July 12th, 2009 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XSf01TdIIM&feature=player_embedded]Art Bell and Willie Nelson talk about hemp cannabis marijuana in this clip no longer available on the original Coast to Coast site.
In this clip from Friday May 9th, 1997, country music legend Willie Nelson chats with Art Bell about the state of hemp criminalization. You may find it surprising how little has changed in the last dozen years.
While several states now allow medical marijuana and thousands of people have been able to emerge from under the dark cloud of criminalization, millions more still fear for their freedom because they enjoy the benefits of this herb superb. The country as a whole still suffers under the unnecessary burdens of the expensive and ineffectual War On Drugs while being denied the financial benefits of this valuable commercial crop.
Everything that Willie Nelson and Art Bell discussed more that 12 years ago still holds true today. In the meantime, the financial bubbles blown around the high tech industry and real estate have collapsed, leaving us with an even greater need for realizing both cost savings and income from decriminalized marijuana.
Family farms still need a viable commercial crop that they can grow at a profit without relying upon subsidies. U.S. citizens need their faith restored in a criminal justice system awash in corruption and discriminating against minorities in the name of a phony war on drugs that has become in reality a war on U.S. citizens.
The U.S. has created the biggest jail system in the world, one of the largest in all of history, at a huge expense for the sake of stopping citizen access to the most beneficial and useful of all known plants. Many ill people who would benefit from medical marijuana are still prohibited from gaining otherwise ready relief from their symptoms.
As I find myself repeating myself once again, I am amazed at the continued resistance to marijuana decriminalization from elected government officials negligent in their duty to those who they supposedly represent. These politicians were not elected to become our oppressors, prosecutors and jailers.
The few rays of hope that have appeared to make medical marijuana available in a handful of states and relaxed enforcement of marijuana laws in a few communities are still small compared with the unnecessary pain, suffering and economic damage created by the ongoing ill-conceived national prohibition.
Still, we can appreciate the advances that have been made. Some progress has been achieved and momentum is visibly building in a positive and peaceful direction.
Take stock of both how far we have come and how far we have yet to go as you listen to Art Bell and Willie Nelson. You are part of this history and everything you do contributes to the changes to come. Source.