GrAS EXAMINES social contracts and civil rights in a free society; DEFINES the terms of our social and political systems, and PROMOTES the paradigms of a liberal democracy: Specifically, that government is created by the will of the people, and can be dissolved by that same will. Cannabis laws are especially scrutinized as they so readily demonstrate the many political and social justice issues inherent in the legislative processes.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
SHOULD CANNABIS SEEDS BE ILLEGAL?
Cannabis seeds contain zero levels of cannabinoids. However, the bractlets which surround the seeds contain the plants' Highest concentration of cannabinoids (see picture). Even washing with an organic solvent can leave trace amounts of cannabinoids on the seeds.
Interestingly, even after germination and the presence of the two "seed" leaves (cotyledons), the sprouting plant has no measurable cannabinoids.
It is not until the first pair of true leaves appear that a measurable amount of cannabis can be determined.
SOURCE: Starks, Michael (1990) Marijuana Chemistry. Ronin Pub: Oakland.
Archive photo from Bing Search.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Legalization Experiments: Colorado Compromises, Washington Misses the Point
Click link to read the Article.
Comments:
Although the proposed regulations still violate I-64, (the initiative that legalized marijuana in Colorado) they are touted by the author as "compromise", which is a good thing. It's most certain that there were unforeseen issues in the original wording of the legalization initiative, that in practice could create back-lash. Open smoking would seem naturally disagreeable as even cigarettes are banned in most public areas.
Colorado's implementation of legalization seems to be a workable, sustainable model, though I would be interested in other opinions from those who deal with the Colorado system.
I have been concerned and consumed lately with the failing Washington state system, which is rumored to be preparing to eliminate medical cannabis entirely, under the premise that medicalization is unnecessary because it is legally available. With a tax rate of 75%, and a "like alcohol" model in a highly regulated "Closed Alcohol" state, this issue demonstrates how Tax and Regulate legalization schemes play into the agendas of the prohibitionists who want to keep cannabis illegal. Review 502, the initiative to “legalize” cannabis here. Voters must have blindly trusted that the entity administrating the initiative would be fair, compassionate and reasonable, though many medical users are skeptical of the Liquor Board’s ability to manage medical cannabis. The issues are complicated, however the legalization for recreational use was to have NO consequences on the medical marijuana program in Washington. This has turned out to be untrue, according to LadyBud, an on-line cannabis news site.
It is important for voters to understand the current laws in their state before creating new laws. Although the Medical Cannabis industry in Washington was very much opposed to I-502, the initiative passed and within days was addressed by the Liquor Control Board, establishing their over-arching dominance in the production and distribution of cannabis in Washington State.
Thank you to Timothy Tipton for sharing the Colorado post.
Amica G
The Green Association for Sustainability
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
TED CRUZ AND THE 2013 DEBT CRISIS: Notes on The Right and Duty to Revolt
By Kimmarie Rojas
News Link on Debt Ceiling, Oct 2013
Introduction
Hobbes and Locke
The Contemporary Manifestation of Revolution
Henry David Thoreau
Martin Luther King Jr.
The Great Society Days
Contract with America
Conclusion
The Green Association for Sustainability
Sunday, August 18, 2013
The History of the Premise of GrAS
THE GREEN ASSOCIATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY was originally created as an archive and forum for essays, reports and other academic writings produced as an undergraduate and Master’s candidate at Northern Arizona University from 1997 through 2002. Upon graduating Magna Cum Laude with a Political Science major and a minor in Research and Statistics, the University offered me a full tuition waiver to the school’s first Graduate Level Liberal Studies program in the environmental sciences, entitled “Visions of Good and Sustainable Societies”.
When I began the Masters program in 1999, medical insurance and health care availability and cost containment were primary concerns among voters. In addition, the regulations surrounding addiction treatment were outdated and did not reflect current science or practice. There was also a call for parity in the insurance industry for mental health and psychiatric treatment, including addiction recovery. The millennial national election brought the issues to the forefront of the campaign, as a topic of conversation among candidates about how to fix the health care system, and a topic of contention on addiction treatment and punishment.
In researching my thesis, I became involved with an advocacy group that was supporting new guideline regulations for outpatient opiate addiction recovery. Authored by Senators Hatch (R-UT), Biden (D-DE) and Levin (D-MI), the bill failed to make it out of committee in 2000. The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) was passed the next year with much celebration , and a renewed hope for further changes to the harsh drug control policies of the United States.
Also nearly one year after elections, the Al-Qaida attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 changed the course of the Country’s agenda, and the election defining issues and political promises became moot points to be argued again at a later date.
Under the warrant that a “good and sustainable society” cannot exist without “good and sustainable people” and supported by the issues of inadequate addiction treatment and ineffective and punitive drug legislation, I hypothesized that the vision of a good and sustainable society included better access to health care, specifically addiction treatment, and significant changes in the U.S. drug laws including an end to the failed “War on Drugs”.
This is posted as static text at http://www.sustainablygreen.blogspot.com
Saturday, August 17, 2013
How does a society agree that a law is unjust? Some thoughts and ideas…
But what happens when the laws no longer represent the consensus?
What of laws that do not reflect the current social mores and tolerances of the times?
What recourse is available to the proletariat when those in power enforce rules that disenfranchise one or more classes of society?
How does a civil society agree that a law is unjust?
Sarah Iozzio writes:
For me, the definition of an unjust law is a law that perpetrates more harm than it prevents. Getting society to agree to this definition would take more people waking up an(d) becoming aware of that harm rather than believing the propaganda of what that law is supposedly accomplishing.Sarah’s first step is to create a definition. I also agree, as it seems reasonable to me that reasonable people would then find a reasonable argument compelling.
While publicly elected legislatures create most laws, they are administered and enforced through Executive administrations, and upheld by the court systems at both Federal and State levels. This three tiered system of checks and balances is designed to prevent abuses, yet it is also slow and cumbersome, fraught with politics and plunders.
So even if we can get people to agree, can we get change?
In order to get people to agree that a law is unjust and therefore should be changed, the mindset that created the law in the first place must be denounced: People will have to admit that they were wrong. Changing minds can be a difficult row.
I hope this has sparked some ideas of your own on what it takes to change a law that is unjust. The “Law” could be a local ordinance that limits the parking on your street, a State regulation that prevents a fair hearing in child custody, or a Federal policy of criminalizing cannabis. It doesn’t matter if it is at the local level or if it is a Federal issue, if the law is contrary to the social beliefs of the voters, how do we convince those whom we’ve elected to change their minds and champion our causes?
I appreciate your comments and ideas. You may post them here, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mariesrun or https://www.facebook.com/Sustainablygreen
THANK YOU!
k rojas
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Treatment of Disease with Cannabis and Restrictions to Research
DISORDERS TREATED WITH CANNABIS
Since the medicalization of cannabis in seventeen states, the number of disorders and diseases that have been legitimately found to respond to the use of medical marijuana has grown exponentially. While the medical community originally assigned those with Cancer and AIDS as most benefited, and therefore the first to be prescribed medical marijuana, other diseases quickly followed, such as Hepatitis and Multiple Sclerosis.Only because of social media has the anecdotal evidence of the many diseases helped by cannabis become so prolifically available. In fact, many social phenomenons have been discovered through the study of social media. Some studies claim that the largest demographic of social media is the 30+ age group, which is also the age group most likely to be parents of school-age children. Therefore, the largest number of "social" posts would be related to the lives of this demographic. On searching the internet, it is obvious that social media goes beyond Facebook and Twitter and into very specific issues, including medical information.
ADHD, AUTISM
Searching the term "ADHD BLOGS" on BING brings up nearly eleven million results. Simply "ADHD" has nearly twenty six million results. The search for "AUTISM BLOGS" resulted in 16.6 million responses. That is 16 million social media sites for the collection of anecdotal data on Autism (www.bing.com ) . A search for "AUTISM" alone resulted in 42.2 million sites that discuss Autism. According to the Autism Research Institute, Marijuana has been used successfully to treat autism in many patients. Their only warning to cannabis use is regarding the legality.California's renewed medical distribution regulations in 2004 placed the determination of benefit at the discretion of the prescriber; Arizona's regulations allow for a strict schedule of qualifying diseases. Until the regulation of cannabis is either removed or becomes universal (Federal), no standard usage and prescribing protocol can be implemented.
CANNABIS RESEARCH
The lack of reliable research is one primary reason for the variance in states' prescribing regulations. "Current restrictions on marijuana research are absurd" wrote the editors of Scientific American. Explaining the process, they argue:
Any researcher attempting to study marijuana must obtain it through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The U.S. research crop, grown at a single facility, is regarded as less potent--and therefore less medicinally interesting--than the marijuana often easily available on the street. Thus, the legal supply is a poor vehicle for studying the approximately 60 cannabinoids that might have medical applications.
Even with medicalization, and even should state-level permission and funding be provided for such research, the working institution would be at risk of seizure of assets and prosecution by the Federal Government. Still, the University of California hosts the Center for Medicinal Cancer Research (CMCR), a three year project funded by state legislation. Just this week, the Governor of Arizona signed a bill into law allowing for Marijuana research at the three Arizona public universities (2013 Brewer signs...). Besides removing a regulation that prohibited marijuana on any of the universities, even if by a registered medical patient, the new law will allow University of Arizona physician Susan Sisley, to perform a rarely approved federal research project on the effect of cannabis on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is hoped this will pave the way for further federally approved research on cannabis treatment and other pschological and psychiatric disorders (2013 Arizona Governor...).
The Green Association for Sustainability
Friday, May 10, 2013
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
If you had the power to change one thing in the world that did not affect you personally (forget stuffing your bank account with millions), what would it be? Why would you change it? What’s the most eloquent argument against changing it? What makes you believe the change would be for the better? What would be the effect on a specific group of strangers? What would be some possible unintended consequences?
Writing prompt: Gerard, Philip. Writing a Book that Makes A Difference. 2000. Storypress. Cincinnati, Ohio. pg. 29.
If I had the power to change one thing in the world, it would be that Cannabis (Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis) was completely decriminalized and globally accepted as a legitimate agricultural, medicinal and industrial product. Cannabis flowers have extensive health properties that our ancestors used to heal and to thrive. The stalks of the plant can be used for tools, clothing, and shelter. The seeds are a nutritional foodstuff, contain all twenty-one amino acids and can be made into flour, oil, and nut butter. The Cannabis Plant has evolved next to humans, and has a natural and prolific environmental niche. The Cannabis plant is nature’s survival kit for humans.
The elimination of cannabis from the diets and consumption by humans may have contributed to the increase in certain illnesses and disorders that parents’ groups and scientists claim are from questionable etiologies. This includes allergies and asthma, and certain psychiatric disorders, such as ADD, hyperactivity syndrome, and Autism. The rise in these disorders and the increased efforts to eliminate cannabis use correlate statistically, which is the general rule by which alternative hypotheses are measured. The governments tight restrictions on cannabis purposely and strategically make research by even reputable universities and organizations nearly impossibly.
Even with the large increase in acceptance of cannabis, and the slow but general turn in the perception of cannabis as a healing substance, there are still many who passionately agree with the government’s reasons for not legalizing cannabis. Even though their arguments are often proved specious, the paradigms are deep rooted. For example, the “gateway theory”, or the idea that “marijuana leads to harder drugs” has been found to be untrue and after many years, is now a generally accepted premise. Still, this fact must be reminded to the public at every advocacy chance, in order to keep “urban myths” from spreading. The “DARE” program instituted by G.H.W. Bush, and still taught in elementary schools, is responsible for creating and spreading much of the misinformation about marijuana, and in 2012, the program wisely eliminated any mention of cannabis in the DARE program.
The abuse of any substance is a primary concern for those who are against cannabis legalization, and many medical marijuana supporters are against the general public legalization schemes. Their concern is valid: As a medication, cannabis is invaluable to many of them, and “legalization” threatens the medical paradigm. An example of this is the media portrayal of pot users as lazy hippie throw backs who are always high. A paradox lies in this imaging and the reality of cannabis use. In reality, the benefits of cannabis as a medicine, a food source, or a sustainable material, outweigh any perceived risks. The most notable risk of cannabis use lies only in it’s legal status, and the risk that the police will arrest, assault, or shoot you. Decriminalization of marijuana would effectively eliminate the risk of death by cannabis use.
The “regulation of cannabis like alcohol” is a popular legalization model, and has already been successfully passed by voters in two states: Washington and Colorado. These states have very different alcohol regulations; however, Washington is a “closed” alcohol state, where all alcohol is sold and distributed directly by the state. Colorado recently passed a bill implementing the rules for personal possession and commercial licensing, and plans for implementation are scheduled for 2014. Washington State is a “closed” alcohol state, and recently made news when the State solicited for and hired a Marijuana Specialist to administer the state-run dispensaries. Both sides of the aisle are curiously and cautiously watching how cannabis will be distributed differently in the state-run alcohol system of Washington versus the private ownership model of Colorado regulations.
While these regulatory schemes seem to be the only avenue to loosen the governmental grip on cannabis, they still provide complete governmental control and prosecutorial threat to users of cannabis, and do nothing to industrialize hemp. The reintroduction of hemp would have a positive environmental sustainability impact on the world, but would compete with other industries, including the powerful cotton lobby and those industries responsible for massive deforestation.
Cannabis Sativa, Indica and ruderalis are valuable plants inherent to the successful evolution of human beings. The global state control of cannabis is a phenomenon of twentieth century politics, and its prohibition has no basis. In fact, the loss of cannabis consumption by humans may have had deleterious effects on the human immune system, as well as psychological and spiritual well being. Simply granting “concessions” is a small attempt at correcting the generational errors made in the early 1900’s. The regulations that have snowballed into prohibition were originally racially and politically motivated, and furthered through fuel, agricultural and other global industrial interests. Nothing short of the reversal of the racially and politically motivated regulations that created prohibition is required for the sustainability of humans in the coming age.
c 2013 K Rojas
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Why are Food Service Workers in the United States Not Paid a Fair Wage?
Tom's comments were simple, concise and logical: "Tip...(exclamatory)" If it were only that easy! Yet if you believe the argument that working for $2.13 an hour in a hash house or lunch/dinner chain is acceptable because of the tips received, it is time to re-examine your paradigms of the decade's economic and social behavior.
Probably the most compelling argument for raising the minimum wage for food service workers is that the procedure for determining the minimum wage is flawed. Low minumum wage states depend on the 'kindness of strangers' rather than a profit/loss or cost of living equation, to assure that an entire class receives a fair wage. This fact is shocking and deplorable. The duty to assure that employees receive a livable wage should be on the state legislation to define and employers to implement. It should not be the responsibility of the unassuming, and mostly uninformed public.
Food service wages seem to be lowest in the poorest states, where there is more poverty and people have less to tip, and are also less likely to tip as a social grace. The Culture of Poverty theory would explain this behavior as systemic: Perhaps, a non-tipper never saw their parents tip, so they have no model to reference. Only by exposure does one learn the advantages of tipping a concierge or valet well. The payoff for tipping waiters in coffee shops and dinner houses is minimal or non-existent, as the customer may have no intentions on ever eating in that restaurant again.
State laws limiting food service worker wages to unlivable lows should be changed for the simple reason that it is that State's responsibility to provide citizens the opportunity for the pursuit of happiness, equal employment, and a fair wage. Previous economic etiquette spelled out strict guidelines of up to twenty percent in tips for everyone from the grocery boy to the milk delivery man (The What What man?). In the 2010's, with virtual access virtually everywhere, tipping has become both a lost art and an obsolete gesture that is at the subjectability of the customer. It is no longer the rule, but rather the exception when exceptional service and an able customer meet. The States that maintain these low minimums, and the food establishments that employ them must realize their responsibility to their workers and offer a livable wage.
The article regarding food service workers minimum wages:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/waitresses-stuck-at-2-13-hourly-minimum-for-22-years.html
SOURCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_poverty
For more information on "The Culture of Poverty", listen to or read this NPR program:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102246990
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The Green Association for Sustainability
edited 04/30/2013