Catch-422
By John Dvorak, Hempologist See more @ : http://www.hempology.org/CANNABISCURRICULUM.html
With a tip of my hempen chapeau to Joseph Heller, our government has created a phenomena that I call Catch-422. They put up as many roadblocks as possible in an effort to stifle our progress and to demonize Cannabis Sativa, a safe and effective natural herbal remedy. A Kafkaesque melangé of federal agencies and bloated bureaucracies justify their existence at the expense of the sick and dying, while the beer-bellied, vodka saturated, over-pharmaceuticalized sheeple continue to gulp down oxycontin, viagra and anything else peddled by their kowtowed doctors. Thousands die EACH YEAR overdosing on alcohol and prescribed drugs, while there isno lethal dose for Cannabis.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are arrested each year merely for possessing marijuana because Reefer Madness has infected Congress and rotted the judicial system to its core. Marijuana’s illegality is justified by calling it a gateway drug that will lead to harder drugs and/or a decaying of a person’s moral fabric: Catch-422. In fact, cannabis is proving to be a gateway AWAY from illegal narcotics and debilitating pharmaceuticals.
The DEA classifies marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic which, by definition, means there is no currently acceptable medical use. Everyone knows this is total bullshit, but when researchers ask for cannabis to perform studies, they're told they can't have it because, of course, marijuana has no medical use, leaving patients burning in Dante’s inferno of mock compassion: Catch-422. Their circular logic jerks people around to no end.
Even some states with medical marijuana laws on the books are imposing outrageous restrictions on the ailments that qualify: Catch-422. One of the most egregious examples of this is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which several states refuse to recognize Cannabis for despite its obvious benefits. And, the Federal government never misses a chance to “pile on” by preventing the Veteran’s Administration from providing Cannabis to the many vets with PTSD.
A classic Catch-422 is how states delay the implementation of medical marijuana laws, oftentimes parroting the old canard: “think of the children.” New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law in January, 2010. However, bureaucratic foot dragging by that state’s Gutless Wonder Governor, Chris Christie, delayed the opening of their first dispensary for almost 3 years.
Consider this: A card carrying medical marijuana patient working for a big box store had a minor accident, failed a drug test and was subsequently fired. His dismissal was upheld by Michigan's supreme court: Catch-422. Tragically, a medical marijuana patient who was denied a liver transplant because of his Cannabis use recently passed away: Catch-422. We need to fight for people’s basic right to medicate without discrimination.
Another Catch-422 is the “institutional hypocrisy” that prevents people from coming out of the cannabis closet. Consider this: Despite many states passing various Cannabis laws, mere possession of marijuana continues to be a violation of federal law! It is very difficult for someone to promote an illegal activity. You expose yourself to public ridicule or worse. For many, testing positive for Cannabis could result in the loss of their job, government benefits or custody of their children. Students that are arrested for Cannabis could lose their student loans: Catch-422.
Similarly, the IRS has ruled that medical marijuana dispensaries cannot deduct business expenses because possessing and distributing Cannabis violates federal law: Catch-422. Banks and credit card companies are refusing to do business with dispensaries for the same reason: Catch-422. The sad part about this is that dispensaries are proving to be economic engines, hiring people and paying taxes in an otherwise depressed economy.
The DEA says that hemp is the same as marijuana. They have tied a Gordian knot of hemp rope, claiming that hemp will confuse the police even though this is not an issue in Canada or Europe where it is legal to grow hemp: Catch-422. United States Department of Agriculture studies call hemp a niche crop without fully investigating its myriad uses: Catch-422. Farmers will not grow hemp unless there is a market for it and you can’t sell products unless you can produce them which means you need farmers to grow hemp: Catch-422. This chicken or the egg situation is a real “pair o’ ducks.” Thanks to prohibition, we are re-inventing the ENTIRE hemp industry from the ground up. The sky is limit (think Trillion Dollar Crop!) but it is going to be a long, hard fight for those willing to join the battle.
We need to recognize these efforts for what they are: a blatant and callous effort to impede our progress. Only by identifying and understanding these barriers will we be able to get around or over the obstacles that stand in the way of realizing the full benefits of the humble plant scientifically known as Cannabis Sativa. Fortunately in the privacy of the voting booth, people are electing to choose cannabis hemp and give a collective middle finger to the powers that be.