Is there such a thing as ‘The Cannabis Closet’? You know, that murky place where Cannabis-users have been hiding for nearly a century. After watching several segments of ‘The Listening Tour’, I’m beginning to see that there is such a closet, and it’s huge! The Listening Tour is not a made-for-TV movie. It’s a real event that’s taking place right now. It involves true patriots that are standing up for the rights of all Americans. Pennsylvania is the state where independence was the battleground of early American freedom. Right now, there’s another battle for freedom being fought across the state. It’s for the right to take back legal recreational access to the popular plant known as Cannabis.
The Exciting Science behind the Herb
In his video called ‘Why Hemp can Save Humankind’, scientist and founder of Natural News, Mike Adams, draws some exciting conclusions after studying the plant. In the video he says, “It is so extraordinary to me, as a nutritionist and a researcher and now a food scientist, as I’m peeling away the layers of this plant, it’s blowing my mind”. He goes on to say, “I am absolutely blown away by the complexity of this plant, and also it’s efficacy in being such an amazing, healing, curative, restorative plant for humankind.”
Mike explains what happens when the herb is heated (as in the case of being smoked), he says, “It fits like a lock and key arrangement to certain receptors in your neurology, but not just in your neurology, also in other organs around your body, and I believe there are parts of this that give it a potent anti-cancer effect, a potent anti-seizure effect, many other extraordinary effects. Like a cbn (the cannabinals) is like a sleep aid, it can help you relax, and meanwhile cbd (cannabidiol) is anti-seizure and anti-epilepsy…. “.
In other words, our bodies have been designed to perfectly accept the cannabinoids from this plant, by joining with the endocannabinoids that are part of our own endocannabinoid system. It’s obvious that this plant would help any body, not just those that carry a medicinal Cannabis card. It makes you wonder why this wonder drug, which literally ‘grows like a weed’ and fits perfectly with our bodies, has gotten so close to complete eradication throughout the land. Could it be because there is a coverup going on regarding this special plant?
Change May be Coming
Well the good news is that times are changing. Some states have finally corrected this injustice by reversing the prohibition that has plagued us since the mid-20th century. While Pennsylvania has made medicinal Cannabis legal, it’s still considering whether to legalize it for recreational use. They’ve decided to go about it in an interesting and pro-active way. Pennsylvania Lt. Governor, John Fetterman, is in the middle of a county-by-county campaign to learn what his constituents think of the idea. His goal is to go back to Gov. Tom Wolf with the consensus of the people.
Each event consists of an audience of mostly locals, facing a row of local politicians and the Lt. Gov. The meetings typically begin with short speeches from the officials. Then those that wish to speak get lined up in 2 rows on opposite sides of the room, facing the officials on the stage. One by one they relate their personal beliefs and experiences to both the officials and audience (made up of mostly baby boomers). The overwhelming majority of the speakers are pro-legalization. But there are some that come to the mike with folders filled with anti-marijuana documentation, or have their own troubled stories to share.
On the pro side, individuals spoke of raising beautiful families, running successful businesses, and basically having very normal and productive lives, all while secretly (unfortunately criminally) enjoying this herb. While analyzing why the proponants’ arguments seemed more compelling, it occurred to me that it was because these were the people that were risking the most. These were the individuals that virtually risked their freedom to speak out on this issue. I’m of the opinion that these brave people ‘came out’ so to speak. They came out of the Cannabis Closet to stand up to ‘the man’ and say, “I know that this is not a scary drug, you know it’s not a scary drug, and it’s time that we get treated like adults and be allowed to use it legally“.
Smoking Cannabis is Not a Victimless Crime
The criminal element of the herb has come up several times throughout the tour. There have been those that stood up for the inequalities of those incarcerated due to race. There have been those that told their own stories of having their lives turned upside down due to prosecution. But the greatest theme throughout has been about the fear of losing everything, just for enjoying one of life’s simple pleasures. People also spoke about the stigma attached to Cannabis use and how it needs to change. Law-abiding citizens (in every other way) have stepped up to the mike, to admit to the secretive lives that they’ve had to live. How many victims have been created due to this prohibition.
Enjoy some Cannabis – Have Your Firearm Rights Taken
Another issue that has been brought up several times at these events is in regards to second amendment rights. Presently in PA, those that hold medicinal marijuana cards may not own any firearms. This is because while medicinal marijuana is legal in the state, it is still illegal at the federal level. These are just some of the obstacles that Cannabis users face when trying to go the legal route. Another obstacle is the prohibitive costs involved with medicinal Cannabis, like an expensive doctor visit to be approved for the card, and the $50 Card Fee. Many card-carrying medicinal users said that they look forward to recreational Cannabis becoming legal just to bring down the costs.
Something doesn’t Add Up
With all of the emotional stress, financial hardship, and potential removal of constitutional rights, one must ask themselves an important question. Why would the U.S. do this to its own citizens? On the DEA (United States Drug Enforcement Administration) website you can see that Cannabis is on their list of ‘Schedule I’ drugs. This means that they’ve decided to liken it to heroin, and define it as “a drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” I’d like to give you two statements and allow the reader to reach their own conclusion.
First, the pharmaceutical industry is an extremely powerful one. It’s an industry that would undoubtedly be negatively impacted by the unencumbered use of Cannabis. Second, as I write this, it happens to be the tenth anniversary of a patent that was issued to the U.S. government for… (drum roll please)… Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants! As I just mentioned above, Cannabinoids are the part of the plant that works with the Endocannabinoid system in the human body. Our government granted itself the patent on this plant for its medicinal benefits, while banning it due to it’s lack of medicinal benefits!
What’s Next…
As of this writing, the 67-county tour is still in progress, with Adams County being the next stop on April 24th. You may catch some of the past events online by searching for ‘The PA Listening Tour’. Several of the meetings have been videotaped in their entirety. With this being a tour of great interest to many, I hope we’ll eventually see these videos on the governor’s website. You will, however, find the schedule of upcoming live events. There’s also a place to make your position known. Will the Listening Tour change any minds, or help to legalize Cannabis? Will users get to come out of The Cannabis Closet once and for all? Only time will tell.
This is where you may leave your comments on the PA Governor’s Website regarding the legalization of recreational Cannabis use (not necessary to be a PA resident):
https://www.governor.pa.gov/recreational-marijuana-feedback/
See the complete schedule of The PA Listening Tour stops:
https://www.governor.pa.gov/recreational-marijuana-feedback/#Dates
PA Law states that Medicinal Marijuana users may not possess firearms:
https://www.psp.pa.gov/firearms-information/Pages/Firearms-Information.aspx
See where the U.S. Government holds the current patent for Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US6630507B1/en
See where the U.S. Government has Cannabis on a the Schedule I List (which says that Cannabis has ‘no currently accepted medical use’:
https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling
See the Mike Adams video ‘Why Hemp can Save Humankind’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIWWhVC0YnM
You may visit my website to see a few of the Full-Length Listening Tour Events:
https://organicwebcare.com/the-pa-listening-tour/
of the All Natural Beauty Website (https://AllNaturalBeauty.com)
and Organic Web Care (https://OrganicWebCare.com)
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Sharon enjoys a healthy all-natural lifestyle, and empowering others to do the same.
