Pubdate: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2003 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Giovanni Borla Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?330 (Hemp - Outside U.S.) IT'S PART BIG BUSINESS, TOO Your editorial "U.S. on wrong side of medical marijuana battle" (Friday) says: "We know why the Bush administration and Congress are opposed to medical marijuana -- part habit, part political cowardice, part ignorance, part indifference, part pandering to the most extreme conservative elements." You forgot one further reason: heavy lobbying. Lots of it. Marijuana, which offers unique benefits in countless medical conditions, can grow anywhere, and is non-patentable, scares the living daylights out of Big Pharma. And hemp -- from the same plant, cannabis -- scares many more big industries: textiles, paper, oil and plastics. Marijuana is, in part, a fictitious pretext: The real target is hemp. One acre of cannabis, over a 20-year period, yields as much cellulose (i.e. energy) as 4 acres of trees (USDA data). Need I say more? Giovanni Borla, Milano, Italy - --- MAP posted-by: Derek