Arnar Olgeirsson’s Post

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Vice President and Co-Founder at Green Vault Systems LLC

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially proposed, based on the recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services, to reschedule Marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  This is long overdue and, in my opinion, does not go far enough in the rescheduling of cannabis (marijuana was coined as a racial slur). The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 and its subsequent prohibition had nothing to do with public health or smoking of the THC rich flower strains we associate with marijuana. It was purely a business lobbyists' ploy to eradicate hemp as it was the primary competition of the recently invented Nylon (rope), cotton (fabric), and wood pulp (paper). They lobbied the US Government, created a propaganda campaign, and the Big Lie was born. What many people don't realize is that up until then cannabis was such an important textile that farms were mandated to grow it. Its classification as a Schedule 1 narcotic under the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, advocated for by then President Richard Nixon (there's a trustworthy guy ;), was a political ploy to allow for the continued harassment and unwarranted incarceration of minorities following the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. The US government then put pressure on the rest of the world to follow suit. The late, great Robin Williams said it perfectly; "If the most dangerous thing about a 'drug' is getting caught with it, there's a real problem." Tens of millions of people and their families have been hurt due to their unfair incarceration for marijuana related ‘offenses’. In addition, countless innocent people have lost their lives as a result of the War on Drugs and its bolstering of gangs and cartels (by legalizing it the cartels have no business). Meanwhile the vast majority of the world has missed out on the many health benefits of cannabis-derived compounds and earth friendly hemp textiles. Today the Cannabis Industry is thriving in states where it has been legalized and thousands of businesses, who pay more than their fair share of federal, state, and local taxes, are employing hundreds of thousands of people while providing state tested, safe cannabis products. However, these businesses do not have the same tax deductions that other businesses are entitled to. Also, they do not have access to traditional financial services, such as banking and credit card transactions, and therefore are the target of criminals due to the cash nature of its commerce. We have let our governments brain wash us for too long. Let’s be done. Please take the time to comment at Regulations.gov before the July 22nd deadline.

Regulations.gov

Regulations.gov

regulations.gov

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