KILL THE METH BILL
America loves the outlaw, especially in glitzy Los Angeles. That's some-thing I discovered last year over dinner at a Hollywood Bowl concert with my mother, sister, and daughter. We were talking about the business I'm in--industrial hemp--and Mom said she had a dream where she met a certain movie star hemp celebrity and he told her that I was going to go to jail.
By the time I finished choking on my pasta salad, there seemed to be a lull in the din, and I said, perhaps a little too loudly, "Well, I might just have to go to jail." As soon as the words left my mouth, I was in an EF Hutton commercial with the voice-over saying: "When Mari Kane talks, people listen." The vibe that a crowd of opera buffs heard my announcement of guilt was so strong you could have heard a napkin drop. Sitting there, I got the feeling they were more than a bit titillated as they wondered if they'd seen me on TV.
My reason for imparting this amusing memory and the reason I blurted out that I was headed for jail, is because it now looks, more than ever, that I am. This is because the Federal bill I told my mother and sister about that evening is still alive. It is HR-486, and is called the Defeat of Methamphetamine Act but will be remembered as the Death of Free Speech Act. Sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the co-author is none other than my own Senator, Diane Feinstein (D-CA), from the state where the most valuable crop is cannabis.
Anyone who was shocked to learn that taxpayer dollars are being used to insert anti-drug themes into Hollywood productions will be mortified to know that producers of pro-drug information are soon to become canaries in a constitutional coalmine. The part that would put me in jail reads:
"It shall be unlawful for any person to teach or demonstrate the manufacture of a controlled substance, or to distribute by any means, information pertaining to, in whole or in part, the manufacture or use of a controlled substance, with the intent that the teaching, demonstration, or information be used for, or in furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a Federal crime."
I've never been arrested, have always filed my taxes, and I vote regularly. But it just so happens that I have a website devoted to industrial hemp, the legal stuff that is connected, both politically and genetically, to marijuana. I never thought of <hemppages.com> as a tool for teaching an activity that constitutes a Federal crime, but it does contain an excellent article on medical marijuana by Harvard MD Lester Grinspoon, as well as various stories about Prop 215 and cannabis-related books for sale. If the Defeat of Meth bill becomes law, I will be a criminal for posting all of this information!
It's a wacky world where one can go to jail, not for growing, trafficking, or dealing drugs, but by simply talking about them! Today's law-abiding activist is tomorrow's political prisoner.
Last year at the Hollywood Bowl, I laughed about this bill, incredulous that it would ever go anywhere. Now, I'm very, very concerned since the Senate has passed its version of the bill and has sent it off to the House. While the Meth bill is a clear violation of the First Amendment, House sponsor Chris Cannon is unconcerned about its constitutionality and is emboldened by a recent case where Paladin Press settled a suit in which a reader of its how-to-commit-a-murder guide, "Hit Man," used the book in a real-life triple murder. The victim's families sued Paladin in civil court, and the publisher settled for $5 million. If HR-486 is passed, the government will use this precedent to defend drug censorship.
However, Paladin's book promoted murder---an age-old crime against humanity--whereas anti-drug war publishers are non-violently passing along information on a 70-year-old political quagmire. There is a difference. The desire for free speech and religion are what drove the Pilgrims to this continent in the first place, and by abandoning these principles to Drug War hysteria, we will propel ourselves back to pre-Enlightenment Europe. If the drug debate is allowed to be silenced by the law, then any kind of speech can be repressed.
The Defeat of Meth bill should be killed immediately, and our representatives need to be reminded that while drug paranoia may come and go, the Constitution is here to stay.
As for me, I won't ever shut up--even under lock-down.
--Mari Kane is the publisher of THE INTERNATIONAL HEMP JOURNAL (formerly known as HEMP WORLD) and HEMP PAGES--THE HEMP INDUSTRIAL SOURCE BOOK, and is a board member of the Hemp Industries Association and Californians for Industrial Renewal.
<mari@marikane.com>, <www.hemppages.com>.