties seek to maximize THC (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana).

*While industrial hemp and marijuana may look somewhat alike to an untrained eye, an easily trained eye can easily distinguish the difference.

*Industrial hemp has a THC content of between 0.05 and 1%. Marijuana has a THC content of 3% to 20%. To receive a standard psychoactive dose would require a person to power-smoke 10-12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The large volume and high temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be almost impossible for a person to withstand.

*If hemp does pollinate any nearby marijuana, genetically, the result will always be lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp. If hemp is grown outdoors, marijuana will not be grown close by to avoid producing lower-grade marijuana.

*Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant than cotton.

*Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun’s UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.

*Many of the varieties of hemp that were grown in North America have been lost. Seed banks weren’t maintained. New genetic breeding will be necessary using both foreign and domestic “ditchweed,” strains of hemp that went feral after cultivation ended. Various state national guard units often spend their weekends trying to eradicate this hemp, in the mistaken belief they are helping stop drug use.

*A 1938 Popular Mechanics described hemp as a “New Billion Dollar Crop.” That’s back when a billion was real money.
*Hemp can be made in to a variety of fabrics, including linen quality.

LEGAL FACTS
*The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all C. sativa varieties as “marijuana.” While it is theoretically possible to get permission from the government to grow hemp, DEA would require that the field be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards, and lights, making it cost-prohibitive.

*The US State Department must certify each year that a foreign nation is cooperating in the war on drugs. The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow industrial hemp. Those nations are not on this list, because the State Department can tell the difference between hemp and marijuana.

*Hemp was grown commercially (with increasing governmental interference) in the United States until the 1950s. It was doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp. While Congress expressly expected the continued production of industrial hemp, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped industrial hemp with marijuana, as it’s successor the US Drug Enforcement Administration, does to this day.

*Over 30 industrialized democracies do distinguish hemp from marijuana. International treaties regarding marijuana make an exception for industrial hemp.

*Canada now again allows the growing of hemp.

ECOLOGY FACTS
* Hemp growers can not hide marijuana plants in their fields. Marijuana is grown widely spaced to maximize leaves. Hemp is grown in tightly-spaced rows to maximize stalk and is usually harvested before it goes to seed.

*Hemp can be made into fine quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow such paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.

*Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.

*Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

*Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world’s pesticides are sprayed on cotton.

*Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.

*Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.

HEALTH FACTS
*If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get ‘a buzz’, it would be the equivalent of taking 2-3 doses of a high-fiber laxative.

*At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the “good” fats). It’s quite high in some essential amino acids, including gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother’s milk.

*While the original “gruel” was made of hemp seed meal, hemp oil and seed can be made into tasty and nutritional products. Prepared by the North American Industrial Hemp Council, October 1997

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WRFG 89.3 Broadcasts 24 Hours a day at 100,000 Watts. WRFG provides a voice for those who have been traditionally denied access to the broadcast media and the involvement of a broad base of community elements to guarantee that access.

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