That's usually how you can tell you have a good authentic cause, and not one that has been squeezed into our consciousness by the ruling two-party elite.

The drug law enforcement complex, just like the military-industrial complex, depends on the status-quo for a reason to exist. They appeal to irrational fear; that's why absurd ideas, such as industrial hemp turning America into a nation of potheads, get purchase. It's also why the public buys off on unconstitutional actions such as property seizures without a conviction, which puts money directly in the budgets of law enforcement.

Policy makers know that a fast-track to unemployment is to go soft on drugs. They often use ridiculous claims about the dangers of drugs as cover to do nothing (other than jack up mandatory minimum sentences) rather than tackle the very tough issues around drug use in our culture.

Nobody gets elected on the pro dope platform. There's a reason why folks like Norm Stamper start talking about the emperors lack of clothing only AFTER they retire.

It seems to me that the current drug laws are being applied too liberally.

While I agree that making pot legal -- the smokable kind -- isn't a bad idea, it really is a completely separate issue. There is no connection between industrial and non-industrial help here, aside from the fact that a law against one is being misapplied to the other.

"There is no connection between industrial and non-industrial HEMP here..."