Interior
Sally Jewell testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec.
9, 2015, before the House Natural Resources Oversight Committee hearing
on the Animas River Spill in Colorado. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) more >
By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
said Wednesday she is unaware of anyone being fired, fined or even
demoted for the Gold King Mine spill, prompting Republicans to accuse
her of taking the EPA off the hook for the toxic blowout.
“So you’re letting the EPA get off scot-free it sounds like. They are not being held accountable,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, Colorado Republican, at the House Natural Resources Committee hearing.
Republicans took Ms. Jewell to task for the Interior Department’s
investigation into the Aug. 5 spill, saying the October report failed
to hold anyone responsible for unleashing 3 million gallons of orange,
toxic wastewater into the Animas River near Silverton, Colorado.
“You’re directly responsible for this report. The EPA
had promised this committee a thorough investigation,” said Rep. Tom
McClintock, California Republican. “We have not gotten one. What we have
gotten is a complete, deliberate whitewash.”
JEFFERSON CITY,
Mo.. – April 24, 2014. Yesterday, a Missouri house committee gave
approval to a bill which would authorize the growing and production of
industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the
unconstitutional federal ban on the same.
Introduced by Rep. Mike Colona and cosponsored by Reps. Galen Higdon and Paul Curtman, House Bill 2054 (HB2054) passed by a vote of 16-1 in the house committee on economic development.
The
bill states, quite simply, “Industrial hemp production, possession, and
commerce in industrial hemp commodities and products shall be permitted
in this state.”
HB2054 sets up “shall issue” licensing program.
In short, the Missouri department of agriculture will be required, under
broad parameters, to issue licenses to those wishing to grow industrial
hemp or become an industrial hemp seed producer. A similar requirement
was included in a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature earlier this month.
Three
other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills
to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun
in practice. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in
2013 and the state began issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. In Vermont
and Oregon, hemp farming was authorized, but no licensing program was
mandated, so implementation has been delayed due to regulatory
foot-dragging. HUGE ECONOMIC POTENTIAL
Experts suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year.
But,
since the enactment of the unconstitutional federal
controlled-substances act in 1970, the Drug Enforcement Agency has
prevented the production of hemp within the United States. Many hemp
supporters feel that the DEA has been used as an “attack dog” of sorts
to prevent competition with major industries where American-grown hemp
products would create serious market competition: Cotton, Paper/Lumber,
Oil, and others.
COLUMBIA,
S.C., May 14, 2014 - Today, the South Carolina House gave final
approval to a bill which authorizes the growing and production of
industrial hemp within the state, effectively nullifying the
unconstitutional federal ban on the same. Introduced by Sen. Kevin Bryant along with cosponsors Sen. Lee Bright and Sen. Tom Davis, S.0839 passed by a 72-28 vote. It has previous passed by a vote of 42-0 in the senate, and will now go to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for a signature. The
bill reads, in part, “It is lawful for an individual to cultivate,
produce, or otherwise grow industrial hemp in this State to be used for
any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, the manufacture of
industrial hemp products, and scientific, agricultural, or other
research related to other lawful applications for industrial hemp.” Three
states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed similar
measures. Farmers in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013,
effectively nullifying federal restrictions on such agricultural
activities. A similar bill passed the Tennessee legislature this year
and awaits action from Gov. Haslam. Experts
suggest that the U.S. market for hemp is around $500 million per year.
They count as many as 25,000 uses for industrial hemp, including food,
cosmetics, plastics and bio-fuel. The U.S. is currently the world’s #1
importer of hemp fiber for various products, with China and Canada
acting as the top two exporters in the world. During
World War II, the United States military relied heavily on hemp
products, which resulted in the famous campaign and government-produced
film, “Hemp for Victory!”
An outdoor hemp
plantation in the UK. This particular varietal of Cannabis sativa is
"industrial hemp" which contains ultra-low levels of Delta-THC and other
cannabinoids, which makes it useless for recreational/medicinal
purposes.
By: Nabokov
Wikipedia.org
.....
NASHVILLE,
May 15, 2014 – Yesterday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill
which some supporters consider the strongest pro-hemp legislation in the
country. House Bill 2445 (HB2445),
introduced by Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), would mandate that the
state authorize the growing and production of industrial hemp within
Tennessee, effectively nullifying the unconstitutional federal ban on
the same. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 28-0 and the House by a vote of 88-5. It reads, in part:
“The department shall issue licenses to persons who apply to the department for a license to grow industrial hemp.”
Mike
Maharrey, communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, noted
that one word strengthened the bill considerably. “By including the
word ‘shall’ in this legislation, it has a great deal of impact,” he
said. “This means that rather than keeping it open-ended like other
states have done, hemp farming will be able to move forward in Tennessee
whether the regulatory bureaucrats there want it to or not.” ‘Shall’
is a legal term which creates a specific requirement far stronger than a
word like ‘will.’ The former is more closely interchangeable with the
word “must,” while the latter allows leeway for the object of the term
to delay. In this case, the bill states that the Tennessee department of
agriculture will have a mandate to license farmers for growing hemp. Three
other states – Colorado, Oregon and Vermont – have already passed bills
to authorize hemp farming, but only in Colorado has the process begun.
A similar bill was passed in South Carolina this week and awaits action
by Gov. Nikki Haley. Farmers
in SE Colorado started harvesting the plant in 2013 and the state began
issuing licenses on March 1, 2014. In Vermont and Oregon, hemp farming
was authorized, but no licensing program was mandated, so
implementation has been delayed due to regulatory foot-dragging. With
passage of HB2445, Tennessee will most likely become the 2nd state in
the country to actively produce hemp. The legislation also ensures that
not only will hemp licenses be issued, but the process for doing so will
start quickly. It reads:
The
department shall initiate the promulgation of rules … concerning
industrial hemp production within one hundred and twenty (120) days of
this act becoming law
In other words, now that the bill has become law, the process in Tennessee will start no later than November, 2014.
Texas Independence Day Highlights State’s Ongoing Secession Efforts
March 4, 2014 2:13 PM
As
Texas celebrated its annual “Texas Independence Day,” many in the
state’s government leadership and ongoing secession movement say Texas
is finally preparing to become an “independent nation,” from the United
States. (Photo by Ben Sklar/Getty Images)
Houston (CBS HOUSTON) –
As Texas celebrated its annual “Texas Independence Day,” many in the
state’s government leadership and ongoing secession movement say Texas
is finally preparing to become an “independent nation.”
The 178th anniversary of the 59 settlers’ signing of the Texas
Declaration of Independence commemorates the Lone Star State’s March 2,
1836 break from Mexico to create the Republic of Texas. With the Alamo
famously under siege, the delegates declared their independence and
today the only state that ever won a war to become its own country
celebrates March 2 as its own official “national” holiday.
The U.S. brought Texas in as the 28th state of the Union in an event known as the Texas Annexation of 1845.
But recent rhetoric from anti-tax Tea Partiers, libertarians and
state officials alike suggests that the secession movement may be moving
a step beyond parties and re-enactments, The Inquisitr reported.
Texas Attorney General candidate Barry Smitherman has openly expressed the possibility of Texas secession.
Texas Independence Day Brings Up Secession: Do Texans Still Want To Secede?
ADVERTISEMENT
Texas
Independence Day is not only about celebrating separation from Mexico
and becoming its own nation for a time. According to some, the Texas
secession movement uses it as a time to discuss having Texas secede from
the United States.
In a related report by The Inquisitr, most people would call efforts to have Texas secede illegal, but a careful reading of the Texas v. White Supreme Court ruling on the Texas secession during the Civil War era seems to leave a little bit of wiggle room.
Most people in the state celebrate Texas Independence Day with parties and re-enactments, but others point to the political movement still pushing for a Texas secession. For example, Texas Attorney General candidate Barry Smitherman openly says seceding is still a possibility:
“Generally speaking, we have made great progress in
becoming an independent nation, an ‘island nation’ if you will, and I
think we want to continue down that path so that if the rest of the
country falls apart, Texas can operate as a stand-alone entity with
energy, food, water and roads as if we were a closed-loop system.”
Larry Kilgore
is in the running to become Texas’ governor and he believes a “U.S.
economic collapse cannot be avoided” and that the solution is for
“”Texas to secede now or we will sink too.” Still, his chances at
succeeding in his bid for the governorship are said to be relatively low
compared to other candidates. Read More Here
.....
Some Western Md. Residents Want To Form Their Own State
February 10, 2014 11:25 PM
Mary Bubala
WESTMINSTER,
Md. (WJZ) — A tale of two Marylands: Western Maryland and the rest of
the state. Fed up with high taxes and gun control, some people want to
break away and go it alone. Mary Bubala explains why they’re trying to form their own state.
There’s a storm brewing over the beautiful mountains and valleys of
Western Maryland. More and more people in those five counties say
Governor Martin O’Malley is out of touch and they want to break away
from the rest of the state.
“I can’t imagine Maryland without Western Maryland,” said Governor Martin O’Malley.
“Do you actually care about your citizens?” questioned Rob Parr.
“I certainly don’t live in a bubble and I go around the state all the time,” O’Malley said.
“Why don’t you want to listen to people that you don’t agree with?” said Suzanne Olden.
“I spend my whole day listening,” O’Malley said.
Scott Strzelczyk, Suzanne Olden and Rob Parr are part of a growing
group that wants to rip Maryland in two, creating the nation’s 51st
state. They met recently at O’Lordan’s Irish Pub in Westminster to tell WJZ they’re fed up with politics as usual in Annapolis.
“If your vote doesn’t count, it’s the same as having no vote. We’re
not free,” Strzelczyk said. “We’re doing exactly what they did in 1776. I
just simply want to live as a free human being with limited government
intrusion in my life and that’s really why I do this.”
Feb.
10, 2012: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley testifies in support of a
same-sex marriage bill during a committee hearing in Annapolis, Md.AP
A push by frustrated western Maryland residents to part ways
with their state is gaining momentum as the initiative turns to social
media to get its message out.
Residents in Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll
County, for months have been pushing an initiative to secede from the
state and form a new one, called Western Maryland. Among the biggest
problems the group has with Maryland are new gun restrictions, tax
increases and what they call unfair district lines the group claims
unfairly favor Democrats.
The western Maryland initiative now has nearly 9,000 Facebook "likes"
since it was formed in July 2013. Activist Scott Strzelczyk started
the Facebook page as a way to bring dissatisfied residents together.
“Here at the state level, we’re controlled by a single party –
Democrats – and we feel we have no other recourse,” he has told Fox
News. “We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
They also have a beef with the high-crime city of Baltimore.
“Little mystery why this is the case,” the group states. “We don't
want our tax dollars going to Baltimore City or other parts of the state
to support the same old failed policies. The solution is simple. We
want our own state.”
GREELEY, Colo. -- If you mention the word
"secession" most people think of the South during the Civil War. But
today, a new movement is gaining steam because of frustration over a
growing, out-of-control federal government.
A number of conservative, rural Americans are taking
about seceding and creating their own states, meaning a new map of the
United States of America could include the following:
A 51st state called Jefferson, made up of Northern California and Southern Oregon
A new state called Western Maryland
A new state called North Colorado
These are real movements gaining traction with
voters across the country. Jeffrey Hare runs the 51st State Initiative
in Colorado, an effort to fight an out-of-control legislature trying to
ram big government policies down the throats of voters.
"We're at this point of irreconcilable differences," Hare told CBN News.
Secessionist talk has filled town hall meetings and the divide discussed is not just ideological.
"It's predominately left versus right, but it's
urban versus rural because you typically find more typical conservative
values in rural America," Hare said.
An Attack on Colorado?
That's the crux of the issue. Rural Americans across
many states feel they're not being heard. Their laundry list is long
and at the top of that list are stricter gun control laws.
According to Weld County, Colo., Sheriff John Cooke, the state legislature is out of control.
"They are out of touch with rural Colorado," he
said. "There is an attack on rural Colorado and it's not just on gun
control laws. It's on several of the other bills that they passed."
Government mandates on renewable energy,
environmental policies restricting oil and gas drilling, and
controversial social issues like gay marriage have also led to this
divide and talk of secession.
Organizers want to create "North Colorado," an idea
that went to voters in 11 counties this past fall. But not everyone in
Colorado thinks secession is a great idea.
"I don't think that's necessarily the way to make
something happen within the area you live," Colorado resident Greg Howe
told CBN News. "You're supposed to work within our electoral services."
The so-called secession movement in Colorado had mixed results this past November. Some counties approved it. Others didn't.
But the organizers of the 51st State Initiative are undaunted, saying this type of movement takes time.
"Movements take a while; education takes time," Hare
said. "People do have a hard time saying ,'I want to live in a
different state,' even though physically they live in the same house."
"It's hard for them since their lives have been
Coloradoans," he explained. "Their whole lives to say that 'I'm going to
be a new Coloradoan' or 'I want to live in the state of liberty' or
something different."
While Washington State is still
adjusting to many changes since legalizing recreational marijuana—from
growing space size to the number of licenses to give out—one of the
biggest changes may be Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) employees going to
work in the private sector. Reason TV sat down with Patrick Moen, a
former supervisory special agent with the DEA, who now works as
compliance director and senior counsel at Privateer Holdings, a private
equity firm that invests in cannabis.
"The more law enforcement
officers acknowledge that prohibition [of marijuana] is wrong, the
better off society is going to be," said Moen. At the DEA he specialized
in wiretaps and worked on cases varying from busting heroin and
methamphetamine rings to rooting out pot and painkiller dealers. "Taking
that first step is often the most difficult one, it just so happened
that I was the one to take it."
Moen says that he got a lot of
support from friends and former colleagues, the latter of which
privately asked him for jobs. He says people may be surprised to know
that an overwhelming majority of agents he interacted with didn't feel
marijuana should be a priority for the DEA.
"Well, my own
personal point of view is that drugs like methamphetamine and heroin
have legitimate, observable, harmful effects to the user and people
around the user and you definitely cannot say the same thing about
cannabis," says Moen.
Reason TV presented Moen with numbers from
the Department of Justice's 2013 National Drug Threat Assessment
indicating an increase in the availability of methamphetamine and heroin
in the U.S.
"There are some cases of mine in particular that I
am very proud of that I can look back at and say that I had a measurable
effect on this community for some period of time before it bounced
back," says Moen. "I don't think anyone was under the illusion that we
were going to stop it, that we were going to win the war on drugs."
Moen is aware of the criticism of the DEA and the war on drugs in general.
"I
think there is a certain subset of the population that views DEA agents
as jackbooted thugs, that have an agenda to oppress them.... But it's
just another job, and there are guys there that are competent, and there
are guys there that are less so, but they are all trying to do the job
the best that they can."
Privateer Holdings is looking to invest
in businesses that surround the legal marijuana industry like the
cannabis review site, Leafly.com, which also helps users find different
strains and locations of cannabis around them. Leafly claims to have a
website and app that generate more than more than 2.3 million visits a
month.
The private cannabis industry isn't without worries
though. CEO at Privateer Holdings, Brenden Kennedy, told Bloomberg TV on
January 28, that banking in the marijuana industry was nearly
impossible because banks were concerned with the taboo nature of the
product. "We have been kicked out of two banks, two large banks, very
unceremoniously," said Kennedy, who also said at least one employee at
Privateer Holdings had experienced trouble with his personal bank
account.
"The biggest risk we see is from the federal government.
Bureaucrats and politicians are always the last ones to accept change,"
said Kennedy.
Produced and edited by Paul Detrick. Shot by Alex Manning. Music is "A Freak" by Moby.
Visit http://reason.com/reasontv
for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel
to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.
A marijuana plant ready for trimming at the Botanacare marijuana store
ahead of their grand opening on New Year’s day in Northglenn, Colo. If a
vote succeeds, Alaska would join that state and Washington, which have
already legalized pot for recreational use. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)
A
group of activists in favor of legalizing marijuana say they’ve turned
in more than enough signatures to qualify for an August ballot vote.
The
Alaska Campaign to Regulate Marijuana turned over 46,000 signatures on
Wednesday—about 50 percent more than the roughly 30,000 needed. If the
state Division of Elections reviews and approves the signatures ballot
language will be prepared, according to a state description of the process. The sponsors of the initiative say the next step for them will be to spread the word and garner support.
“We’ll
be taking our message to the voters in lots of different ways,” says
Tim Hinterberger, one of the three sponsors and a professor at the
University of Alaska Anchorage’s School of Medical Education. “It’s
clear to everyone that prohibition is a failed policy.” Read More Here
DENVER — Bankers should beware of the Obama administration’s newly issued green light for banks doing business with the legal marijuana industry, according to the head of the Colorado Bankers Association.
Memos released Friday by the Justice Department and Treasury Department’s
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network were intended to give banks leeway
to open accounts for marijuana businesses in states like Colorado and
Washington that have legalized retail pot. Instead, the guidance “only
reinforces and reiterates that banks can be prosecuted for providing
accounts to marijuana related businesses,” said the CBA in a Friday statement.
“In fact, it is even stronger than original guidance issued by the Department of Justice and the Treasury,” said CBA president and CEO Don Childears.
“After a series of red lights, we expected this guidance to be a yellow
one. This isn’t close to that. At best, this amounts to ‘serve these
customers at your own risk’ and it emphasizes all of the risks. This
light is red.”
Colorado’s first-ever legal marijuana market, which
kicked off Jan. 1, has been hampered by a lack of access to bank
accounts and small-business loans. Many of the state’s retail pot shops
are cash-only enterprises, making them vulnerable to crime.
Washington
is expected to start sales of retail pot in June. Voters in Colorado
and Washington approved in 2012 ballot measures legalizing limited
amounts of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over.
“Now
that some states have elected to legalize and regulate the marijuana
trade, FinCEN seeks to move from the shadows the historically covert
financial operations of marijuana businesses,” said FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery in a statement.
“Our
guidance provides financial institutions with clarity on what they must
do if they are going to provide financial services to marijuana
businesses and what reporting will assist law enforcement,” she said.
But
the FinCen memo makes it clear that banks must avoid doing business
with illegal marijuana operators or those that violate the eight
priorities laid out in the Justice Department’s so-called Cole Memo, issued in August by Deputy Attorney General James Cole.
On Friday the Treasury Department and the Justice Department issued guidelines for banks that do business with state-licensed marijuana suppliers. According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the aim of
the memos is to reassure financial institutions that are leery of
accepting cannabusinesses as customers because they worry it will
attract unwanted attention from federal regulators and prosecutors. But
as with the August 29 memo in
which Deputy Attorey General James Cole said that prosecuting properly
regulated marijuana growers and sellers would not be a high priority,
there are no guarantees, and that fact is likely to deter traditionally cautious banks more than plucky cannabis entrepreneurs.
The Treasury memo,
issued by the department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN), says the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires financial
institutions to file “suspicious activity reports” (SARs) for all
marijuana businesses. But FinCEN draws a distinction between marijuana
businesses that violate state law or implicate one of the Justice
Department’s “enforcement priorities” and marijuana businesses that do
neither. The former merit “marijuana priority” reports, while the latter
fall into a newly invented “marijuana limited” category. According to
the memo, this distinction “aligns the information provided by financial
institutions in BSA reports with federal and state law enforcement
priorities.”
What are those priorities? Cole’s August 29 memo lists eight: 1)
“preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors,” 2) “preventing the
diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in
some form to other states,” 3) “preventing drugged driving and the
exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with
marijuana use,” 4) “preventing the growing of marijuana on public
lands,” 5) “preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property,”
6) “preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to
criminal enterprises,” 7) “preventing violence and the use of firearms
in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana,” and 8) “preventing
state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or
pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs.” At the end of the
memo, Cole adds that the feds might also intervene for other,
unspecified reasons.
The FinCEN memo lists “red flags” that suggest a marijuana business
deserves special scrutiny, including “international or interstate
activity,” an inability to “demonstrate the legitimate source of
significant outside investments,” signs that the business is “using a
state-licensed marijuana-related business as a front or pretext to
launder money derived from other criminal activity,” and “negative
information, such as a criminal record, involvement in the illegal
purchase or sale of drugs, violence, or other potential connections to
illicit activity.” Such red flags are supposed to inform banks’
decisions about which customers to reject or drop as well as which sort
of SAR to file. FinCEN warns that the red flags it mentions “do not
constitute an exhaustive list.” Although FinCEN says its advice “should
enhance the availability of financial services for, and the financial
transparency of, marijuana-related businesses,” it never actually says
banks that follow the guidelines need not worry about getting into
trouble with regulators.
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