Newsgroups: alt.hemp,alt.drugs,talk.politics.drugs From: [c--h--p] at [Cygnus.COM] (Colorado HIP) Subject: The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project Date: Tue, 20 Sep 1994 22:10:14 GMT COLORADO HEMP INITIATIVE PROJECT (CO-HIP) Re-legalizing Hemp and Cannabis in Colorado for food, fuel, fiber, paper, medicine, and fun. The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project was formed to petition to put the Cannabis and Hemp Re-Legalization Amendment on the state ballot. The amendment will re-legalize cannabis and hemp for all uses in Colorado. We circulated petitions in both 1992 and 1994. State law allows only 6 months to collect the required 50,000 valid signatures of registered Colorado voters. We did not collect enough valid signatures to get the amendment on the ballot in either of our attempts. Our lack of success was due mainly to a severe shortage of money and of committed volunteers. There has never been an all-volunteer initiative drive that has made it on the ballot in Colorado, and now we have some idea of why -- it's hard!!! Future Projects of the Hemp Initiative 1) Start raising at least $50,000 to run the 1996 petitioning drive. 2) Help people start local hemp groups in towns throughout the state. This will give us the statewide organization we need to get on the ballot. 3) Lobby our legislators in the 1995 session. We have a state senator who is going to introduce an industrial hemp bill in the legislature. This is our chance to educate our elected representatives. We were thinking of sponsoring a field trip once a month to the capitol in Denver to teach people how to lobby their legislators. 4) Lobby and educate Department of Agriculture officials to get sn inclusion of industrial hemp in the upcoming 1995 Farm Bill. 5) Continue weekly educational meetings (Hemp Awareness 101) in Boulder every Tuesday. We have other ideas and are open to new ones. Let us know what you think. What You Can Do 1) Register to vote. 2) Educate yourself on the uses of hemp and the issues surrounding hemp re-legalization. 3) Educate your friends, family, and acquaintances about hemp and re-legalization issues. 4) Write to your senators and congressmen about hemp and re-legalization issues. Representative ____________ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Senator ___________ U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 President Bill Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1111 email: [p--i--t] at [whitehouse.gov] 5) Keep in touch with the Hemp Initiative. Come to our meetings and rallies. Volunteer time or skills to work on projects. Show your support!!! (If not you, who?? If not now, when??) WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!!!!! 6) Start your own local hemp group. We can set you up with everything you need to get started. Give us a call!! 7) Send us a donation. Thirty cents can buy a postage stamp and one dollar can buy 20 copies. Every little bit helps us keep people informed and educated. THE MANY USES OF HEMP (Thanks to Ben Masel for the basis for the following facts.) Paper One acre of hemp could produce as much paper as four acres of trees, according to studies done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Because of its higher cellulose content, hemp requires less chemical processing, and thus has lower costs and less pollution. In the first century, the Chinese invented the art of long-lasting hemp paper-making. Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made from hemp. Most paper was made from discarded hemp sails and ropes. These scraps were re-cycled into paper. (Hence the term rag paper.) The USDA has promoted kenaf, a traditional African fiber plant, as a paper alternative. According to Pat LeMahieu, a former agronomy researcher, hemp has higher quality fiber, more potential uses, the ability to withstand cold better, and possibly higher yields than kenaf. "If it weren't for the cannabinoids (psychoactive ingredients) in hemp, we wouldn't even be talking about kenaf," said LeMahieu. Hemp is also far more drought resistant than kenaf. Fiber Until 1840, hemp was the largest fiber crop in the U.S. Historically, hemp supplied fabrics from the finest linens to the sails for seagoing ships. (Canvas is the Old Dutch word for cannabis.) Cotton, with only 1/3 the fiber yield, is the most chemical-intensive crop in production. Hemp chokes out competing weeds and has few insect pests, so hemp farmers have little need for pesticides or herbicides. While hemp likes a rich soil, most of the nutrients migrate to the leaves and eventually flowers, which are returned to the soil when growing hemp for stalk. So with appropriate rotation, fertilizers are unnecessary. Hemp's long taproot brings minerals from deep soil layers, leaving them accessible to the following crop. Unlike cotton, hemp can be grown throughout the U.S., and its lower cost makes it competitive with synthetic fibers. Fabric used to be the most recycled item in commerce. Now it is the least because no one has discovered a way to separate the cotton from the polyester. Fuel Combustion of hemp releases into the atmosphere only as much carbon dioxide as was removed in photosynthesis, with no net contribution to the Greenhouse Effect, like any biomass (plant-derived) fuel. Hemp's low sulfur content contributes little to acid rain. Research has shown that one acre of hemp could produce up to 1,300 gallons of bio-fuel. Recent advances in biomass gasification technologies also suggest hemp could replace coal in our electric power stations. Food Cultivation of hemp seed for food and livestock feed dates as far back as the ancient Sumerians. While it is second to soybeans in total protein content, hemp seed has a more complete balance of amino acids. More importantly, hemp seed oil is the top plant source for linoleic and linolenic acids, the essential fatty acids for which fish oil is touted to lower blood cholesterol and strengthen the immune system. Pressing the oil from hemp seed makes these nutrients available at a tiny fraction of the cost of fish oil. Medicine Cannabis (the psychoactive flowers and resins of the hemp plant) is a valued medicine for treating symptoms of such diverse conditions as multiple sclerosis, anorexia, glaucoma, anxiety, pain, AIDS, muscle spasms, epilepsy, stress, and the nausea associated with chemotherapy. Economics A renewed hemp industry would boost Colorado's economy. It would create new jobs in the textile, agriculture, paper, & energy industries. It could create a new source of tax revenue. It would help shift the economy's focus away from non-renewable resources toward a more sustainable future. PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT TO CO-HIP TODAY!!! ***** 4 Ways to Contribute ***** 1) I am enclosing a contribution of: $10 $20 $35 $50 $100 Other $ 2) I would like to make a monthly pledge to help the Colorado Hemp Initiative Project: $ every month 3) I would like to volunteer my time. Please contact me: 4) I have other services I would like to donate: (please specify) The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project needs volunteers and money to make hemp re-legalization a reality!! Please pledge your assistance today!! Name: Address: City: State: Zip: * Phone: (essential) Please make checks payable to: The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project. (Contributions to CO-HIP are not tax-deductible.) Send to: The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project P.O. Box 729 Nederland, CO 80466 Paid for by The Colorado Hemp Initiative Project Paul Danish, Initiative Co-Sponsor IMPORTANT CONTACTS HOTLINE 24-hour Hotline for Hemp Events and Information: (303) 784-5632 ELECTRONIC MAIL [c--h--p] at [darkstar.cygnus.com] MEETINGS Boulder: Tues., 6:30 pm, Hellems 241, CU Campus, Boulder (Call hotline to confirm each meeting) Get involved!! Only through the committed effort of everyone who supports hemp re-legalization will this happen. Don't wait for us to do it - you are us!! (Despite the support we have in this state, we failed to make ballot status in 1992 and 1994 due to lack of committed volunteers. We can't let that happen again!) Keep in touch!! Call the hotlines frequently and come to events. EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!!! ACT!! "Prohibition ... 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, December 1840 -- Colorado Hemp Initiative Project P.O. Box 729 Nederland, CO 80466 (303) 784-5632