(Introduction - thanks and welcome)
I have been asked to speak to you today on the subject of Cannabis in the Political World. This is a topic that is indeed close to my heart and it is one that never fails to raise my blood a little and so I make no apologies for any political feathers that may become ruffled by my words today.
I have heard a lot of good ideas presented today, and I truly commend the presenters. The information they have presented is very much needed and I respect the politically correct manner in which their presentations have been made, but please do not ask for, or expect any political correctness from me regarding the issue of the illegality of hemp in this very politically incorrect world. And as I said, I make no apologies for my words nor my stance on this issue today.
I would like to open this presentation with a quote:
"The real hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does. They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness for these millions of abnormally normal people are living, without fuss, in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted."
That was a quote made by Aldous Huxley, the author of brave new world, just a few short years before his death in 1963.
And I would suggest to you now that the illegal status of the hemp plant, and the political, social, and environmental implications of that illegality is a true indication of the currently abnormal status of modern society to which Aldous Huxley was so eloquently referring.
When one looks at the myriad of uses of the hemp plant, and the benefit it has been to humankind throughout history - and this has been true for virtually all of recorded history, and I'd really like you to just breathe that in and let it sit with you for a while ladies and gentlemen,
Just think about it... throughout ALL recorded history, this plant has been used and has been demonstrated to be a massive boon to not only humanity, but also to the environment.
When you really take in that one simple fact, and then you step back for a second to take in and to truly absorb the reality of its current illegal status, and the true implications of what that really means, well then thats when things begin to get a bit ugly, because thats when you begin getting into areas that people simply don't like to discuss. And I tend to do that on many occasions.
Because what is the illegality of Hemp? Apart from ridiculous?
And it is ridiculous, as Im sure most of you here in attendance already know - I mean just take in the big picture here, On one hand we have Alcohol and tobacco, both of which kill 10's of thousands of people each year, and these are both legal - along with some of the most pollutive industries on earth I might add… all legal
And then on the other hand, we have hemp, a simple natural plant.
A plant from which, it just so happens, we can make the best quality paper and fibre products, particle board, building materials, hemp-crete, plastics and cellulose products, fabrics, essential oils, foods and medicines, and on and on.. You have seen some of the myriad of uses for this plant just in the short time you have spend here today.
It is a plant that will grow virtually anywhere with minimum attention. A plant that grows to full maturity in 3 months with no need for special fertilisers and that naturally improves the soil it grows in.
It is a plant that has quite literally served as mankinds companion plant throughout all recorded history… and in all that time, has not been responsible for the death of one single person ever, in its over 5000 years of recorded use
And this plant is by law and decree… illegal,
and we are told that this must be so….because of concerns for our safety no less...
When you truly step back and take that all into account, the illegal status of the hemp virtually defines the literal definition of the word ridiculous better than any dictionary ever could. Indeed when one truly looks at the issue from the correct perspective, ridiculous is simply the default conclusion regarding the matter.
And so the question must be asked… Why then is this plant really illegal.
And the reason is because were it legal, it would instantly free mankind from the financial shackles of some of the biggest, most pollutive and most profitable corporations in the world today.
Mining companies, oil companies, timber, plastics, building, pharmaceuticals… all of these industries would suffer a dramatic reduction in profits were hemp to be made legal.
OK, so ultimately, its business, ah-ha, you say, we can protest, boycott their products, send complaints, and petition the governments for change… and these have traditionally been the steps we have taken.
But the truth is that no matter how much we do that, the position never seems to change… we just get reports back from the governments… "yes, we will be addressing that matter at the next meeting in June…." but no matter how much we attempt to bring about change by working within the parameters provided for us, its always the same.
So why?
And the why, is the truly diabolical part of this issue, because the why, is that all of these companies came to power and gained the control they currently have precisely through legislation enacted by the governments we seek to petition.
And these are the same governments who enact the legislation that is used to prevent the people from having any real power and thus from ever having any real control over the matter.
And so, as a society, we flail endlessly against a wall of indifference hoping for common sense and freedom that never comes, because we are always working within the parameters of a corporate system that simply will not allow common sense and freedom to be part of this reality… due to concerns for our safety.
And if one really gets involved in this world, we find that it is not only this way for hemp, its the same for every other serious issue that mankind is facing. Its the same if one attempts to do battle against environmental degradation, against pollution, homelessness, war, starvation, poverty, coal seam gas mining or corporate corruption.
And thats when it becomes clear that all of these so called problems are in fact, actually symptoms of the one higher problem, and that problem lies within the foundation and structure of the system itself. A system that was apparently constructed by mankind, to service mankinds needs.
And no matter how we try to affect any real change within the system, we ultimately fail because we only ever address the symptoms rather than the actual problem and thus our response is compartmentalised, ultimately rendering it ineffective.
So, what do we do?
How do we inject common sense and freedom into a system that simply will not allow it?
What we do, is we shift our perspective to see the inter-relation between all these symptoms and we focus on the actual problem that is causing them.
That problem lies with the system itself and in the loss of the natural power than each human being on this earth actually holds within them should they choose to exercise that power.
Now, I could go into a myriad of ways to do this and to discover how powerful you all actually are, but that would require an entire presentation on its own and we would be here all day, so I wont go into that now.
But what I will say is that, Personally, I believe the very first thing we need to do is to understand just what the system is and the first step we need to take is in coming to a clear understanding of what our actual relationship with government is. And this is a question that many people simply fail to ever ask.
In saying that, Im reminded of a quote by Martin Heidegger in which he said:
"The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking."
And thats what we need to do, my friends, we need to start thinking, we need to start realising the truth. We need to remember who and what we are and the power that we the people hold as a community. If we choose to exercise that power.
Most people just take it for granted that government are our controllers and they don't ever question the fact, and they think this way because they have been trained to think this way via the thought processes instilled into them by a government controlled education system. But the real truth is that we live in democratic nations, where we have government elected by the people, of the people and for the people and that what our relationship with those whom we elect actually is, is one of fiduciary trust.
Its that simple folks, we employ these people to act on our behalf and they are simply not doing so.
The truth is that those elected to govern are in fact public trustees whom we employ to manage what is essentially, the administrative arm of our society. They are nothing more. And I would suggest that all one needs to do is look at the current state of our world in order to realise that virtually every government in the world today is in breach of trust.
In fact I would even go so far as to say that the Illegality of Hemp is a clear indication of that Breach of Trust. Because the legalisation of this plant would put a stop to many of the most pollutive industries on earth, be instrumental in helping steer the ship of state on a different course than the path of self destruction it is currently on, and effectively set the world on a path towards freedom and abundance. And yet, at present this plant is still illegal... due to concerns for our safety.
My friends. This is breach of Trust.
And this is the pure and simple truth, regarding the illegality of hemp.
And so the real question becomes, How might this matter be dealt with.
Well the truth is the only way this matter may be effectively dealt with and in which remedy for this ridiculous situation may be found, is via action undertaken by the people themselves.
But again, How?
Sure we need to take action. But what is the action we need to take?
Overthrow the governments through revolution? No, not at all, because we need some sort of administrative arm due to the structure of our societies. Violent revolution has been tried in the past and in truth it has never effectively brought about and real change, and I am certainly not promoting revolution or the overthrow of any governments.
We need an administrative arm, but we need an administrative arm, (public trustees), that is both competent and reliable, but even more than that, we need public trustees who are both honest and accountable.
And I must say that it is a welcome relief to see that certain governments seem to be, at last, coming to their senses, such indeed seems to be the case with the government here in slovenia and I commend them on the stance they are taking by allowing this congress to be held and in the support they are showing to this issue. I believe it is through the actions of small countries such as Slovenia and the examples they are setting that empowerment for other countries may be found, and in that empowerment, hopefully the encouragement, to then follow their lead.
And may I also say that the first world leader to act on this matter and commence an initiative to legalise hemp will go down in history as one of the true saviours of humankind.
And a responsible government should see the truth and reality of this. A responsible government should clearly recognise that as a species, we need public trustees who are both honest and accountable, but such accountability will only ever be achieved by a populace who is awake and informed enough to know what the true role of government actually is. And that role, is that of public trustee.
And the truth is that this is not unique to any one country but is a simply fact regarding the global community known as mankind and that effective change must therefore be brought about by action undertaken by the global community as a whole. Each group taking similar action in their own respective countries.
The truth folks that hemp is and has always been illegal, not in order to ensure public safety but in order to serve a political agenda that is wholly subservient to corporate power.
The truth is that hemp is illegal because legalising it would affect corporate profits and free mankind from the clutches of the system of contrived scarcity - because that is true the nature of the financial system that currently enslaves them…
The truth is that Hemp is illegal because the system that we currently have in place is not designed to service the needs of the people but is designed to service an economic model that places the the needs of the corporations, and the needs of the economic model above the needs of anything else, and that views mankind as the most expendable thing that exists within the parameters of the system.
Hemp is illegal because, under the dictates of the current political model, the entire human experience has been reduced to commerce and our mother earth has been reduced to a resource to be used for corporate profit in order to support an economic model that does not service the needs of either mankind or the earth we live upon, in any way, shape or form.
I believe an end to the prohibition of Hemp can be achieved, but the truth is that it can and will only ever be achieved through action undertaken by the people themselves.
It can only be achieved through action by the people simply because most governments are simply scared to be the first to address the issue.
Therefore it must be done by the people, regardless of legislation enacted by public trustees because when such legislation does not serve the best interests of the people then it must, as a matter of course, be contested by the people.
This is called democracy
Many governments may wish to change this state of affairs, such as the government here in slovenia, but even these governments need the support of the people.
But what action can be taken against a government who fails to address this issue?
Perhaps the action that is needed may be as simple and direct as a peoples mandate.
What would happen if the people of the world simply mandated that change is immediately implemented?
Remember, government is simply a collection of public servants whose job is to act as the administrative arm of the people. A democratically elected government is a group of public trustees. It is nothing more.
And a democratically elected government has no other choice other than to comply with a peoples mandate because were a government to do otherwise, then its action is nothing more than an open declaration of dictatorship.
Do we live in a dictatorship?
We the people hereby mandate that you, our public trustees, implement the following changes because to do so is in the best interests of mankind and the earth we live upon. You have 30 days to comply.
Should you fail to comply you have abdicated your right to govern and you will be required to step down, to then be replaced by a new group of elected trustees who will act upon the will of the people.
A peoples mandate circumvents Government Bullying. It circumvents legislation, which is simply the act of public trustees, seeking to replace natural law with their will. It does not leave the matter open for negotiation and it places the issue squarely on the table.
And we the people must do this because the need to do this has become just that, a matter of need. It is no longer a matter we can debate or leave to the whim of a what is essentially a corporate controlled system, because the world is in bad shape and if we fail to act on the matter we are, through our own negligence, risking life itself.
The action provided to us by simply viewing hemp for what it is, I believe, provides mankind with one of the greatest opportunities for effective change that we have ever been presented with, and the benefits this plant holds for mankind, are quite literally providing this opportunity to us, on a silver platter.
I sincerely believe it is high time for the concientious people of this world to take the matter in hand, stand in the power of our community and peacefully, politely, and non violently, simply do that which needs to be done.
As I have previously said, I do not desire to overthrow any governments, I do not even desire the arrest of the criminals within various governments who have ensured that hemp has remained an outlawed plant, all I desire is accountability and a return to some sanity regarding the issue of Hemp and the political agenda served by its currently illegal status.
And I would like to leave you now with a quote by Howard Zinn
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves and the grand thieves are running the country. That is our problem.
Thank you for listening.
