The petition was spurred by an e-mail that was sent during the Spring 2009 to Governor Beshear in response to the forecasted budget shortfall for the 2009-2010 fiscal year and possibly future years.  The idea that was submitted has been suggested at various times by myself and many others and now with what is taking place around the country, it may gain a momentum for the same reason.

I suggest the re-legalization and resurrection of hemp and medical marijuana to stimulate our commonwealth's ailing economy and to grow our local economy.

Dear Gov. Beshear:

We the undersigned who are either current or past residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky have a desire to see the proletariat not struggle to provide ourselves and families with the basic necessities of life, so we are urging you to consider the following as our Commonwealth faces some of the biggest shortfalls in our budget within decades:

Beginning after World War I and before World War II, our country began its devastating war and battle against hemp and its cousin marijuana for various reasons, which I will not cover here.  But due to the Harrison Narcotics Act, the Marihuana Tax Act, and the Controlled Substances Act (various versions), it is a criminal offense to grow, distribute, and consume hemp and marijuana plants and/or leaves in the United States, however, each state and commonwealth have rights--commonly called states' rights--that we should follow in the smart footsteps of Gov. Schwarzenegger and look back to the legal cultivation, processing, and distribution of hemp and (medical) marijuana--the largest cash crop overall in the United States.

Kentucky has some of the most fertile soil in the United States and with an increase in community gardens, urban gardens (backyard and frontyard), school gardens, rural gardens, and a desire and need to seek alternatives in Kentucky since tobacco and coal are on their way out the door, we need viable income alternatives that can steer us in a sustainable direction (and this does not mean "clean coal", hybrid vehicles, CFL bulbs, or others as they are not truly sustainable nor eco-friendly).

With the resurrection of hemp, we can create and sustain old and new family/community farms (urban and rural), create new industry, re-open and reclaim old manufacturing and textile facilities for the processing of hemp by-products (well over 200), including bio-diesel, ethanol, paper, paint, bird seed, green plastics, clothing, and many, many others.  

With the resurrection of "medical" marijuana, we can benefit from the taxing of marijuana, if it is and was to be taxed like alcohol and require licenses and fees for distribution, processing, and cultivation facilities.  We would not lose needed revenue that is spent elsewhere (Canada in particular) because of our current federal and state (commonwealth) legislation.

And in 1998, eleven years ago, the University of Kentucky did a study that reported that hemp could be a lucrative cash crop for us.  See the article below:

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3854

These actions will create and sustain a new and smarter "local economy" that will create jobs, keep a greater percentage of dollars spent in our "local economy," provide jobs (hopefully) with a living wage, and help us in Kentucky to become more sustainable, and deal with the current budget shortfalls (present and forecasted for the future).

Thank you for your time.