This is the text to my speech at the York Cannabis Reform Rally on Saturday, September 6, 2014 on Continental Square in downtown York: Ladies and Gentlemen, good people of the city and the county of York and the great state of Pennsylvania, welcome to the York Cannabis Reform Rally. This is the tenth rally that we have organized for cannabis and hemp reform. Our first rally was in Lancaster and we proceeded to have five rallies there. We did a rally here, in Continental Square in last July, two rallies in Reading and in March we had a major rally in the Rotunda of the state capitol building in Harrisburg where we literally ROCKED THE HALLS OF POWER! This is our second time that we have rallied in York. Some of you may remember the York Hemp Freedom Rally on July of 2013. Think of how far weve come since our first rally in December of 2012, or our rallies last summer! In some ways there are a LOT of reasons to celebrate. Unfortunately though, we still have a LOT of work to do here in Pennsylvania. What we are doing, is trying to build the movement here in Pa. When we rally were not just going rah rah, legalize it“. We intend to make our voices heard, make no mistake about that. However, making our voices heard doesnt mean squat. Who cares if we are endlessly making our voices heard but nothing is happening. We want action. We want to get things done and we want to end the war. To accomplish this mission, we have established a non-profit organization called the Keystone Cannabis Coalition. We are going to focus our attention and efforts on specific areas of reform where we think that we can make progress. I would like to now outline our mission and discuss the four aspects of reform that we want to make progress in and lead us to victory. 1. Medical Cannabis. With the recent passage in the US congress of the amendment to de-fund federal medical cannabis raids in states that have passed medical cannabis legislation and the Pa. senate hearings on SB 1182 that ultimately led the state senate Law and Justice Committee to send the bill to the Appropriations Committee, the subject of medical cannabis is at the forefront of current statewide discussion and part of the national debate. Here is where the battle is and that battle is not some time in the distant future, but NOW. Senate Bill 1182, Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis bill is sitting in the Appropriations Committee. The legislators are on recess. When they come back in next Monday, they will have just 11 session days to consider it. It will take a miracle and a big push on the part of all of us to get it done this year. It has to get out of committee and be brought to a floor vote. We believe that there are enough votes in the state senate to pass it! It won’t even be close. We predict a 45-5 vote in favor. We have enough votes in the house of representatives as well. Almost a veto-proof majority. Is there a chance that we can get that bill out of committee, passed in the state senate, then passed in the House of Representatives in 11 session days? Maybe yes, maybe no. If not, it ought to make you extremely angry and disgusted with the governor and the legislators who are holding this up. You’ve got to get mad! You’ve got to get active and you’ve got to get involved! Let me state again to be clear, WE HAVE THE VOTES TO PASS SB 1182 IN BOTH THE STATE SENATE AND THE HOUSE! But hold on, there’s a problem. Governor Corbett has said that he WILL NOT SIGN SENATE BILL 1182 ANYWAY! Instead, the governor proposes a much more narrow program of limited clinical trials of CBD oil for a couple hundred kids. A program that by his own admission will take more than a year to implement. Let’s be clear, we do NOT just want a CBD-only compromise bill of limited scope that will take years to implement and will benefit so few, as Governor Corbett proposes, and if we want to break out of that narrow paradigm then we must elect Tom Wolf as governor and send Corbett packing! We want medical cannabis to be available to the hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians suffering from cancer, MS, epilepsy and the dozens of afflictions it could help with. It is wrong, cruel and immoral to withhold this medicine from those who need it. Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey all have medical cannabis laws passed and New York looks to be next to implement their recently passed medical cannabis law. Pennsylvania can only hold out for so long and we think we are close, so we urge our legislators to recognize the fierce urgency of now and pass SB 1182 THIS MONTH, BEFORE THE ELECTION! We wont get there though unless we all push as hard as we can, right now, and thats exactly what we are going to do. Pennsylvania should not wait one moment longer to implement the will of the majority of Pennsylvanians, 85% of whom support medical cannabis as revealed by the recent Quinnipiac, Mercyhurst and F&M College polls and every poll that is ever done. We need to let them know darn it, that WE ARE THE 85% AND WE DEMAND CHANGE! If the medical cannabis bill does not pass this year then it has to start all over again next year. We are in a race against the clock to get it done in 2014, but guess what, if we don’t pass it this year it WILL be passed by this time next year when Corbett watches from the sidelines as Governor Tom Wolf signs the medical cannabis bill into law. We are not giving up hope though on 2014. The General Assembly comes back from recess next week. September 15 will be their first day back in session and on that day we are going to rally once again in the state capitol to light a fire under their behinds by applying political pressure to make them get it done! We encourage as many of you who can, to come to the Campaign for Compassion Rally in Harrisburg at the state capitol next Monday, September 15. We need all of you there to let them know we mean business. 2. Industrial Hemp The passing of the Farm Bill signed into law by President Obama in February now allows for hemp to be grown for research purposes in states that have passed pro-hemp legislation. At least 18 states are eligible and at least 4 states grew industrial hemp this year. Colorado farmers grew 1,600 acres of hemp while Kentucky is grew hemp on 8 pilot projects scattered throughout the state. Some of the hemp grew 15 feet high and over a thousand acres await harvest as we speak! Hemp was also grown in Washington state and by some farmers in Vermont. Hawaii will also be researching the growth of hemp and even more states will join next year. York County has a rich history of hemp cultivation. It was grown here from the very first settlements in the 1700’s until the late 1930’s. My book, Hempstone Heritage details the fascinating history of the Pennsylvania hemp industry. Many York County farmers and farmers throughout the state have expressed interest in growing hemp, hundreds of them, and it has been echoed by local farm organizations such as the Lancaster Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania State Farm Bureau Federation, Pennsylvania State Grange and the Pennsylvania Farmers Union. We need to introduce and pass a bill that will allow our farmers to grow industrial hemp so we are not left behind in this exciting new agricultural/industrial/ and entrepreneurial opportunity. We want farmers growing hemp in the fertile fields of York County and manufacturing facilities established to turn that hemp into hempcrete, bio-fuels, textiles, livestock feed, horse bedding, fiberboard, paper, Hempzels and the thousands of products that it can be used for. We want the jobs it will provide and we want to preserve our unique cultural heritage and quality of life we have in Pennsylvania by preserving our farmland. At our Keystone Cannabis Reform Rally in Harrisburg on March 31 of this year, one of our guests was Roger Ford, CEO of Patriot Bioenergy. He is also on the board of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative Association and the West Virginia Hemp Growers Cooperative Association. Roger has expressed a willingness to establish manufacturing facilities right here in Pennsylvania and contract out with local farmers to grow hemp. That’s exciting news, but here’s even more exciting news… IN JANUARY SENATOR MIKE FOLMER WILL INTRODUCE A HEMP BILL TO PENNSYLVANIA! That’s right, you heard correctly, we are going to put the HEMP back in HEMPFIELD AND THE FIELDS OF BERKS COUNTY! Mike was convinced after reading my book, Hempstone Heritage, and after a one and a half hour meeting that Erica McBride and I had with him in his state senate office in Harrisburg in May he was extremely enthusiastic! Our good friend Shawn House of Hempzels has been educating Senator Folmer for years now so he is well versed on the subject. We also have another ally in the State Senate. Senator Judy Schwank, the Minority Chair of the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee, has also promised us that she will be a Prime Sponsor of the bill along with Senator Folmer! Last month, we worked with the Bernville Grange to pass a pro-hemp resolution and tonight, the Berks County Grange will vote on the same resolution. They will pass it and we will be there. The next step will be to take it to the Pennsylvania State Grange where they will in all likelihood pass another resolution to support the coming hemp legislation. The Keystone Cannabis Coalition is going to make the passage of the Pa. Hemp Bill a TOP priority and we expect to pass it. We will Pass it! We will keep you updated as more information comes in. 3. Decriminalization of Cannabis An interesting phenomenon is happening in Pennsylvania. Tom Wolf, from right here inYork County has promised to sign a medical cannabis bill if elected governor of Pa, and, he has also promised to sign a bill to decriminalize cannabis possession as we study the potential of full legalization. If Tom Wolf wins and become Governor, his Lt. Governor, sort of like a vice president you could say, will be current state senator Mike Stack. Mike Stack has recently introduced a bill to decriminalize cannabis in Pennsylvania. and HE will be the number two guy, to Tom Wolf who says he favors it. This bodes well for us. We will have to fight hard for it but it is a battle that we can win. We want the city of York to immediately adopt decriminalization measures in anticipation of statewide decriminalization as promised in the campaign of Tom Wolf and as an interim policy as we wait for Pennsylvania to move to a Colorado model for full legalization. The Keystone Cannabis Coalition is going to make decriminalization of cannabis in Reading, York, Lancaster, Harrisburg and other cities a priority. We are proud to work with Attorney Richard B. MacDonald and Albert Taylor who represents this organization and Lancaster NORML. Together, we crafted a resolution of support for medical cannabis and statewide decriminalization that Lancaster City Council is currently considering. They will vote on the resolution this Tuesday and we expect a unanimous vote in favor! As we develop this project in Reading, Lancaster, York and other cities we will keep you informed and ask for help. A lot of the help we need is easy. It involves simply showing up to city council meetings. Some of you who have a special heart for what we are doing will help us organize on a local level and get more involved in this project. This is something that we CAN achieve. In June, Philadelphia City Council passed a law that makes possession of up to an ounce of cannabis a summary offense and a $25 ticket. Mayor Nutter must decide to pass it or not pass it by this Wednesday. Just 6 weeks ago, a similar decriminalization bill went into effect in Washington, D.C. This is a topic that we think that York Mayor Kim Bracey should weigh in on. As we are confident that the Tom Wolf/Mike Stack ticket will win in November, she should embrace their policies, and so should the York Police, the District Attorney, the public defenders and prosecutors, York City Council and the good people of York. Erica Lynn McBride and I will be heading up the effort in Reading as well and we want others to push for decriminalization in other cities. We will teach you how to do it as we are learning ourselves. We think we know how to get it done. 4. Full Legalization of Cannabis We demand that NO ONE SHOULD EVER GO TO JAIL EVER AGAIN FOR A PLANT! We simply will not tolerate it anymore. Those days are over. The status quo simply can not be maintained and change is so obviously coming that it can be seen by all - even those who oppose it. We need to embrace this change and move ahead as quickly as possible. We want full legalization. Lets be honest. With a governor who had to be forced under great, enormous political pressure to barely consent to a CBD oil proposal and the legislative season running out, the fact is, that we have no hope of full legalization of cannabis in Pennsylvania this year. That does not mean though that we are not going to fight like hell to get what we want and we are here on the streets of York to make some noise about it. SO NOW COME ON, LET ME HEAR YOU MAKE SOME NOISE!!!! So we are going to make our voices heard, no doubt, but we want more than that. We wont be satisfied unless we can inspire more and more of you to get really involved and be a part of this great movement that will be noted forever in history. When future historians study how change was brought about in Pennsylvania and the 80 year old war against cannabis and hemp was ended, they will study us. They will learn of the brave, patriotic Pennsylvanians who stood up against the insanity of prohibition and said, Were not going to take it anymore! They will see how we networked and organized and achieved the miracle and did what the people always said was impossible, the ending of cannabis and hemp prohibition in Pennsylvania. They will thank us. We are the Keystone State. When Pennsylvania changes, the World will change and guess what… CHANGE IS COMING TO PENNSYLVANIA!!!! Keep tuned to our Facebook page, Pennsylvania Hempland Security and our Coalition group page, and as the Keystone Cannabis Coalition progresses, we will keep you informed. To achieve our goals, we are going to have to raise money, thousands of dollars to do it right. We want to put up billboards, do more rallies, lobby representatives, print fliers and brochures, sponsor lectures, debates, panel discussions, town halls and other informative public educational events in cities and towns across Pennsylvania. Next Monday, we will be in Harrisburg for the vitally important Campaign for Compassion Rally. On September 17 we are going to Penn State Berks Campus to confront the arch enemy of cannabis reform - Kevin Sabet who will be debating the legalization of cannabis. On Spetember 18 I will be giving a lecture on Pennsylvania hemp history at the Ephrata library. On the 27th we are going to rally in Wilkes Barre! If sufficient funds are raised, we intend to do rallies just like this one in York again, Philadelphia and other cities and we will hopefully be able to carry out the fullness of our mission and actually get things done so stay tuned. I want to thank you all for coming to the York Cannabis Reform Rally and everyone who made this possible. Everything we do is made possible by the generous donations we have received. I hope you all will support us in this most important mission of ending cannabis and hemp prohibition in Pennsylvania and join us in our effort as we hasten the day when the national prohibition of cannabis and hemp falls. Thank you York! — at York Cannabis Reform Rally.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:45:25 +0000
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