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Thanksgiving Morning by Carol Miller

Lit the fire and cranked up the computer. Watching the light grow in the eastern sky this morning, I have to ask myself, 'what light can the struggle for marijuana legalization bring to the darkened, post 94 election depression which has overcome so many of us these past weeks?'

At school Wednesday morning after the election, my U.S. Government students suggested that the public needs to better understand why it is important to register and vote. The answer to that question is not just political, moralistic rhetoric, but rather a statistical understanding of who rules America, and who does not.... but should and could!!

When you hear that Americans voted in record numbers this November, a whopping 58%, it is important to remember that only half of Americans are even eligible to vote. The other half are children, indigent, people in prisons or on felony parole, people who have moved recently or are homeless and have no street address (you can't register with a P.O. box), and non-citizens. Of the half that could register, only half actually are registered to vote. So this year's voting public was really 14.5% of our population, and a strong majority vote would actually represent 8%. I can't think of another statistical situation where 8% would be represented as a majority of anything, but such is politics in America. That 8% controls political decisionmaking and your civil rights for two reasons. First of all not enough freedom lovers are registered to vote, and equally important, freedom lovers DON'T CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY to the campaigns that benefit them. That 8% , many represented by the religious right, know how to pass the plate to pay for their programs and the politicians who'll support them.

Understanding this is crucial to developing a strategy for returning political decision making to the people, if in fact it ever rested there. Most of us know that the capital ruling class wrote the rules with the intention of maintaining control, and that the media and diminishing public education serve them well in terms of keeping the public numb, preoccupied with the illusion of self as separate from( and hopefully better than) others, and ignorant of their cumulative personal power. But now that women and blacks can vote, there exists a latent potential within our democratic structure to actually govern ourselves. We need more people to understand that political activism is not necessarily a waste of energy. Education of the voters is important, but that can't be done without politican contributions and without the footwork to register the voters who will support an agenda of civil rights.

Just when great energy is called for, I hear many people expressing serious depression and loss of hope. When I called Mary Moore to express my own dispair, her message machine challenged me to "not grieve, but organize!"

I find the inspiration I need in my classroom. I feel great hope in the youth of today. The kids who are 15 to 20 now have not only greater understanding of who they are in relation to spirit and self, but a sense of strength which comes from a feeling of unity. Their profound sense of and demand for mutual respect is fostered by diminishing sexism, racisism, and other classic forms of superiority and domination. The youth of Sonoma County and the San Francisco area, where prop 187 lost and 186 won, may be further ahead in this leap of consciousness, but I think as their light grows and spreads, we could see tremendous change in the face of politics in America. They give me courage to face the challenges of keeping the earth as healthy as we can, while maintaining the struggle for freedom from the repression of the ruling class which would prefer a nation of mindless slaves, prisons, and cooperative cops to keep the population in control.

I see the need for drug reform and especially medical legalization of marijuana, as crucial to the overwhelming larger concerns of civil rights, the environment and the economy as it effects the working class. One quarter of California's black men are in prison, and a large number of them for drug related crimes. That is not only a tragedy but a potential voting block which could swing any ballot measure. Another large percentage of eligible voters who don't vote are young white men. It is time for us to register our young men, black and white, not for the draft, but to vote. It is time for the adult community to reach out to them in general, and help them find their right place in society as not only productive human beings, but also as educated and sensitive members of our families and communities. The criminalization of marijuana not only puts a great number of our youth at tremendous risk legally, but it creates a political environment where they cannot feel safe being active and outspoken on any controversial issue. Many people are afraid to even sign a petition.

Marijuana users face several serious civil rights issues, including mandatory sentences and property forfeiture. These are compounded by potential civil rights abuses of prop 187 and by the escalation of three strikes, and death penalty legislation.

The environmental and economic issues which confront people today are especially disturbing because capitalism teaches us that economic health and environmental safety are diametrically opposed to each other. The working class is taught that it must oppose environmental causes.

Mari Kane, Sebastopol editor of HEMP WORLD was quoted by the Press Democrat as saying that the hemp industry is where environmentalism and capitalism converge. I think it is an error to equate capitalism with economic heath, but her point is well taken, that legalization of marijuana for industrial use could offer what no other industry has to California, a crop and expansive industry with is healing to the environment while stimulating jobs and creating a new manufacturing base.

By the way, did you know that the Hempstead crop (16,000 plants) which had received Department of Agriculture approval and was planted this spring in the Central Valley was ripped up by state officials, because Dan Lundgren said it violated state codes. What a stu-bum. Canada, on the other hand, grew a very successful first legal crop in southern Montreal, 10 acres of first class industrial hemp, ( 40 tons) the bulk of which was shipped to Oregon to be made into fiberboard. Yes! Three kinds of seed were used to determine which of the many strains available on the international market would give best yield with lowest THC. Funny how our priorities change.

Speaking of the international marijuana scene, as I write this the international hemp community is gathered in Amsterdam for the 7th annual Cannabis Cup, an industry trade show and tasting. Sounds like fun. Next issue I'll interview two Sonoma County women who joined the festivities there to market for the Sonoma County Hemp Collective.

Before I close to join my family on this strange Thanksgiving day, I want to remind readers that the preparations for a 1996 medical marijuana statewide initiative are under way. Dale Geirringer of California NORML has filed paperwork with the Secretary of State on behalf of Californians for Compassionate Use, and fundraising is underway. We are seeking a grant from the Drug Policy Foundation to help cover costs for signature gathering. In our past campaigns, the legalization network has been able to collect half the signatures needed. So for this campaign the plan is to pay for the other half. Please consider becoming politically active and financially responsible on this issue. Donations can be sent to Californians for Compassionate Use c/o Dennis Peron 3745 17th st. San Francisco, CA . If you wish to help with the Sonoma County campaign, write to SCRAP P.O. Box 410, Cazadero, CA 95421 and we will put you in touch with organizers of the local campaign.

November 1994

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