omething that I strongly support is the re-legalization of Cannabis Sativa or Hemp. Hemp is a renewable Natural Resource that can be made into paper (over twenty years, one acre of hemp will produce as much paper as 4.1 acres of trees), clothing, shelter, methanol, and gasoline. Hemp seed can be used for cooking oil, as a highly nutritious food source, and as a lubricant for engines. THC, the chemical that causes one to "get high," is a great source of medicine for treating nausea and pain related to chemotherapy for cancer patients, migraine headaches, and can slow the progress of glaucoma.

However, let me state this point clearly and unequivocally. I do not advocate the recreational use of marijuana, especially by minors. One can be support of the use of cannabis as a medical treatment or an industrial commodity without being a smoker or advocating its recreational use. Do not email me asking if I smoke marijuana because I will tell you to go to hell -- it is irrelevant to my point.

If this issue is something that you are interested in, then I suggest that you check out The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer. It is a great source of information. From the cover, "The authoritative historical record of the cannabis plant, marijuana prohibition, & how hemp can still save the world." Due to the prohibition this book is hard to find. You may not be able obtain it from your local bookstore. It contains documented information about hemp prohibition (not because it's a drug, but because Hearst, Dupont, and many others wanted to make a lot of money at our expense). It's a classic that revolutionalized the hemp movement; the record of the history of hemp, the conspiracy against it, the prohibition of it, and how hemp can save the planet. (ISBN: 1-878124-00-1, HEMP Publishing, 1995 (Tenth Edition).)

If you are interested in this, below are some more hemp related links for you. I've tried to make sure that they are all legitimate sites, not sites about the best way to "get high" or junk like that.

• HempWorld Magazine Online.
• Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition Inc. (MASS-CANN).
• The University of Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Pioneer Valley NORML) (includes the alt.hemp FAQ and an online hemp resource library).
• HempNet - a great source of information.
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) (U.S.A.).
• HempBC (Canada).
• Hemp Nation (Canada).
• Hyperreal Drugs Archives Marijuana Page.
• Marijuana Policy Project (U.S.A.).