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                                    Jack D. Johnson, 04660-030
                                    Fed. Marijuana Prisoner & Glaucoma Patient
                                    P.O. Box 5000  FCI-GRE
                                    Greenville, IL 62246

3 Feb 98

Gen. Barry McCaffrey (rtd)
Office of [Spl. Interest] Drug Control Policy
750 17th St. NW, 8th Floor
Wash. DC  20503

Re:  Cannabis [marihuana, hemp, et al] Politics, Science, Ag. Crop

Dear General & Staff:

    As an Iowan farm-raised Cannabis geneticist & prisoner of the federal war on Cannabis (with many marijuana related arrests), I offer the following:
    I am a 52 yr old ex-farmer, Republican, opposed to all illicit drugs ~ except the myriad-beneficial herb/plant Cannabis.
    The present federal laws scheduling & prohibiting Cannabis are not publicly credible, & due to that absence of necessary credibility, unenforceable.  Attempts to enforce incredible law by 'right of might', bureaucratic & political disinformation is viewed with contempt because, contrary to most folk's values, it is dishonest.  Corrupt.
    My own Senator, Chuck Grassley, refuses to recognize the truth, let alone act upon it & is blind to all but political status quo, aka, self-serving corruption.
    More, not less Americans are offended by the clearly self-serving & dishonest [bureaucratic fraud] scheduling of Cannabis by the DOJ's DEA, leading to further erosion of public trust in government, executive & legislative, & particularly bureaucrats.
    The federal government's war on Cannabis is adversely affecting more & more people.  The people do recognize this war's deceptions & resultant steady destruction of Constitutional protections; a sophist judiciary failing its balancing duty & adherance to truth; a few old Congressional crones out-of-touch with today's reality that public contempt is expressed by not voting 'cause the incumbant scum is not worthy of the effort; a prison boom & draconian sentences that produces, in the end, more, not less, hardened men & women; the effect of causing a more militant & aware populace now fleeing the cities, the hoarding of arms & defensive articles.  These are but a few warning signs that folks are aware of the growing decadence of the government & are preparing for the inevitable government vs. citizen conflict.  The longer the government continues its assault on a peaceful & otherwise law-abiding segment of the general populace, the nearer we come to an actual internal armed conflict.
    To avert this catastrophe, a leader, a true patriot, must use his position to bully-pulpit the politico-bureaucracy from the solid foundation of truth.   On that basis, there will be a ground-swell of support for his honesty, & for reform of things beyond correction of Cannabis laws & scheduling.
    Your "statement On Industrial Hemp" was fairly specious, & far from frank & honest, so I'll assume you were touting the party-politico-line so-to-speak, & prompted this letter.

Sir:  First, be honest with yourself on the subject & examine the (independent of government disinformation) "true scientific & social facts" on Cannabis.  (Note: When Senator Grassley was requested to provide documentation of his position on Cannabis from any source not influenced by a self-serving government agency or funding, I took his silence as consent he has no independent supporting material.  The request was repeated three times without response.  The logical conclusion is "his political position is based on fraudulent government sources."  Text is on Internet @ http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/NORML/LETTERS/).       Legalization [anywhere] sends a bad message to [those government agencies reliant upon Cannabis prohibition for their budgets], is the wholesome truth.
    That [as your statement read] "legalization [of Cannabis] sends a bad message to the [government duped] public", is bad in-and-of itself because, let's face it, it is a governmental-monumental-absolute-lie.
    I offer you the same opportunity as Senator Grassley, ie, provide any non-political/government, independent sourced documentation on how & why legalization of industrial-use Cannabis would send an undesirable message to an honestly informed public.  This request is for verifiable facts, not sophist argument.
    To make a distinction, I do not support decriminalization of Cannabis for military, commercial transport, air traffic controllers, pilots, vehicle drivers, etc. personnel, or anyone in a position directly affecting lives, health & welfare of others, ie, being under on-duty effect would be a crime equal to DWI.
    This is to observe that "zero tolerance" is a military standard, not a civilian one, & should be applied accordingly.  To apply any military standard to a civilian populace is unlawful & counter-productive.

You can bet your butt, Cannabis is here in our culture to stay & no government force to the contrary will change that.  Conversely, continued war on Cannabis will eventually have disastrous consequences.  People, particularly free Americans, do not like government impositions on their basically harmless recreational or medical choices.  Oppressive measures will not be tolerated for many more years.
    As a personal perspective, my experience has been that Cannabis has been beneficial for my aches, pains & glaucoma & has not damaged me, but the government has definitely damaged me, my family & a host of others due to its lies, fraud, & political corruption.
    There is much I admire & respect about my country & its government, but its wholesale manipulation of people about Cannabis is not one of them, rather, it's contemptible.
    In terms of National policy on Cannabis I have a few ideas as follows:
    1.  Reclassify & reschedule in terms of THC delta-9 concentration (%) to wit:
        A.  Maintain delta-9 THC acetates & oils as Schedule I.
        B.  Reschedule Cannabis plants per concentration delta-9 THC* as 3% & above Schedule II; 3%-2% Schedule III; 2%-1% Schedule IV.  Less than 1% industrial non-criminal.
        C.  Classify delta-8 CBD, in any concentration, medicinal & legal, non-criminal.
        D.  All other compounds, stalks, fibre, hurds, seed oil, legal, non-criminal.

*at time of harvest or sampling - flowers, buds, tops, etc.

    The above wouldn't detract from DEA & may even justify some growth in Compliance & field testing.  % concentration kits were available in the '70s so that technology is existing.
    Like it or not, hemp products are a growth industry & the plant's versatility exceeds that of the peanut.
    The up-side is it'd slow currency going to Mexico, reduce illicit import as domestic production increases, & it'd shrink the underground non-tax-paying economy & add to our GNP.
    Thanx for your attention & if you'd have any questions, ask.

                                            Sincerely,

                                        Jack D. Johnson

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