Cannabis

"This plant came into the hands of our people and we opened our arms and we embraced her and gave her a home and we nurtured her. And we protected her from the people who would do her harm and even end her existence and we watched her grow, we watched her develop and we fought mightily and ferociously to liberate her. And it wasn't easy, there was a lot of sacrifice, really intense sacrifice, painful sacrifice. The most painful kind of sacrifice that human beings can make. There were raids, there were arrests, and there were trials and there were ridiculously long prison terms, some people are still serving to this day right now as we sit in this room talking about the future of cannabis"". -Steve DeAngelo, National Cannabis Leader

"Is the drug war is a big scam, a ponzi scheme by the pharmaceutical companies?"

Real Local : Oregon Growth : It blows my mind that Mexico, Colombia or Afghanistan have not moved against GW Pharmaceuticals ("GW") (a partner with Bayer AG, "Bayer" [and Monsanto] ), since genetics for Sativex [Big Pharma THC) came from those countries. How can some Dutch national register Thai genetics, or Afghani? [Is] the DEA is the pharmaceutical industries Gestapo?" LINK

"I propose the national government nationalize this new fledgling marijuana industry as a cooperative nationwide network of American people, not corporations. This reasoning is based on two counts. We the people of the U.S. own the first patent on this plant since back in 2003. This should be reparation to the people to try to heal the 75-year war we have waged on ourselves out of ignorance. How about we the American people win for once?" -Ron Marczyk R.N. Health Education Teacher (Retired)

Corporate take-over of cannabis begins : US Corporation cashes in as Lesotho becomes the first African country to legalise cannabis cultivation : As reported on Feb. 6th, 2018... Lesotho has become the first African country to permit the legal cultivation of cannabis – but the production of the drug has been restricted to two foreign-owned companies, while rural farmers and the wider population continue to be prohibited from harvesting their own. Cannabis – known as matekoane in Sotho, the main language of Lesotho - remains illegal to harvest, sell, and possess across the country, under Lesotho’s Drugs of Abuse Act 2008. Under section 9 of this Act, being convicted of harvesting a cannabis plant mandates a person to face either a minimum of five years in prison, or a fine of at least M20,000 (£1,192/$1,664). Section 81 of the Act allows any police officer to “without warrant … enter any place on or in which [cannabis is] growing” to destroy said plants. The deprivation of Lesotho’s people from benefiting from a regulated production of this cash crop is particularly poignant given the country’s high poverty rate (57 per cent of people live below the poverty line), as well as cannabis’ historical significance in the country. Use of cannabis in Lesotho dates back as far as the 16th Century, and may have had a role in the settlement of the country. Ancestors of the Basotho people - the main ethnic group in Lesotho - may have purchased the territory in exchange for cannabis in around 1550, according to research in a UNESCO report.

After Colorado legalized marijuana, arrests fell for white kids - but rose for black kids. -German Lopez
By Klaus with K (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
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By Martijn.Munneke from Netherlands - 2011-11-13-11-37-11_6EC255EC-7F6E-4E7D-8537-196B0DBBCB51, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61922133
By Security and Exchange commission, U.S. Federal Govt. This vector version by Mysid [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By David Geitgey Sierralupe [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Martijn.Munneke from Netherlands - 2011-11-13-11-37-11_6EC255EC-7F6E-4E7D-8537-196B0DBBCB51, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61922133