With a history of neutrality practices during the Civil War and reinforced poverty within globalization, we at Mary Jane Peacemaking are inspiring revolutionary togetherness, and welcome you to join! While we've seen Christian practices such as neighborly love, peacemaking, mercy, and non-condemnation overshadowed by leaders in sheep's clothing, the hopeful sight of our light of liberty has not been lost! Our approach is based on 2004 successes that were born from such federal and state demonization, marginalization, and disenfranchisement practices that required innovating local agency. Government trust and engagement has significantly decreased since the 1960s, and invigorating local initiatives will lead us back to a more perfect union with greater domestic tranquility, and liberty and justice for all! We are asking concerned citizens in every county to introduce our peacemaking measure to their local magistrate for County adoption, and even offer a remunerating program where interested individuals will gain honorary leadership and community development for their professional advancement.
The reason this has been so important to me is due to how I've witnessed the depths our government will go to be against our life, liberty, and prosperity. For over 50 years, we’ve publicly contemplating encompassing social change such as Cannabis utilization (hemp included), and since 2015 our Agriculture Department has had a leading wellness Cannabis program, as nutraceuticals, they have been unwilling to publicly release, educate about, or enact. Even if we are experiencing incremental change in regard to Cannabis, enough cannot be said about the injustices we have endured. Also in 2015, my mother, Mary Jane, passed without ever experiencing compassion or repentance from our State that atrociously practiced defamation to “legally” execute my father in front of our eyes with his hands raised in the air, despite nearly a decade of seeking justice nationwide. Fittingly, eight years later, even 38 years after the public became more aware of the War on Hemp, and during black history month, we have launched a national joint peacemaking effort, and would be blessed with your comradery as we give Kentucky a new name.
In the past two decades alone more than 300,000 Kentuckians have been charged with Cannabis offenses, with a tremoring racial bias where blacks are over nine times more likely to be arrested despite no disparity in use. Nixon's domestic advisor confessed they were lying about drugs, and that anti-Cannabis laws were coerced to “legally” attack and disenfranchise certain groups of people like blacks and anti-Vietnam war protesters. The smearing demonization of Cannabis within the War on Hemp shortly after the Civil War was in part to “legally cleanse” our country from international influence such as immigrants from the Mexican revolution, migrants from the east, as well as blacks and jazz musicians. Without any further ado, I present our peacemaking measure as a true Kentuckian that can feel it's more than 20 years overdue, referring to Mark Twain; nevertheless, “now is the time” quoting the late Gatewood Galbraith.
MARY JANE PEACEMAKING'S
COMMUNITY MEASURE
Summary:
We, the people of our county, ordain investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures, and prosecutions for cannabis possession, cultivation, use, and nonprofit transfer in our county area are the lowest law enforcement priority of the Local Police Departments. Our County Court shall transmit notification of the enactment of this initiative to the state and federal elected officials who represent our County, fellow County Courts, our Governor, the President of the United States of America and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Findings:
(a) Current federal and state policies needlessly harm our county citizens. It has been over 50 years since Kentucky’s legislature, along with Nixon, rejected the presidential study that determined marijuana should be de-scheduled from Controlled Substances Acts, and decriminalized, while in the past two decades alone more than 300,000 Kentuckians have been charged with Cannabis offenses.
(b) Similar cannabis deprioritizing measures have been adopted by localities since 2004. In addition to Genesis 1:29, where God says “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth", Paul states in 1st Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful… but not all things are helpful", as well as, in Philippians 4:5-6, to “let your moderation be known unto all men. The lord is at hand"—not to tolerate such oppressive and prioritized zero-tolerance Cannabis policies that even penalize citizens from personally utilizing hemp; Adult Cannabis use is beneficial, not limited to the findings of this ordinance, and do not justify the use of our limited resources.
(c) Cannabis use was first recorded in Chinese medicine over 4,700 years ago as one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It was used in India as one of the five sacred plants in the ancient Vedas. "Without a doubt, the plant holds sacred origins from God himself and finds mention in various ritualistic contexts," stated Dr. Glassman, a mohel and former Israel Defense Force lieutenant. The Essenes sect of Judaism, dating back to the era of the Dead Sea Scrolls, incorporated cannabis, as did the Theraputea (Jewish ascetics) of Egypt, giving rise to the term 'therapeutic.' Described by Philo (1st century B.C.) as devoted to contemplation and meditation, these groups burned cannabis as part of religious rituals, supported by evidence such as an archaeological study in a well-preserved substance found in a 2,700-year-old temple in Tel Arad identified as cannabis with the psychoactive compound THC. Researchers suggest cannabis might have been burned to induce an enforcing "high" during worship, and indicate Aaron the High Priest likely burned marijuana as an incense offering "during a time of turmoil”. Additionally, the discovery of hashish in the stomach of a 1,623-year-old girl's remains in Beit Shemesh shows cannabis probably being used as an anesthetic during childbirth in ancient Israel. Maimonides, the leading medieval Rabbi (the Rambam), categorized cannabis in his exploration of plants mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as 'kaneh bosem'. Other passages such as God's instructions to Moses in Exodus, mention "herbs b’samim" of medicinal quality, with 'keneh bosem’ mentioned in Song of Songs 4:14, Isaiah 43:24, Jeremiah 6:20, and Ezekiel 27:19.
(d) William L. Courtney, MD, a preeminent authority on raw cannabis, asserts that cannabis could rank among the most nutrient-dense plants, contending that raw cannabis leaves and buds offer a plethora of vital nutrients for a healthy life. The raw components—sprouts, leaves, stems, stalks, and seeds—supply the body with nearly all essential nutrients including nine essential amino acids, dietary fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, fat, water, trace elements of minerals, and two essential fatty acids. Cannabis seeds are a nutritious protein source that may provide health benefits, including supporting digestion and heart health; containing over 30% fat exceptionally rich in two essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3); they, by weight, provide similar amounts of protein as beef and lamb. Cannabis seeds also contain gamma-linolenic acid, which has been linked to several health benefits, and are also a great source of vitamin E and minerals, such as phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc—and can easily be processed to milk, flour, and oil among other benefiting byproducts that increase human agency such as non-steroid needed animal feed.
(e) Beyond the nutritional benefits associated with dark green leafy vegetables, such as chlorophyll, the cannabis plant harbors unique phytocannabinoids believed to make significant contributions to health maintenance and restoration, not found in other nutritional vegetation. The raw plant flora also encompasses flavonoids, carotenoids, terpenes, and powerful disease-fighting compounds known as phytocannabinoid acids, all with potential health benefits, commonly found in flowers, and recognized for providing relief from chronic pain and inflammatory conditions. Beta-caryophyllene is the only other phytocannabinoid discovered outside cannabis. Phytocannabinoids exist in neutral (activated) forms like THC or CBD and as acid precursors, such as tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) or cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). Raw cannabis abounds in these acidic precursors, notably THCA, a nonintoxicating substance. THCA is devoid of potential intoxicating activity; however, research supports its potential anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antiemetic actions. Research from the University of Arizona Health Sciences supports the entourage effect theory, reinforcing that therapeutic effects of cannabis are enhanced when THC and CBD are combined together and with other cannabinoids; additionally, it highlights cannabis terpenes, responsible for flavor and aroma, as a promising target for pain therapies with lower doses and fewer psychoactive effects.
(f) Cannabinoids derived from cannabis are present in the mature flowers of the plant whether raw, dried, or cured and are often formulated into extracts, smokable products, edibles, smoothies or therapeutic teas. There is no need to limit THC potency, as Cannabis extracts and cannabinoid-rich products offer improved titration and require lower doses. Dried cannabis flowers with any relevant THC, also known as marijuana, or products made from such, become developed within the natural drying process where THCA becomes, according to DEA Judge Francis Young, "the most therapeutically active substance known to man": THC. Marijuana is less addictive than caffeine, and any withdrawal symptoms, if present, are extremely mild compared to the more severe effects of nicotine withdrawal. Contrary to popular belief, marijuana does not cause cancer; a comprehensive UCLA study, the largest of its kind, found that even heavy marijuana use does not lead to lung cancer. There is no conclusive evidence that marijuana impairs long-term brain function or causes cognitive decline. Studies suggest that marijuana has neuroregenerative properties, potentially preventing conditions like dementia.
(g) In response to the heavily taxed marihuana “sin” stamps in 1938, which was later found to be unconstitutional, New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia commissioned that the New York Academy of Medicine conduct an investigation of marijuana. The 1944 report, titled “The Marihuana Problem in the City of New York,” but commonly referred to as the “LaGuardia Report,” concludes that many claims about the dangers of marijuana are exaggerated or untrue; “The practice of smoking marihuana does not lead to addiction in the medical sense of the word… The use of marihuana does not lead to morphine or heroin or cocaine addiction and no effort is made to create a market for these narcotics by stimulating the practice of marihuana smoking… Marihuana is not the determining factor in the commission of major crimes… The publicity concerning the catastrophic effects of marihuana smoking in New York City is unfounded.”
(h) After its establishment in the U.S. Pharmacopeia in the 1850s and decades of its safe modern public use in concentrated products, as late as the 1930s, the American Medical Association endorsed cannabis’ potential medical value and low likelihood of “addiction”. While public demonization and manipulation tyrannically stripped Cannabis off the U.S. pharmacopeia in the 40s, every prevalent cannabis study near that time concluded that moderate cannabis use was not really a problem and wasn’t particularly “dangerous”, including government studies including the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission of 1894-95, the United States study done by the military in the Panama Canal Zone in 1925, the LaGaurdia Report, and the 1969 British Wootton committee’s report on marijuana use in the United Kingdom.
(i) Found in the responses to the 8/14/70 letter of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs [Roger O. Egeberg] stated, “Some question has been raised whether the use of the plant itself produces ‘severe psychological or physical dependence,’ as required by a schedule I or even schedule II criterion. Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marihuana be retained within schedule I at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue. If those studies make it appropriate for the Attorney General to change the placement of marihuana to a different schedule, he may do so in accordance with the authority provided under section 201 of the bill.” President Nixon said, “Even if the commission does recommend that it be legalized, I will not follow that recommendation”. Completing their study, the Shafer Commission found cannabis should be de-scheduled from the CSA and recommended that all criminal penalties for the private use and possession of marijuana be eliminated by Congress and Legislatures, finding “There is little proven danger of physical or psychological harm from the experimental or intermittent use of the natural preparations of cannabis, including [hashish].”
(j) John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon confessed the following: “You want to know what this [war on drugs] was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
(k) Contrary to the unethical scheduling of Cannabis in CSA, medical necessity to cannabis was established in 1986 in U.S. vs. Randall, leading to federal FDA patients experiencing undeniable health benefits from their allowance of 10 cannabis cigarettes a day, with even the right to drive and medicate. Geogre Bush Sr. canceled the program after 2000 aids patients applied in 1992, which led to the state initiatives we are more familiar with.
(l) "[O]ur civil rights protections have significantly diminished" due to the war on marijuana and other drugs, as stated by Judge Jim Gray. However, due to the immoral prohibition of Cannabis, unalienable rights—exemplified by cases like Donald Scott and Gary Shepherd—have been consistently violated. Violations of the First, Second, Fourth, Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments underscore the broader impact of Cannabis prohibition on fundamental freedoms, encompassing freedom of speech and religious practice.
(m) It has been over ten years since renowned editorial boards have publicly called for the federal repeal of cannabis prohibition, with a focus on the injustices within marijuana prohibition and how the original ban was rooted in myth and xenophobia.
(n) The American Psychiatric Association classifies cannabis use as a disorder commonly without accounting for the complex cultural factors related to, or the interest, potential, and careers in regard to, Cannabis. In a nation just gaining partial commercial and readily access to Cannabis, an individual being found to spend a significant amount of time on acquiring and using cannabis, along with building a natural tolerance with regular moderate use are deemed to [wrongly] have a Cannabis Use Disorder.
(o) Decriminalizing and de-penalizing possession only as well as legalizing marijuana and hemp does not go far enough in regard to establishing adequate public trust or regulatory structure for adults to freely utilize cannabis. Whereas, repeal of adult cannabis prohibition would immediately even allow unlicensed individuals to register their Cannabis like-L.L.C. business with the State.
(p) The primary goal of legalization should be the elimination of the illicit trade in marijuana and maximizing market participation through open markets—personal cultivation is the best approach to achieving this goal. This argument is based on the assertion that regulatory models based on a tightly controlled government market will fail because they replicate the fatal flaws of the prohibition model. The public interest would be better served by an effective regulatory framework which recognizes and takes advantage of competitive market forces. This analysis argues that reducing teenage access to marijuana requires the elimination of an overcapitalized illicit market.
(q) As an alternative to legalization, non-international treaty breaking Cannabis co-ops are fostered in countries such as Spain and Uruguay, while reparation programs have boldly been implemented in states such as Illinois to help right some of the wrongs associated with such prior discriminating and warring policies.
(r) The Institute of Medicine has found cannabis has medicinal value and is not a gateway drug. Evidence shows cannabis is an exit drug from alcohol and opiate addiction. Compared to its synthetic impersonations such as Marinol, natural Cannabis is safer, easier to titrate, and more effective for example at relieving nerve pain; a PubMed search for scientific journal articles published from 1995-2015 containing the word “cannabis” and “cannabinoid,” results with over 20,000 articles, an average of more than two scientific publications per day. Cannabinoids promote homeostasis at every level of biological life, from the sub-cellular, to the organism, and perhaps to the community and beyond. By mediating neurogenesis, neuronal plasticity, and learning, cannabinoids may directly influence a person’s open-mindedness and ability to move beyond limiting patterns of thought and behavior from past situations. Reformatting these old patterns is an essential part of health in our quickly changing environment.
(s) Current federal and state policies needlessly harm our environment and citizens of our County. Cannabis absorbs more than two times the amount of carbon than trees, and 98% of the United State’s marijuana eradication program has been focused on eliminating feral hemp, impacting over 40 species of animals that live among and depend upon hemp fields. This ordinance judicially fosters ending the associated congressional apathy and lack of public deliberation around the more than marginalized diverse cause, as well as protects our county residents, their agency, tourists, even earth and wildlife.
(t) Our county should determine its cannabis policies locally and the County Fiscal Court would prefer to move away from incarceration and towards respected personal use, hemp included. We believe all citizens should have a lawful right to their personal use of Cannabis, and such enfranchisement into liberty will increase social cohesion and personal agency while decreasing illicit cannabis activity.
(u) The County Fiscal Court believes that current state laws punish citizens and medical patients unfairly, failing to represent the reality and fullness of cannabis utilization.
(v) The County Fiscal Court believes sufficient evidence exists to conclude cannabis prohibition, especially through drug testing, creates a bias toward alcohol and more dangerous drugs. This bias has exacerbated prescription drug abuse and is casual to the creation/use of synthetic marijuana.
(w) Law enforcement resources would be better spent fighting serious and violent crimes. More than 7 billion dollars a year could be reinvested if we federally ended prohibiting adult Cannabis utilization.
(x) Decades of arresting millions of cannabis users have failed to control cannabis use or reduce its availability. Data from the FBI’s report revealed that police arrested more people for cannabis related crimes in 2019 than for violent crimes. And in 2022, police made at least 227,108 arrests for marijuana violations last year, these totals are underestimates because 83 percent of agencies — representing 75 percent of the total US population — reported their data in 2022. The County Fiscal Court believes such prioritization of cannabis enforcement is inefficient, counterintuitive, and is atrociously damaging to the community, as well as preventative towards establishing the adult utilization of hemp—evident in current state hemp laws requiring average households to plant 1000 plants on 65% of their property and pay hundreds of dollars for an over exaggerated and poorly managed public and private issue.
(y) Our citizens should not be discouraged from utilizing Cannabis, for any purpose, for an immoral prohibition harming our community and wellbeing. Jesus says “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” in Matthew 9:9-13. Besides providing common needs such as wellness and even heating means, Cannabis can easily be processed to paper, and is recognized as a more environmentally sustainable option compared to other types. Nanocellulose, a byproduct from hemp plastic production, emerges as a remarkably resilient material, surpassing steel in strength. Hempcrete, composed of Cannabis hemp hurd, water, and lime, serves as a lighter alternative to traditional concrete in construction, providing insulation and regulating heat in buildings. Notably fire-resistant and resilient to pressure, hempcrete is favored in earthquake-prone regions. Cannabis biofuels, whether biodiesel from seed oil or ethanol/methanol from stalk cellulose, offer biodegradable and less combustible alternatives to fossil fuel-derived diesel.
(z) Cannabis prohibition disproportionately affects low income and minority communities. Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, notwithstanding comparable usage rates. The increasing number of states legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana has not reduced national trends in racial disparities, which remain unchanged since 2010. Kentucky is among the states with the highest racial disparities in marijuana possession arrest rates, nearly tripling the national average at 9.36. In addition to the adverse consequences of incarceration and conviction, a mere marijuana charge initiates a detrimental ripple effect. Quoting President Biden: “As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail for using or possession marijuana. Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities”.
Definitions:
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
“Adult” means an individual who is 18 years of age or older.
“County law enforcement officer” means a member of any of the County Local Police Departments or any other city agency or department that engages in law enforcement activity.
“Lowest law enforcement priority” means a priority such that all law enforcement activities related to all offenses other than adult, personal-use cannabis offenses shall be a higher priority than all law enforcement activities related to cannabis offenses, where the cannabis was intended for adult personal use, other than the exceptions designated in this chapter.
“Cannabis” means all parts of the cannabis plant, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin.
Directives:
(a) County law enforcement officers shall make law enforcement activity relating to cannabis offenses, where the cannabis was intended for adult personal use, their lowest law enforcement priority. Law enforcement activities relating to cannabis offenses include, but are not limited to, investigation, citation, arrest, seizure of property, or aiding the prosecution of adult cannabis offenses.
(b) This lowest law enforcement priority policy shall apply to cooperating with state or federal agents to arrest, cite, investigate, prosecute, or seize property from adults for cannabis offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy.
(c) County law enforcement officers shall not accept or renew formal deputation or commissioning by a federal law enforcement agency if such deputation or commissioning will include investigating, citing, arresting, or seizing property from adults for cannabis offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy.
(d) Our county shall not accept any federal funding that would be used to investigate, cite, arrest, prosecute, or seize property from adults for cannabis offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy. This shall not prevent our county from receiving any federal funding not used for purposes contrary to this chapter.
Oversight:
The County Fiscal Court shall ensure the timely implementation of this chapter by:
Designing, with consultation with the local County Police Departments, a supplemental report form for County law enforcement officers to use to report all adult cannabis arrests, citations, and property seizures and all instances of officers assisting in state or federal arrests, citations, and property seizures for any adult cannabis offenses. The supplemental report form shall be designed with the goal of allowing the County Fiscal Court to ascertain whether the lowest law enforcement priority policy was followed;
Receiving grievances from individuals who believe they were subjected to law enforcement activity contrary to the lowest law enforcement priority policy;
Requesting additional information from any County law enforcement officer who engaged in law enforcement activity relating to one or more cannabis offenses under circumstances which appear to violate the lowest law enforcement priority policy. An officer’s decision not to provide additional information shall not be grounds for discipline; and
Reporting semi-annually on the implementation of this chapter, with the first report being issued nine months after the enactment of this chapter. These reports shall include but not necessarily be limited to: the number of all arrests, citations, property seizures, and prosecutions for cannabis offenses in our county; the breakdown of all cannabis arrests and citations by race, age, specific charge, and classification as infraction, misdemeanor, or felony; any instances of law enforcement activity that the fiscal Court believes violated the lowest law enforcement priority policy; and the estimated time and money spent by the county on law enforcement and punishment for adult cannabis offenses. These reports shall be made with the cooperation of the County District Attorney’s Office, the County Police Departments, and any other County law enforcement agencies in providing needed data.
County law enforcement officers shall submit to the fiscal court a supplemental report within seven calendar days after each adult cannabis arrest, citation, or property seizure or instance of assisting in a state or federal arrest, citation, or property seizure for any adult cannabis offense in our county.
Notifications:
Beginning three months after the enactment of this chapter, the city clerk shall execute a mandatory and ministerial duty of sending letters on an annual basis to our county’s U.S. Representatives, both of our county’s U.S. Senators, our county’s Senators and Representative members in the state legislature, other State County courts, the Governor and Attorney-General of our State, the President and Attorney-General of the United States, and the UN Secretary-General. This letter shall state, “The citizens of our County, and State, have passed an initiative to de-prioritize adult cannabis offenses, industrial hemp included, favoring such be lawful, and we request that fellow county, state, federal, and international governments take immediate steps to enact similar laws along the lines of: Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, it is lawful for adults to possess, cultivate, use, process, and nonprofit-transfer any and all parts of Cannabis." This duty shall be carried out until state, federal and international laws are changed accordingly. For the State and Federal Attorney Generals the letter shall also state, "we request similar action as the 2013 Cole Memorandum, and all Attorneys are informed that given its limited resources, the Justice Departments, will not enforce federal and state cannabis or marijuana prohibition in counties that have adopted this measure."
Enforceability; Severability:
All sections of this chapter are mandatory. A violation of this chapter is not a criminal offense. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
We ask individuals to take a few minutes to share our efforts, and introduce our measure to your local magistrate. To learn more about our cause and how to help our peacemaking effort, contact us at help@MaryJanePeacemaking.Org or at MaryJanePeacemaking.org. We are currently obtaining our tax exemption status, and look forward to improving our Commonwealth together!
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