Planting hemp is a divine right given by our Creator 

  NYCAMP   

"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed; sow it everywhere." 
                                                                                                           George Washington

"Hemp is of first necessity for the health and protection of the country"
                                                                                                         Thomas Jefferson  

C. A. P.   Conservatives Against Prohibition

Efficient Government    Respect for the Law    Civil Liberty


Why Conservatives should insist on
overturning cannabis prohibition in New York:
cut wasteful spending, restore respect for law enforcement, grow a sustainable economy without large government stimulus



1) Effective Law Enforcement 

Ending cannabis prohibition will drastically reduce wasteful government spending and corruption of law enforcement officers. Half of the police budget is spent on invesitigating and prosecuting non-violent drug offenders.


Law enforcement funds should be used to fight real crimes like murder, robbery, sexual abuse, fraud, assault, domestic abuse, driving while intoxicated, money laundering, cyber crimes, government corruption, vandalism, arson, conspiracy against rights, and medical and legal mal-practice. In todays socio-economic upheaval we need all the resources available to suppress gang violence, prevent home invasion and protect our citizens against real threats to their safety. 


With the lessening of profits available in the street drug business, that will certainly come about with the end of prohibition, our inner-city youth will have more incentive to get an education and seek a ligitimate career. No more kingpins.


2) Cut Government Spending / Cap on Taxes

Ending proibition of cannabis will allow the introduction of the highly prolific hemp industy in New York State, which produces the essentials of life: food, clothing and shelter, and a multi-purpose medicine, thus giving non-profit charities the key ingredients for aiding the poor and disabled citizens, and eliminating nearly all of the need for state funding for welfare, medicaid, H.U.D., and Food Stamps.


3) Freedom of Enterprise

The hemp industry was a standard part of the spectrum of agricultural and manufacuring business ventures in nearly every state in the country until it's prohibition was established deceptively by the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Millions of Americans were in one way or another benefiting from hemp industries and were unaware that the arbitrary banning of marijuana was actually a ban on hemp. Had it been clearly explained to the public the law would likely have been opposed by an overwhelming majority. The cultivation of hemp never posed any serious threat to public safety, and in fact only threatened some newly invented pharmaceuticals. 


4) Right to Bear Arms

The unconstitutional prohibition of cannabis exposes free and upstanding citizens who grow the herb for personal use to felony charges which deprives them of their right to keep and bear arms and violates their right to privacy and sovereignty in the home. Let us not give the government licence to invade us. 


5) Freedom of Education Choices

Just as Conservatives value the right to pray in schools, the implication by police in D.A.R.E. programs, that the choice to use marijuana, as opposed to store-bought cold medicine, such as Nyquil is inherently self destructive, is not scientific and imposes a particular religious stance on our children, comparable to telling our children that God is not real. The role of public schools is to teach our children about science and generally accepted morals, not one religious stance or another. It is a family choice to teach kids our personal ideals. 


6) Economic Prosperity

Ending prohibition of cannabis will introduce a wide array of hemp products, grown and manufactured here in New York, including food, clothing, rope, canvas, building materials, fuel, and cosmetics. The production of so many valuable saleable items here at home will make way for many prosperous, self- sufficient economic networks. Our children won't have to wonder where they will work, because the job market will arguably be growing nearly as fast as the hemp fields. The lessening of the need for public welfare programs will free up government funds and open the opportunity to introduce sizeable tax-break incentives for new businesses. Allowing marijuana users to grow their own will allow them to save on healthcare and return their money to the mainstream economy. Let's put the criminal drug dealers out of business. 


7) Medical Practice Accountability

Without the restrictive control of the individual's free choice of medical treatments, the pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers will not be able to corrupt the medical establishments by encouraging certain prescriptions for the benefit of private corporate interests.


8) Freedom of Religion

Many conservatives strongly believe that use of any mind-altering substance is morally damaging and should be kept from reaching our children. However, the current laws are a blatant invasion of people's rights to make their own moral judgements concerning what medicines to use, and whether or not to engage in euphoric practices. Prohibition is encouraging government to make arbitrary decisions on which freedoms to violate, depending on what party or political agenda is in control. The unavoidable truth is that not everyone's religion calls for the same guidelines, therefore we can not make state laws based on a certain group's religious convictions. That is a violation of the separation of church and state. We should follow the example of the founding fathers by opposing any infringement on rights and thereby protect our offspring from being subject to the future loss of their own freedoms. As long as your religion is not becoming an invasion of someone else's safety and well being, your religion is lawful and protected within the Constitution.


9) Right to Privacy

If you allow the government to control what plants you grow on your own property even when you pose no real threat to neighbors or the community, then you are allowing government to violate your constitutional rights, committing treason against the country. If you let the government invade us because of regulations on plants, you are certainly encouraging the arbitrary invasion of whatever rights the acting regime might want to deprive us of in order to gain more control over our personal freedoms. You have a right to grow food, medicine and herbs on your own property. Prohibition of alcohol was destructive to the peace and tranquility of communities and so is prohibition of cannabis.  

Historical and current movements against prohibition

Pauline Sabine - Womens Organization For National Prohibition Reform

L.E.A.P.    -    Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

          Well respected conservatives against prohibition:


    William F. Buckley               Abraham Lincoln                Ron Paul

    

Buckley's words                           Lincoln's words                              Paul's words
on the Drug War                          on Prohibition                               on Prohibition
on Rosenthal                                on the Constitution                      on the Constitution

    

            “Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.”  
   
                      -  William F. Buckley Jr.


            "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

                    -    Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President.
               Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives


            "The drug war encourages violence. Government violence against nonviolent users is notorious and has led to the unnecessary prison overpopulation. Innocent taxpayers are forced to pay for all this so-called justice. "

                    -    Ron Paul
                
House speech, in Foreign Policy of Freedom, p.159-160 Oct 25, 2001




C. A. P.   Perspective

                Here in the United States we have a Constitution to define the responsibilities of government, which basically fall within the bounderies of what is best for the general well being of the public. There is no more time for fussing around about who's smoking pot. The economy's gone to pot and we've got to stop the nonsense. Legalizing hemp and the notorious cannabis flowers would greatly improve the effectiveness and accountability of government. It's not a cure all but the government could use the huge cut in spending that would come with the end of prohibition.  The end of cannabis prohibition would drastically improve the efficiency of our judicial system. Many billions of dollars a year are spent on a law enforcement scheme with very minimal public benefit. While keeping cannabis hemp illegal does give the government an excuse to keep a close eye on "hippies and shady characters", it isn't worth it to have all that money and time getting spent chasing some nuisance characters when the state is already overloaded with public programs. 

                The drug war doesn't work and, therefore, makes a mockery of our highly capable law enforcement agencies. There are too many ways that our brave police officers can find themselves caught up in borderline criminal activities while spending time policing the drug world, distracted from their real duties. We believe that if you turn drug use into a private personal issue, instead of a state issue, the black market dealers will loose the thrust of their power and all that money they've been making would be back in the legitimate markets. Let's just focus on real crimes which pose a provable threat to public safety, like gang violence, professional thieving and sexual predators. While pot smoking is notoriously controversial among Conservatives, it doesn't deserve our attention as a primary issue in this critical time of trial and tribulation. There's no sense in sending out the swat teams for an herb that's no more mind altering than common cold medicines and is not killing anyone.

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