John Shaw
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| *NEW*: Click here to read an exclusive article written by my mother regarding about this campaign. | ||
My name is John Shaw, and I live in Tallahassee, Florida. I am 24 years old. |
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In 2007 and 2008, I ran a political campaign for the Florida House of Representatives based entirely upon the reform of drug laws. In the beginning, my platform was simple: legalize all drugs. While I was able to maintain this position for quite some time – on and off camera – it became apparent to me that changing drug laws would have to be done slowly, one step at a time. I decided to revamp my platform a bit, and announced my new objectives during a live televised broadcast at the Tallahassee Greater Chamber of Commerce Forum in August of 2008, three months prior to Election Day. My new targets for legalization were marijuana and industrial hemp.
Notwithstanding, that platform didn’t appease the pundits. I was the brunt of laughter at any major political event; I even received a zinger from the Sheriff of Leon County at a Tiger Bay Club forum, standing to ask if I had “brought any samples” with me. After the hilarity ensued, however, I noticed a quiet, natural calm that came over the audience of listeners. This hush was coupled with an eager ear; people were not only willing to let me speak, they were genuinely interested in everything I had to say – and I had quite a bit to explain. One of my most memorable moments came during an agricultural forum held in Gadsden County, during which I was the only one of 13 legislative candidates between two districts who was able to offer an entirely new cash crop to the agricultural industry – hemp.
Alas, here we are two years later. Once again, I have revised my platform, only this time it is entirely based upon industrial hemp reform. Personal beliefs aside - it has been made very clear to me that the citizens of Florida, along with the people of this nation, are not yet ready for an alternative approach to drug prohibition. For this reason, it has behooved me to concentrate on something we can all easily agree upon. Not convinced? Keep reading.
Hemp is not marijuana.
"Hemp" is a naturally growing fiber product of the "Cannabis sativa" plant. It is currently grown and cultivated for industrial purposes by nations such as France, Great Britain, Canada, China, Germany, Russia, and Spain.
The industrial uses of hemp are significant, and the side-effects bundled with growing such a “dangerous” plant are practically non-existent. In fact, it has been said that one could smoke an acre of industrial hemp without any effects. However, if hemp is really not at all dangerous, why then is it illegal? Keep in mind, too, that the United States of America is the only industrialized nation on this planet that has forbidden hemp from its list of allowable plants, thus allowing all other nations to benefit from its sale, while the country most capable of producing and processing the plant is left out.
In the early 1930s E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company became the largest manufacturer of plastics and nylons in America. Their plastics were created entirely from a petroleum base, which meant DuPont was in strong partnership with big oil companies and greedy politicians. In 1937, with the realization that hemp had bested them in terms of plastic production and fuel efficiency, DuPont, relying on government and private intervention, was instrumental in getting laws passed that made illegal the manufacturing and cultivation of hemp. The company’s success in eliminating its only real competitor resulted in huge profits for their own products. DuPont is currently the second largest chemical company in the world.
Banning this commodity was not an easy feat. It was quite obvious that one could not simply ask Congress to forbid the distribution of a certain product simply because it meant competition. Therefore, DuPont realized that hemp had to be identified somehow as being harmful. Since hemp had never been proven to be harmful at all, it had to be somehow publicly tainted, so that people would become afraid of it. DuPont knew all too well that marijuana - a cousin of the hemp plant that people had been smoking for its recreational effects - fell into the same genus as hemp.
Through the uses of yellow journalism, marijuana was slowly tarnished at the hands of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst and drug czar Harry J. Anslinger. "The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races,” said Anslinger, among other choice phrases.
After a short while, politicians followed suit, and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed, which effectively criminalized and banned the entire cannabis family - hemp included.
It is currently illegal to grow hemp in the United States. However, hemp can be legally imported from other countries as long as a "Zero Tolerance" policy is adhered to, in that it can contain no more than a certain amount of an active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol. Tetrahydrocannabinol can indeed be found in both marijuana and hemp. However, it is extremely important to point out that the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, found in marijuana has been estimated to be between 6% and 20%. Hemp, on the other hand, averages around 0.3% THC per crop, rendering its recreational uses nonexistent.
Interestingly, hemp was temporarily made legal to grow in the United States during World War 2 so that the US could use it to win the war (see: Hemp for Victory, a promotional video produced by the US Department of Agriculture in 1942). After the war was won, it was quickly re-illegalized.
Hemp should never have been illegalized in the first place. However, if that isn't reason enough to legalize it (though it should be if you value your Constitution), perhaps the fact that over 25,000 products can be made from hemp will alleviate any doubt. Hemp is one of Earth’s most durable fibers, and it can be used for practically anything. A few of its manifestations are paper, soaps, cosmetics, paints, foods (hemp seeds are highly nutritious), textiles, chemicals, plastics, clothing, canvas, and rope.
If that doesn't mean much to you, though, one might consider the fact that not only is hemp carbon neutral - hemp is carbon negative. This means that the plant removes CO2 from the air. So, instead of catering to such hollow suggestions as a "carbon tax" - which would "tax emissions of carbon dioxide" - perhaps the more logical approach would be to legalize hemp, and simply grow it in order to reduce the amount of CO2 on the planet. Hemp is growable in every single state in America, and can be cultivated in less than four months.
Amazingly, hemp can be used as a biofuel to end our dependence on foreign oil. It has been suggested that hemp yields more energy per acre than corn, sugar, flax, or any other biofuel the United States is currently amassing. The entire world currently runs on petroleum-based plastics. Did you know that plastics can be made from cellulose, and hemp is the #1 producer of cellulose on the planet? That's right - we can literally grow our own plastic.
Folks, this platform has the potential of answering many questions and alleviating many issues. The legalization of this plant should be used as a cornerstone prior to attempting to solve any issue we currently face. It was reported in December of 2008 that Florida’s budget deficit rose from $150 million to $2.3 billion. Ideas thrown about by state lawmakers included cutting Medicaid, increasing taxes, and/or cutting funds from various statewide programs. None of these suggestions were actually solutions, though - they were all simply ignorant attempts at alleviation. If we were to legalize and tax hemp, not only would it provide a new source of income for the state, it would provide jobs. It is estimated that about 10% of Americans are now without work. The creation of a new industry in textiles, paper mills, plastics and other new products via hemp would unquestionably, at the very least, instantaneously begin to resolve the tremendous amount of debt we have all inherited from our government.
Yes. There are some issues that hemp reform would not directly help to alleviate, but most of them are social issues, such as abortion or gay rights. Basically, it's safe to assume that any issue even remotely related to the economy is covered by this platform - and that includes the issue of healthcare. Why? Because our medical professionals are currently using petroleum-based plastics. Prior to actually figuring out whether or not there needs to be a public option, or a single-payer system, or a complete government takeover, perhaps we should first try to minimize the cost of healthcare itself by taking some simple, sensible steps.
There's a lot you can do to help! One very easy way to help with this campaign is to simply pass the word along. Send a link to this website to your friends and family! www.johnshaw.org
Another great way to help is by making a small donation. I do not wish to exceed $10,000 in fundraising for this campaign, as it would be unnecessary and wasteful for many reasons. Littering the beautiful city of Tallahassee with unnecessary campaign rhetoric is not a strategy of mine. Most of my advertising will be performed online, and because of that, costs can be kept to a minimum! There are necessities, though, that do need to be paid for, such as basic yard signs, pamphlets that I can hand out at forums, and the qualifying fee to get my name on the ballot in November. This fee - over $1700 - needs to be paid by June 14, 2010! Can you assist me with this fee by donating $5 or $10? It would be a tremendous help, and I would be grateful. Click here if you'd like to donate!
This website is still under construction -- but in the mean time, if you'd like to check out any of my previous political endeavors, you can browse over to the archives page, which has audio and video clips of some of my speeches and interviews!
