Ironwood Chapter of Upper Peninsula NORML Opens Downtown

IRONWOOD, MI - Sunday, September 20, 2009 - Last week Ironwood's Chapter of the Upper Peninsula National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) held its first meeting at 111 South Suffolk Street in Downtown Ironwood.  Pictured above from left to right are UP NORML members Rick Bayer; Jerry Greenwood (Executive Director of UP NORML); Dan Greenwood (Ironwood Chapter Director); and Dave Duggan.

Recently Greenwood purchased the building that will become the headquarters of the Ironwood Chapter. The meeting attracted about a dozen people.

According to the organization's literature, as of 2007, more than 53% of all the 2.3 million prisoners in the United States are incarcerated for non-offenses. In that year there were 775,138 arrests for personal possession (NOT sales, trafficking, or manufacturing -- simply personal possession) of marijuana and only 597,447 arrests for violent crimes including murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop. Farmers in Canada and the European Union grow hemp commercial for fiber, seed and oil used in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including food. At one time, growing hemp wasn't illegal in the U.S., in fact, it was a subsidized crop during World War One. Hemp rope was an important staple of the war effort. Many early Colonists and several of our Founding Fathers grew hemp as a cash crop.

Here are some interesting facts about hemp:

It is the number one biomass producer on earth. 10 tons per acre can easily be produced in just four months. If just 6% of the contiguous United States were put into cultivation of hemp for biomass production, it would supply all current U.S. demand for gas and oil.

Kimberly Clark has a mill in France which produces hemp paper which is the preferred paper for Bibles because it lasts a very long time without yellowing.

Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent, and more mildew resistant than cotton. It is a good base material for clothing, toweling, and building materials.

Hemp is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source for polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the "good" fats). It's quite high in some essential amino acids, including gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother's milk.

Here are some medical facts about Cannabis:

A 2008 review in the Cancer Research Journal reported that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers.

A 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine stated, "The accumulated data indicates a potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea, vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

In spite of the established medical value of marijuana, doctors are presently permitted to prescribe cocaine and morphine but not marijuana.

Each year there are 435,000 deaths from tobacco; 110,640 deaths from alcohol abuse; 32,000 deaths from prescription drug complications; 16,926 deaths from over-dozes; 7,600 deaths from NSAIDS; 2,000 deaths from caffeine; and zero deaths from marijuana.

For more information about the Ironwood Chapter of the Upper Peninsula NORML, contact Dan Greenwood at 111 South Suffolk Street, Ironwood, Michigan 49938; Phone: (906) 663-2026; or email at meangreen430@charter.net. The website for the Upper Peninsula NORML is www.upnorml.org.