It is high time (no pun intended) that we allow the cultivation of industrial hemp in this nation. Switching to hemp for paper production alone could save enormous amounts of energy and natural resources. You probably also know that hemp can be used for an astounding array of products, from clothing to vitamins to rope to paper to lotions to soaps, to insulation...the list goes on and on.

101 Uses for Hemp (and this list is not complete)
http://www.recipenet.org/health/articles/1..._hemp_chart.htm

What is it that is keeping us from growing this amazingly renewable resource? Is it giant corporations like Weyerhauser who control vast amounts of paper production? Is it our insane War on Drugs?

Are we still afraid that someone, somewhere will get high on hemps cousin, marijuana?

I wonder what Al's position on hemp is?

Hemp is a miracle plant. To allow cultivation could insert some sanity in this mixed-up world.

And yes, I think marijuana should also be decriminalized. We have FAR too many people in prisons today simply for smoking this wonderful herb.

I'm almost thru all of Al's book The Assault on Reason, and he hasn't addressed this issue. In fact, I've never heard him address this issue. The closest I see from this book is that he believes the drug war is misdirected, but it did not give me any real sense of where he stands on the issue of hemp and marijuana.

Anyone? I hope someday we will have some sanity here.