Pubdate: Tue, 06 Feb 2001
Source: Havre Daily News (MT)
Section: My Turn
Copyright: 2001 Havre Daily News
Contact:  119 Second Street Havre, Montana 59501
Website: http://www.havredailynews.com/
Author: Ron VandenBoom
Cited: http://www.SaveHemp.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

LIBERTY IS NIBBLED AWAY, FOR EXPEDIENTS

In the final refrain of the national anthem of the United States describes 
our country as the "land of the free and the home of the brave." But 
increasingly, the phrase rings hollow as one by one Americans are having 
their freedoms stripped away and bravery comes from only the few courageous 
soles willing to risk fines and jail to exercise freedom.

I know this sounds harsh and to many it might even sound ridiculous, but 
what amazes me is that others fail to see it and become equally upset.

As an example of what I'm talking about, take the recent announcement by 
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that they are considering a ban 
on nutritional supplements, shampoos, body care products, and anything else 
containing hemp or hemp oils.

Hemp, of course, is another name for the plant that produces marijuana.

Rest assured that none of the products meant to be taken internally contain 
the marijuana's psychoactive ingredient THC. Nor is the hemp used to 
produce the products grown in the United States.

The DEA argues that it "might" be possible for traces of the drug to be 
absorbed through the skin by people using the body care products thus 
causing them to give positive test results if they are ever tested for 
substance abuse.

The Coalition to Save Hemp (CSH), an organization assembled specifically to 
fight the ban, argues that THC cannot be distilled from the products and 
cites numerous studies to indicate it cannot be absorbed through the skin.

Despite facts to the contrary, the DEA wants to create an "interim rule" 
that will have the force of law as soon as it's published in the Federal 
Register. No public input or legislative action is necessary in order to 
implement the rule.

Imagine facing up to one year in a federal prison and a $10,000 fine on a 
salad dressing rap.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but if you don't believe me, check out the CSH 
Web site at http://www.SaveHemp.org.

If banning shampoo and salad dressing doesn't shake you up, then perhaps a 
future ban on cigarettes will. Not because cigarettes are a good thing, but 
because the attack on tobacco companies and smokers has been so quick, so 
direct, and so public, it is hard to ignore.

If you thought the war on drugs was something, wait until the war on 
cigarettes starts.

Cigarettes are a terrible habit that directly contributes to the death of 
an estimated 400,000 people every year, but the question of making 
cigarettes illegal is something that transcends the health related issue 
and enters the arena of personal rights and freedoms. It raises the 
question of how far government in a free society should go to protect 
people from themselves.

Of course the Constitution never guaranteed people would only make wise 
choices. Quite the opposite, it guaranteed the individual right to make 
stupid choices and left the responsibility for those decisions in the hands 
of the individual.

Philosopher/economist Edmund Burke once said "the true danger is when 
liberty is nibbled away, for expedients."

The expedients today include a smoke free/drug free society, safe 
playgrounds, safe jobs, safe cars, and a safe environment. They also 
include free or low cost health care, free or low cost prescriptions, and a 
comfortable retirement. You can add to the list the so called freedom from 
hunger, freedom from illiteracy, and freedom from failure.

Government today has ruled that it is expedient to sacrifice personal 
freedom on the alter of good intentions and has removed personal 
responsibility from the formula. By so doing we have also come to believe 
that misbehavior is the fault of society and our jails have become crowded 
with victims rather than offenders.

The reward our country reaps for this transgression is a homogenized 
society of sameness where individuals need not distinguish between right 
and wrong and responsibility is always found elsewhere. Individuality 
languishes in a sea of irresponsibility where all fault for personal 
shortcomings lie elsewhere.

Those who disagree with governmental pronouncements will not be tolerated 
and the individual's only obligation is to obey.

Woodrow Wilson once said, " The history of liberty is a history of the 
limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it."
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D