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Standing Rock Petition Seeks Vote on Industrial Hemp; Enviro/Econ Data Mixed

If the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe can turn their bowling alley into a pot-smoking hall, the Standing Rock Reservation ought to be able to grow industrial hemp, right?

Attorney Chase Iron Eyes has been collecting signatures to put a question on the Sept. 30 ballot asking tribal members whether hemp-legalization language should be added to the tribe’s constitution.

…Iron Eyes said now is the time for impoverished tribes like Standing Rock — where federal labor statistics show that more than half of able-bodied workers were unemployed last year — to create an industry that doesn’t rely on outside help [“Standing Rock Attorney Wants to Legalize Hemp on Reservation,” AP via Yankton Press & Dakotan, 2015.08.27].

While smoking pot self-indulgently wastes money and brain power, growing industrial hemp and making paper, plywood, fabric, and other products from it offers some economic diversification and environmental benefits for farmers. But it’s not a slam-dunk salvation crop:

The one big benefit of hemp? Its environmental footprint is relatively small. It requires few pesticides and no herbicides. It’s an excellent rotation crop, often used to suppress weeds and loosen soil before the planting of winter cereals. On the other hand, it requires a relatively large amount of water, and its need for deep, humus-rich, nutrient-dense soil limits growing locales.

And hemp cultivation is highly labor intensive. Loflin, the Colorado farmer, took to social media to recruit 45 people to help him harvest his crop by hand over a weekend. “Use of a mechanical combine,” the Denver Post reported, “would have harmed the plants’ stalks.” That’s one reason prices are so high — about six times the cost of wood pulp. Hemp is an annual crop, which means it must be stored in order to be processed throughout the year, further adding to the cost of using it — and to the incentive for using something else [Dan Mitchell, “Why Legalized Hemp Will Not Be a Miracle Crop,” Modern Farmer, 2013.10.17].

Nia Cherrett et al., Ecological Footpring and Water Analysis of Cotton, Hemp and Polyester, Stockholm Environment Institute, 2005, p. 13.
Nia Cherrett et al., Ecological Footpring and Water Analysis of Cotton, Hemp and Polyester, Stockholm Environment Institute, 2005, p. 13. Click to embiggen!

A 2005 study shows that producing fibers from hemp requires far less energy than producing polyester fibers. However, while raising hemp requires less energy than raising cotton, fiber production is harder, meaning hemp tends to require a bit more total energy than cotton. The 2005 study found organic cotton in the U.S. producing the least carbon dioxide emissions. Hemp requires less land, water, and chemical inputs than cotton.

A USDA study of agricultural practices in Kentucky in 1993 and 1994 found that fiber hemp and hemp produced less net return per acre than corn, double crops of wheat and soybeans, tomatoes, and tobacco. However, the same study found average hemp promising better net returns than corn, spring wheat, sunflowers, and barley in North Dakota in 1998.

This 2010 analysis of water usage finds that producing hempseed uses 3,685 cubic meters of water per ton. Hemp fiber requires 2,447 to 2,719 cubic meters per ton. Corn requires 1,222. On the relatively arid Standing Rock Reservation, extensive hemp cultivation will require more irrigation than current crop production.

Standing Rock residents may want to join Minnesota and several other states in researching hemp and working toward restoring hemp to our normal crop rotation. But they should review the literature and recognize it is not an environmental or economic silver bullet.

162 Comments

  1. Bill Dithmer 2015-08-28 11:53

    I have studied hemp production for 15 years. In that time I ve seen several thousand pictures of commercial hemp operations and have never seen a single irrigation system. Ive also seen several hundred acres of wild hemp growing in arid western SD so far fron a water source that it would always be dry ground production.

    This study seems to be using projections as a substitute for raw data, since hemp production has been illegal in the us there is no infrastructure in place to support the hemp industry, nowhere did I see that addressed, and that one thing completely changes the strategy for farmers that looking at hemp.

    The beauty of hemp is its ability to continue to produce under adverse conditions and give the farmer a cash crop without the use of chemicals to do it. Not every piece of ground is perfect, but every acre of farm ground in this country, irrigated or dry can produce a profitable hemp crop. I can show you several 5 to 10 acre hemp patches southwest of White River that are wild, and have been there for the forty years I hunted around them. I can show you hemp plants growing on top of badland banks that grow 12 feet high naturally, whether it gets rain or not.

    This study sure leans heavy on gestimates and a fertile imagination to reach an unsubstantiated conclusion. Its not what hemp can do in the best circumstances, its what hemp can do in the worst circumstances.

    The Blindman

  2. jerry 2015-08-28 14:20

    Agreed Blindman, Did the founding fathers irrigate their hemp? No records indicate that. This study looks like it is geared towards selling fertilizer and pivots. Something else as well, if hemp were grown in marginal lands, and planted like a you would any other row crop, it would tend to break down the soils to mulch the week for future growth. I have seen plum thickets that don’t seem to have much water going to them as well and they still produce fruit. The study is flawed by those that have personal interests into not allowing anything that will challenge cotton or the butchering of forests.

  3. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-08-28 14:45

    It will be interesting to see how the vote comes out. I sure hope this works for the Standing Rock folks.

    Blindman and Jerry, thanks for the info you’ve shared. I’ve never heard of hemp needing irrigation before.

  4. Paul Seamans 2015-08-28 15:19

    Back when hemp was legal binder twine was made from hemp. Most crops were put up with binders and then these bundles were then gathered into “shocks” which were later then hauled to a thresher for separating out the grain. Hemp should be able to replace the sisal twine that is presently used to bale hay. I’m sure that there would be a learning curve for today’s farmers to harvest hemp but farmers are a resourceful lot. Much could be learned from harvest methods used back in the 1930’s.

  5. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 15:29

    Sorry, Bill: introducing a non-native species into habitats where it would compete with native grasses is counterproductive to rewilding efforts.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-28 16:02

    Interesting, Larry—where is hemp a native species?

  7. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-28 16:04

    Fair counterpoint, Bill. Seeing is believing, and if you’ve seen hemp growing healthily in West River, well, that says something about the water needed. Are you saying, though, that a dry hemp crop will still produce enough quality fiber to turn a profit?

  8. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 16:12

    Hemp was imported by Europeans during colonization but cotton is native to the New World. Feral hemp grows in ditches from Flandreau to Logansport, Indiana and beyond.

  9. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 16:14

    That industrial cannabis is being heralded in Indian Country as an economic development initiative remains a mystery.

  10. Douglas Wiken 2015-08-28 17:01

    I rode on one of those binders converted from horse pull to tractor pull. Steel wheels do no make for a comfortable ride. Shocking is not all that much fun either.

  11. Paul Seamans 2015-08-28 17:35

    Douglas, I also have done some shocking, mostly will cane. Good exercise on a cool fall day after school lets out for the day.

    Larry, I also am a fan of using native species but trying to keep out many non-native species is something that we should have done 200 years ago. These non-native species have caused huge problems.

  12. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 18:18

    Paul, i’m a single-issue voter: the Earth trumps all other concerns.

  13. Bill Dithmer 2015-08-28 18:26

    Larry, there are always going to be both plants and animals that are unknowingly or knowingly brought into this country. Very seldom are we successful in the removal of any of those species once they take root. It is even more rare for one of those organisms to be so useful.

    This isnt like thistle or cheatgrass, it has many purposes. I sure dont see it as an invasive species, I see it as mother nature getting something right by creating a plant that has so much to offer with so few drawbacks. It has proven to be highly adaptable, and capable or regeneration, with no human help, for thousands of years with no genetic degradation.

    Paul, I dont think the learning curve would be as big as you might think. We have the equipment, and years of other countries research. We know there is a market for it because we US import so many products made from its oils and fibers. And then there is the important reason. Fewer passes through a field from planting to harvest.

    I wouldn’t miss seeing those big old balls of orange baling twine spread over half of western SD. Hemp would be a welcome change back to the past.

    ” Are you saying, though, that a dry hemp crop will still produce enough quality fiber to turn a profit?”

    Yes I’m saying that very thing. I’m also saying that you can grow a viable crop of hemp, where you could never get another viable crop of any other plant.

    One of the things that nobody talks about is hemps ability to heal erosion from either water or wind. Just that one thing should be of interest to both farmers and ranchers.

    One more thing and then a glass of Missouri shine and the business end of a vaporizer.

    It is going to be interesting to see who ends up with hemp processing plants in Colorado, either oil or fiber. Also of interest would be how the state will use the monies from taxes on the acres of hemp planted.

    When I have more time I’ll tell you the story of THE GREAT NORRIS HEMP HOUND or The misidentification of a pot plant.

    The Blindman

  14. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 18:31

    Bill, you know where i’m at on this: cannabis grown under organic specs in controlled environments for casual enjoyment is where the profits reside to reverse the effects of colonialism and not in wholesale habitat destruction.

  15. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 18:35

    The guy who taught me to build bicycle wheels in Missoula when we were introducing something called the mountain bike to the world told me that if you produce something people need you will get by but when you produce something that people want you can get rich.

    Commodities are for farmers who rely on crop insurance subsidies and not for entrepreneurs.

  16. Bill Dithmer 2015-08-28 19:03

    Of course I’ve known where you stand on this for years, but you have to admit that you have picked your invasive species over another one. Controlled environment, some is and some aint. Either way both plants have many uses, why not take advantage of some of them.

    There is no way to completely reverse the effects of colonialism.

    The Blindman

  17. larry kurtz 2015-08-28 19:09

    Hemp is going to come up in the next SD legislative session, Bill: expect vigorous discussions that would allow genetically engineered hemp requiring tons of glyphosate and millions of acre/feet of water from dwindling aquifers while isolating tribal nations from the real cannabis industry.

  18. happy camper 2015-08-28 19:44

    Take care of the Earth and it will take care of you. But no.

  19. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-08-28 20:57

    Blindman, my aunt and uncle used to live in Licking, MO, in the Ozarks. It was there I had my first sip of shine. Holy moly! I coughed, sputtered, eyes watered, and aunt and uncle thought it was hilarious. I forgot to gasp, “Smoooooth”.

    Larry, I have to say that I think hemp could be a good thing. Indians brought in foreign species from other parts of the country. The trade routes were long, complicated and effective. Hemp is another foreign species, like horses. I don’t think hemp is very invasive, like kudzu and starlings. (Anyone, correct me if I’m wrong.) I respect your environmental opinions Larry, and disagree with you on this one.

  20. jerry 2015-08-28 22:21

    We must all thank the Obama administration for allowing hemp to be finally placed in the Farm Bill for goodness sakes. Geesh, Democrats sit around whining about the republicans being in control of congress. Look what has happened with a Democrat with the balls to get great things done. Imagine where we would all be if Democrats would have turned out for the midterms.

    “Not a moment too soon. American farmers have been watching as Canadian farmers clear huge profits from hemp: $250 per acre in 2013. By comparison, South Dakota State University predicts that soy, a major crop, will net U.S. farmers $71 per acre in 2014.”
    http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-fine-hemp-marijuana-legalize-20140626-story.html

    In South Dakota, hemp will take less water than wheat. Think of that. As the world warms and drys, this crop will be the salvation of our everyday needs.

  21. Bill Dithmer 2015-08-28 23:27

    Deb, I dont know how they make it but they use peaches and pecans. Its the consistency of a good whiskey, clear as a bell, a little paler then bud, smooth like one of the better Crowns, and a bouquet that is so different you catch yourself just sniffing your tumbler.

    Its meant to be sipped through shaved ice, slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y, not raped like a shot of Cuervo. And I give it 4 and a half out of five on the COB pleasure rating system.

    One shot has lasted me over two hours. I’m not buzzed, but I’m relaxed and “4 Way Street” is about half way through the electric album. This is much better then whats on tv.

    The Blindman

  22. barry freed 2015-08-29 07:54

    Cory,
    You are taking studies funded and or influenced by Big Ag at face value to discredit Hemp, just as you repeat the very same Corporate generated nonsense of: “While smoking pot self-indulgently wastes money and brain power”
    Before repeating false claims from the perspective of zero experience, you need to drive over to Flandreau’s smoking hall to open up some of your neural pathways, and like that doper Einstein, get more left and right brain cells working in unison. After relaxing and letting the critical thinking process loose, it may occur to you to seek information from places like Canada where there is no big tobacco/oil/cotton funded study clouding the facts.
    Were there no criminal penalties or high taxes, the price of pot would be insignificant. People would grow their own and bake it in brownies. Further, your brain power misconception has no valid research to back it, and in fact, research of heavy smokers in Jamaica suggests the opposite is true. Along with work ethics and honesty.
    Sobriety should be imbibed in moderation as it can be intoxicating and addicting when taken to extremes, soon becoming a disabling vice.
    re: Brain Power on Marijuana:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tvER2SmF9Y

  23. jerry 2015-08-29 08:23

    Barry Freed, Is Flandreau open now or still working on getting open?

  24. barry freed 2015-08-30 08:12

    I don’t know, I don’t smoke pot and have no skin in the game except for my Government’s prohibition ruining people’s lives and taxing me to jail them and test their urine. I do support their “unalienable right” to govern themselves, as a Tribe, and as individuals.
    Your asking that question shows our tendency to think people are what they support or can live with. If one supports the freedom to love whomever, they too, must be homosexual. If they are not sure there is a God, they must worship the Devil and do evil things.
    Marijuana in some parts of this free nation is at the stage Homosexuality and being of color were 50 years ago: illegal. It’s legal status makes it unsafe to call out the liars and educate the ignorant. When it is illegal to hold hands, drink from certain fountains, or self medicate with an herb, arrest will follow any protest.

    Steppenwolf said it best:

    Starin’ at the boob tube, turnin’ on the big knob
    Tryin’ to find some life in the waste land
    Fin’ly found a program, gonna deal with Mary Jane
    Ready for a trip into hate land
    Obnoxious Joe comes on the screen
    Along with his guest self-righteous Sam
    And one more guy who doesn’t count
    His hair and clothes are too far out

    While pushin’ back his glasses Sam is sayin’ casually
    “I was elected by the masses”
    And with that in mind he starts to unwind
    A vicious attack on the finest of grasses

    Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
    (Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
    And it will ruin our fair country
    (Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
    Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
    (You’re so full of bull, Sam)
    All will pay that disagree with me
    (Please give up you already lost the fight, alright)

    Misinformation Sam and Joe
    Are feeding to the nation
    But the one who didn’t count counted them out
    By exposing all their false quotations
    Faced by a very awkward situation
    This is all he’d say to save the day

    Well it’s evil, wicked, mean and nasty
    (Don’t step on the grass, Sam)
    And it will ruin our fair country
    (Don’t be such an ass, Sam)
    Well, it will hook your Sue and Johnny
    (You’re so full of bull, Sam)
    All will pay that disagree with me
    (Please give up you already lost the fight alright)

    You waste my coin Sam, all you can
    To jail my fellow man
    For smoking all the noble weed
    You need much more than him
    You’ve been telling lies so long
    Some believe they’re true
    So they close their eyes to things
    You have no right to do
    Just as soon as you are gone
    Hope will start to climb
    Please don’t stay around too long
    You’re wasting precious time

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtRwa2mlH0k

    For over an hour of great music, Steppenwolf, 1968 at The Filmore:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXrEJ-mQpxY

  25. Lynn 2015-08-30 08:47

    Barry Freed,

    Do you realize just how absurd statements like this are? “Before repeating false claims from the perspective of zero experience, you need to drive over to Flandreau’s smoking hall to open up some of your neural pathways”

    One could apply that logic to huffing paint and more illegal drugs out there. So we really shouldn’t condemn the health risks and social costs of huffing paint unless we tried it using a spray can of oil based paint and a plastic grocery bag it though it would require a rag and something to get that paint mess off our faces. I’d love to see you say that with a straight face in front of a legislative hearing and then a news reporter. lol

    It’s no wonder there are no serious political challengers to the SDGOP. Well at least this can be a therapeutic source for people to vent.

  26. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 09:03

    Lynn:

    I saw this episode of “Twilight Zone” once. These astronauts went to the moon and they got out of their rocket and were looking around. Then pretty soon, some moon creatures jumped out from behind a moon rock and grabbed one of the astronauts and ate him. I don’t remember what happened to the other astronaut but I remember it was one of the best shows I ever saw.

  27. Lynn 2015-08-30 09:12

    Bob you, Barry Freed, Ryan Gaddy and Bill Dithmer should go before a legislative hearing and before the press and tell them with straight faces that before anyone outlaws any type of drug or substance that they need to try and experience it first. That goes for voters too before they vote. Heck buy some print ads and commercials.

    It would be funny as hell!

  28. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 09:17

    This post is about industrial cannabis and not about Lynn’s obsession with my behavior.

  29. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 09:56

    Lynn, you and all the legislative-type asshats who think that government should criminalize the use of any herbs, let alone benign herbs, should spend some time in the jails to which you would sentence people for simply trying to feel better. Your endorsement of the laws which prohibit the cultivation and marketing of a plant that has great promise as an alternative to the current products from which we derive food, fuel, clothing and shelter is nothing short of insane.

  30. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-30 10:07

    Barry, I may be wrong about the research on industrial hemp. But I don’t need a corporation to maintain (and to instruct my daughter, and my students, and anyone else who listens) that smoking pot is a self-indulgent waste of time and resources. It is a retreat from reality that provides no social good. Sticking burning items in one’s mouth may make a good circus act, but that’s about it.

  31. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-30 10:09

    (Sorry, Larry—I’m as easily distracted as the rest of us.)

  32. Lynn 2015-08-30 10:15

    “people simply trying to feel better” Wow! That would include a lot of addicts, self medication and many substances which of course are benign in the eyes of those who “use” but yeah include that too!

    Remember you were for legalizing all drugs.

    I suppose Opium is a benign herb too since it’s from a plant. Yep! People just trying to feel better. All harmless and will stay in their private bubbles without spilling out elsewhere.

    Huffing paint? He’s just trying to feel better.

  33. Lynn 2015-08-30 10:17

    Corry Sorry! I believe I made my point! lol

  34. Lynn 2015-08-30 10:17

    Cory*

  35. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 10:47

    my body, my choice.

  36. mike from iowa 2015-08-30 11:10

    Bob N,R U sure it was the Twilight Zone? I could find three or four episodes with astronauts,but no scenario as you describe. No offense.

  37. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 11:34

    Okay, Lynn, you want to put people in prison for doing things that some other folks–I guess you’re as good a determiner of that as anyone–decide are bad for them. How many years should a person do for smoking a cigarette? For drinking a beer? For eating one of those disgusting cigar-shaped pieces of meat product you buy in a convenience store? For putting high-fructose corn syrup in a recipe?

    Mike from IA: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was “Twilight Zone,” but it may have been “Wagon Train.” But in this argument facts seem not to matter. Whatever, it was on TV, and that seems to be close enough for Lynn, or Cory, for that matter.

    Cory, I recommend a book I just read, “Why Automobiles Will Never Displace the Horse.” Oh, and, “The Myth of Electricity: Why Kerosene is a Superior Illumination Medium.”

  38. mike from iowa 2015-08-30 12:03

    Wasn’t Wagon Train. Major Seth Adams and Charlie Wooster,the cook,wouldn’t stand for astronauts on the prairies.

  39. Bill Dithmero 2015-08-30 12:11

    Annual Causes of Death, By Cause)

    Cause of death (Data from 2013 unless otherwise noted) Number
    All Causes 2,596,993
    Major Cardiovascular Diseases [MCD] 796,494
    Cerebrovascular Diseases [subset of MCD] 128,978
    Essential Hypertension and Hypertensive Renal Disease [subset of MCD] 30,770
    Malignant Neoplasms [Cancer] 584,881
    Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 149,205
    Accidents (Unintentional Injuries) [Total] 130,557
    Motor Vehicle Accidents [subset of Total Accidents] 35,369
    Alzheimer’s Disease 84,767
    Diabetes Mellitus 75,578
    Influenza and Pneumonia 56,979
    Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis 47,112
    Drug-Induced Deaths1 46,471
    Intentional Self-Harm (Suicide) 41,149
    Septicemia 38,156
    Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis 36,427
    Alcoholic Liver Disease [subset of Chronic Liver Disease] 18,146
    Injury by Firearms 33,636
    Alcohol-Induced Deaths 29,001
    Parkinson’s Disease 25,196
    Pneumonitis Due to Solids and Liquids 18,579
    Homicide 16,121
    Viral Hepatitis 8,157
    Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Disease 6,955
    All Illicit Drugs Combined (2000)2 17,0002
    Cannabis (Marijuana)3 0
    – See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#.dpuf

  40. bearcreekbat 2015-08-30 12:18

    Lynn’s bait & switch argument about sniffing glue is telling. Lynn has identified no credible evidence to challenge our own long term neurologist Dr. Sabow and the majority of physicians that support medical marijuana.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/survey-76-percent-of-doctors-approve-of-medical-marijuana-use/

    Instead, her views are shaped by various forms of the 1930’s “Reefer Madness” hysterical arguments, which fall flat when considered by rational folks who consider actual evidence in forming views.

    Realizing the inherent weakness in such “Reefer Madness” arguments, Lynn resorts to bait and switch by focusing on any and everything other than marijuana and then trying to create some sort of false equivalency between sniffing glue, etc., and marijuana. Since such arguments obviously fall flat, it must be encouraging to seizure afflicted kids, MS patients, cancer patients, glaucoma sufferers, vets with PTSD or terrible spasmodic conditions from war time injuries, et al, that Lynn has no really meaningful factual support for her anti-marijuana crusade.

  41. leslie 2015-08-30 14:18

    cory, my experience at standing rock in the early 90s leads me to think that, while arid, tribal water rights and infrastructure on their 200 mile shore of lake oahe may be up to the task.

  42. Lynn 2015-08-30 15:39

    Way off and wrong data to support your argument fellas and the correct studies & data I provided were in posts long ago. Look them up. Barry Freed injected some faulty absurd reasoning for recreational weed and I responded.

    Back to Hemp. Is the reasoning it’s outlawed because it’s difficult for law enforcement to visually distinguish from Marijuana plants in a field? Can a grower easily sneak Marijuana plants into a Hemp field? Is that a major issues for hemp?

  43. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 16:14

    You live in an alternate universe, Lynn. This is the internet: go find something to support your addiction but there is no need to get back to us since your confirmation bias is so obvious.

  44. Lynn 2015-08-30 16:22

    Way off and wrong data to support your argument fellas and the correct studies & data I provided were in posts long ago. Look them up. Barry Freed and our good friend Bob Newland injected some faulty absurd reasoning for recreational weed and I responded.

    Back to Hemp. Is the reasoning it’s outlawed because it’s difficult for law enforcement to visually distinguish from Marijuana plants in a field? Can a grower easily sneak Marijuana plants into a Hemp field? Is that a major issues for hemp?

  45. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 16:26

    I plant cannabis among the tomatoes.

  46. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 16:28

    Industrial cannabis is outlawed because it’s a noxious weed prone to overrunning habitats where native grasses are facing a sixth mass extinction created by the Anthropocene.

  47. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 16:35

    Lynn is a good example of why the nasty end of a claw hammer is the most effective weapon against the knuckleheadedness of people who will not look at facts. However, I will try one more time to extract a response from her.

    Lynn, how much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  48. Lynn 2015-08-30 16:50

    “Lynn is a good example of why the nasty end of a claw hammer is the most effective weapon against the knuckleheadedness of people who will not look at facts.”

    #1 Are you physically threatening me and others who question your facts?

    #2 You have publicly stated your are for the legalization of all drugs but one of the claims for legalizing Marijuana is that it is a peaceful drug yet here you are threatening physical harm?

  49. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 16:55

    Threatening a pseudonym is like holding a gun to a jackalope.

  50. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 16:58

    It’s not a question of legalization so much as government getting out of the so-called War on Drugs.

    Why PP and Lynn support the enrichment of drug kingpins like El Chapo and GlaxoSmithKline remains a mystery.

  51. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 16:59

    Not-so-nice ice try, Lynn. Now, would you like to answer the question: How much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  52. grudznick 2015-08-30 17:05

    Lar often threatens violence but in reality he is a bit frail. It’s just the weed talking.

  53. Lynn 2015-08-30 17:05

    So you want to give me and others who disagree with you a nasty end of a claw hammer eh Bob?

    Then Larry’s tirade on SouthDacola and his 2nd pot blog that for some reason no one knows attacks Scott and was supposed to be the official blog for the SDDP.

    larry kurtz on 08.29.15 at 7:16 pm
    Is your BMI a factor in the flooding, Scott?
    .#2 larry kurtz on 08.29.15 at 7:17 pm
    What exactly is your @#$%^&*! deal?
    .#3 larry kurtz on 08.29.15 at 7:19 pm
    troll emeritus? pig of the week? what?
    .#4 larry kurtz on 08.29.15 at 7:42 pm
    blame Daugaard if you’re going pin this shit on somebody, you fat pig.

    Peaceful benign herbs. Yep! Right! lol

  54. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:06

    Scott is the pig PP only wishes he could be, Lynn: what’s your point?

  55. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:15

    At least PP believes in something. Scott? Not so much.

  56. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 17:15

    So, because Kurtz goes off the rails, you won’t answer my question.

    How much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  57. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:21

    What? i’ve never been more on the rails!

  58. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:23

    Cannabis for casual use is already being grown on the Standing Rock just like it is in every other tribal nation.

  59. grudznick 2015-08-30 17:29

    Within the year if you drive under the train overpass on East Blvd. you’ll see Lar and my friend Bob sitting under there smoking blunts and eating sardines. Bob’s the one with the hat.

  60. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:33

    Within the year if you drive under the train overpass on East Blvd. you’ll see grud and my friend Bob Ellis sitting under there smoking sardines. Bob’s the one with the hat.

  61. Lynn 2015-08-30 17:43

    Bob,

    Kurtz goes off the rails? Nothing new there. Your the one threatening the nasty end of a claw hammer as the most effective weapon against people that see drug legalization as a huge far sweeping public policy mistake.

    We were sold on how video lottery would benefit us and have seen the wreckage and it’s caused, how much money is actually devoted towards helping those with gambling addiction and how nearly impossible it would be to repeal.

    Harmless? Yeah we see that by examples of irrational behavior, inhibiting judgment, and being another addictive substance especially for kids when they are at a stage most susceptible to life long addiction.

    I’ve repeatedly stated my stance on what the laws should be and referenced Steve Allender’s excellent suggestion and crime reports and examples where Marijuana related crimes and deaths have occurred.

    Just look at the lawsuit filed by Kevin Ward Jr’s family against Tony Stewart. Remember Kevin Ward Jr who had Marijuana in his system, got out of his car during a dirt track race walking thru traffic during a race and stood in front of Tony Stewart’s car coming at him at high speed pointing at him and was hit and killed. Did Kevin Ward Jr possibly still high off pot think he was superman and invulnerable? There was very little that Tony Stewart could do given the circumstances.

    No one has ever died from the use of Marijuana. Yep! Right! lol

    You threatening physical harm against another other people who disagree with you regarding drug policy is very disturbing.

  62. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 17:48

    Lynn, if you believe you are convincing Democrats not to support legal cannabis in South Dakota by adding fiction to the facts presented here you are as stupid as Scott Ehrisman is. Go over to Pat’s and stroke Charlie Hoffman: he’ll love it.

  63. Lynn 2015-08-30 18:02

    Then again being threatened with violence by a convicted felon should not be too much of a surprise. Drugs & violence are unfortunately the norm for some who don’t know there are other options available.

  64. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:03

    So says an anonymous troll.

  65. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:06

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was convicted of a felony just like other patriots have been.

  66. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:10

    Bill Janklow successfully used drug addiction as a defense in his felony conviction.

  67. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:18

    Drug-addicted Janklow served 100 days with his jail cell unlocked and got his law license back. Selective enforcement is Lynn’s world.

  68. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 18:19

    Lynn: How much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  69. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 18:23

    By the way, just to clear up any possible misconceptions, the “claw hammer” allusion is just that, an allusion.

    It appears that the question, “How much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?” is enough of an allusical claw hammer to have stifled whatever cognitive processes Lynn has left.

  70. grudznick 2015-08-30 18:32

    Bob, 2 years is about right. If you have more than a handful of weed probably 3.

  71. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:35

    Cannabis is already legal in parts of South Dakota where a shuttle bus will thwart the gruds of the state.

  72. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:38

    If Marty Jackley could have found a federal judge to stop the Flandreau Santee Sioux Nation from exercising their cannabis rights he have done so by now.

  73. Lynn 2015-08-30 18:42

    Allusion? It’s not uncommon for those with a history of violence to dismiss or find a reason to justify it.

  74. grudznick 2015-08-30 18:42

    Lar, know what Mr. Jackley thinks about what goes on out there in the Santee Nation?

    nuthin.

  75. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:43

    The United States in a nuts shell, Lynn.

  76. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 18:45

    Nothing says violence like condoning the imprisonment of patriots yearning for liberty.

  77. jerry 2015-08-30 19:07

    Very good reading Mr. Kurtz, thanks. The article in Colorado states that the hemp is under irrigation. As I have looked at this, hemp requires about 7 inches of rainfall a growing season to produce an ample crop. Even in western South Dakota the indicators are that could be achieved. With just the rain and the sun, there could be success with the farming of hemp and as a bonus, no fertilizer and no herbicides. What are we waiting for?

  78. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:11

    no federal crop insurance for hemp, jerry. raise it at your own risk.

  79. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:12

    are you people not paying attention?

  80. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:13

    the costs to produce a plant considered a noxious weed in anything other than in controlled environments is a non-starter.

  81. Lynn 2015-08-30 19:23

    “are you people not paying attention?” Doubtful Larry just like your other two blogs and more SD Dems switching their registration to something other than Dems but please continue. Reminds me of Otis from the Andy Griffith show rambling on.

  82. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 19:25

    Lynn: It appears you have no answer for; How much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  83. grudznick 2015-08-30 19:25

    When they burn all the ditch weed with a drip torch and celebrate over whiskey, several of my friends will really be upset. But that is what is going to happen. The anti-weed people will burn it all down because the pro-weed people are so intollerant.

  84. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:26

    My blogs aren’t meant for morons like you, Lynn: carry on.

  85. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:30

    i am a Democratic Party thought leader with a global reach while Lynn and grud struggle with their own identities as blog readers.

  86. jerry 2015-08-30 19:32

    Lynn and Mr. Grudz, in your republican thinking spirit, I give you a solution to the illegal immigration that burns within your knickers. Legalize marijuana completely. Yep, the United States imports some 2 million pounds of pot a year that comes with a very violent history. Most of the folks that come here from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and the rest, come here to escape the violence caused by illegal drug trafficking. A lot of these folks are just children. Take the profit out of the illegal trade and you can solve a lot of issues. Of course, that would then stop your love fest for the Donald and that nut case from Sioux City, a small price to pay.

  87. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:43

    Lynn and grud are the Anne and Bill Beals of DFP.

  88. grudznick 2015-08-30 19:46

    2 years, Bob. 2 years minimum.

  89. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:49

    Wonder what Linda Daugaard is on to keep her girlish figure?

  90. Lynn 2015-08-30 19:53

    “South Dakota Democrats are in a great position to extend and deepen their political losses.”

    “Some of the Democrat fantasy game players think that Democrats need to take on the Republicans in kind through personal attacks and false accusations.”

    Northern Valley Beacon 8/26/2015

    With the repeated obscene and vile behavior demonstrated here and other blogs included in the blog feed with the push for legalization of drugs as a silver political bullet you guys are doing a swell job. When the statewide South Dakota elections are even worse in 2016 for Dems these so called Democrat fantasy game players can just sit back, whine about it as always and get stoned in their recliners at home whether that be in SD, New Mexico or wherever.

  91. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:55

    David Newquist is a master of allusion, that’s for sure.

  92. jerry 2015-08-30 19:55

    Interesting that hemp is exempt from crop insurance as it was given the green light by the Farm Bill. Canada allows hemp insurance for growers there. Maybe that is why Scott Walker wants to build a border fence for those guys. That could also open the door so NOem’s hubby could find a way to make moolah from this.

  93. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:57

    quick reminder: cannabists are nearly a year away from voting on anything.

  94. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 19:58

    Vile is par for the course as concocted by the PPs of South Dakota. Obscenity is just for fun.

  95. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:00

    Newland: do you have a recliner? i certainly don’t.

  96. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:01

    When Lynn goes back to work for her master tomorrow morning her prison is recollected.

  97. grudznick 2015-08-30 20:04

    Lar, are you drunk again?

  98. Lynn 2015-08-30 20:07

    I’d place more value with a respected academic like Dr. Newquist in what he would have to say any day than some mean spirited version of Otis from the Andy Griffith Show that has been very destructive to the state party.

  99. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:08

    Still struggling with that house payment, Lynn?

  100. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:09

    grud, i swear: you read more like Swede every day.

  101. happy camper 2015-08-30 20:13

    OK kids, it’s time for all of you to go your room and shut the door. You’re givin me a migraine.

  102. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:19

    there’s certainly no action over at Pat’s Bait Shop and FB is a cesspool, crappy camper.

  103. Lynn 2015-08-30 20:20

    Grudz,

    I could be totally wrong. Dr. Newquist and others could be wrong These fellas may just create a new political revolution here in South Dakota and have the SDGOP on their knees begging for mercy. Who are we to know? Different perceptions of reality I guess. Some perceptions of reality are chemically induced and for others like myself it’s not. Time will tell. Looking forward to 2016 to see how the elections go in South Dakota

  104. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:21

    pick a lane, lynn.

  105. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:23

    Lynn is a Democrat like PP is a vegan.

  106. happy camper 2015-08-30 20:33

    You know, I was thinking about Newquist’s post. Maybe it’s fine for Democrats to switch parties and be relevant. They’re not gonna become right wingers. Let them shift the party to the left. People like Lynn who if I remember right said they’ve been pushed (in part from this blog) from conservative Democrat to liberal Republican.

  107. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:35

    corn ethanol wouldn’t exist without subsidies. get grips, people. free markets or broken schools?

  108. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:38

    Okay: let your corn ground laden with glyphosate go fallow for five years and see if your can get organic certification for your hemp crop.

  109. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:39

    Newquist would be the only reason i would endure Aberdeen for some stupid blog dealio.

  110. happy camper 2015-08-30 20:40

    It’s like the atheist thing Larry, a lot of people agree marijuana is not a big deal, but they won’t say it publicly until it’s safe to do so. In the meantime these issues need ambassadors. You’re not exactly a diplomat. Your tone, you know. Could you be nice?

  111. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:43

    uh, trump is leading in the polls not some nice guy from new jersey.

  112. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:44

    i plow the road. build what you want from the windrow.

  113. Lynn 2015-08-30 20:47

    “Newquist would be the only reason i would endure Aberdeen for some stupid blog dealio.”

    You have confirmed your going? Great! I’ll let Cory know I’ll drive up and if our good friend Bob goes maybe he can show me how he intends to hit me and others who disagree with him with the sharp end of his claw hammer. It will be a swell time!

  114. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:50

    there isn’t enough oxygen in aberdeen for you, lynn.

  115. happy camper 2015-08-30 20:50

    We can ask Cory to lock em in a room till only one comes out. Trump is not a serious candidate. I’d like to stay but I have to go to Dollar General and get some milk, eggs, and oatmeal.

  116. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 20:54

    lynn will be in aberdeen like grud will meet bob, bill and me at talley’s for breakfast.

  117. Lynn 2015-08-30 21:02

    Just let Cory know I’ll be there. Let’s see I’ve been accused of being PP whomever that is, A SDGOP black operative sowing the seeds of destruction and using some tech to hide my IP addresses and lord knows whatever else from some chemically induced paranoia.

    It will be worth the drive. lol :)

  118. Lynn 2015-08-30 21:03

    Larry,

    Just ask Cory if he thinks I’m bluffing. lol

  119. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 21:07

    a cannabis advocate announcing a visit to specific point in marty jackley’s hell is just stupid.

  120. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 21:09

    lynn, call for denny daugaard to pardon bob newland and i will mull a trip to hell.

  121. larry kurtz 2015-08-30 21:10

    Oh, and: how much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  122. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 21:16

    Lynn: I know you’ve seen the question. “About how much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?”

    Do we dare believe you have no opinion on that? Or should we believe you’re in the cohort who believes in personal liberty up to the point where other folks do stuff that annoys you?

    Only you can set us free from your anxiety over taking a stand.

  123. happy camper 2015-08-30 21:17

    I’m back. It would be fun to see what some of you look like and if your personality matches your blog persona. But if Larry plays harmonica then we already know. And wears dapper hats? Is that you Larry?

  124. Lynn 2015-08-30 21:27

    Already sent the email to Cory to confirm I’ll be there. I look forward to finally meeting you and have our good friend Bob demonstrate how he will hit me in the head with the sharp end of a claw hammer like he threatened he’d do.

  125. Bob Newland 2015-08-30 21:43

    Sorry. Not coming. But I would like to know how much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body. Lynn?

  126. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-31 18:13

    You’re all welcome at the SD Blogosphere Picnic September 12, but I will expect you all to play nicely. No fistfights… and no smoking!

  127. larry kurtz 2015-08-31 18:15

    How many hits so far on this post, Cory?

  128. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-08-31 19:39

    518, Larry, and I’m guessing 95% from the same three people.

  129. Lynn 2015-09-01 13:27

    “You’re all welcome at the SD Blogosphere Picnic September 12, but I will expect you all to play nicely. No fistfights… and no smoking!”

    Cory,

    I’m always very polite, relaxed and nice at social gatherings though statements like this being quite disturbing might unfortunately have one of the picnic participants ending up in trouble with the law again.

    “Lynn is a good example of why the nasty end of a claw hammer is the most effective weapon against the knuckleheadedness of people who will not look at facts.”

    Otherwise the picnic should be fun with stimulating conversation.

  130. leslie 2015-09-01 13:59

    I don’t know bob, but have basked in his horse tank; but perhaps he was commenting allegorically on obstinance of knuckleheaded thinking and the near impossibility of dislodging same. not many people bright enough to blog cogently here likely took this as a threat, nor, perhaps did lynn. but merely look at the 133 recent posts, many of which are hers (and larry’s). i tend to think larry is winning…without a sweat.

    standing up to the legalization flood unleashed in the mountains of colorado and washington seems like “forgetting to duck” from incoming fire.

    oh, there i go, not threat intended.

  131. Bob Newland 2015-09-01 14:27

    I was wondering, Lynn, how much prison time is about right for someone who puts a harmful substance into his/her body?

  132. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-09-02 08:55

    Bob, you use such violent language too frequently. You’ve done it in Facebook comments as well, recommending a violent end to opponents. Leslie, I can’t excuse such statements as mere allegory. Such language serves no productive end. Such language heard at my picnic would put a severe damper on everyone’s enjoyment of the afternoon.

  133. Bob Newland 2015-09-02 09:24

    Don’t worry about the picnic. I ain’t coming.

    As for my “violent language….” An anonymous troll named “Lynn” repeatedly uses discredited “research” to advance a violent political policy that has caused inestimable damage to the peoples of the world and retreats behind the screen of anonymity when questioned.

    Everyone who read my post knew the claw hammer was allegorical. Lynn and Cory are the only ones who have publicly objected to it. A number of people have called out Lynn on her advocacy of torture and cruel and unusual punishment.

  134. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-09-02 09:36

    If we’re going to get into the depths of language, I maintain that there is a difference between saying, “Marijuana is a dangerous drug, possession and use of which should be prosecuted under law” and “the nasty end of a claw hammer is the most effective weapon against the knuckleheadedness of people who will not look at facts.” If a student orator put a line like the latter in a speech, I would recommend she remove that unstateswomanly line and replace it with an “allegory” or other figure of speech less distracting and alienating.

  135. Lynn 2015-09-02 09:57

    My opinion is that just reading the online/public statements alone from Bob and Larry two big drug legalization advocates with threats of violence, consistently demonstrating anger, vile attacks and shocking behavior is enough to easily convince people legalization would be a huge mistake here in South Dakota. Is this what we want for our kids? For South Dakota?

    I’m definitely saving all the online comments. Larry & Bob please continue.

  136. Bob Newland 2015-09-02 10:21

    Lynn, how much prison time do you think is about right for someone convicted of ingesting a harmful substance?

  137. Lynn 2015-09-02 10:33

    Bob,

    Read past threads where I have posted your answer in that regard over and over and over including what Mayor Steve Allendar as a former police chief proposed in dealing with drug laws and especially with addiction and those dealing drugs.

    Comprehension skills diminishing has been documented with long term drug use but look back on those posts read, read again and if need be have someone read it to you and take the time to fully comprehend my answer.

    Sobriety is really underrated in terms of reading and comprehending also.

  138. Bob Newland 2015-09-02 11:21

    You have never answered that particular question. Surely someone as clever with language as you are can write a declarative sentence. For example: “I think that anyone convicted of ingesting a harmful substance should be sentenced to….”

  139. Lynn 2015-09-02 11:57

    Bob,

    I see why Rapid City Mayor and former police chief Steve Allendar won’t even waste his time conversing with you on these issues. Going back a few Marijuana related threads here on either the old Madville Times of DFP that all of us were posting on he just refused to respond and waste his time with you trying to distract or just be combative for the sake of being combative.

  140. Bob Newland 2015-09-02 12:10

    For forty years, we in the sanity cohort have attempted to elicit coherent responses from those people who think it’s okay to shoot, steal from, and imprison people for acts that simply annoy those people. Typically, they use a circular argument as you have, and as Allender (that’s the correct spelling) did. When we press them for real answers, they mock us for being unreasonable.

    Meantime, you in the insanity cohort snicker at the misery, destruction and death you have caused around the world.

    And you make like I, and those with whom I agree, are the criminals.

  141. Porter Lansing 2015-09-02 12:21

    It’s been 43 years since English Composition in USD Vermillion, but maybe Mr. Heidelberger can clarify? Isn’t the referenced claw hammer a metaphor for “using the most severe method to get someone to grasp your opinion” rather than an allegory for “a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one?”

  142. Lynn 2015-09-02 12:33

    I’ll go back and build an archive of online violent threats and obscene & vile comments by two public pro-pot advocates that will be helpful in educating SD voters and policymakers in stopping what would be a socially costly and destructive public policy mistake.

    At least one anti-legalization entity will emerge soon here in South Dakota with disturbing facts and trends that run contrary to the potopia land of milk & honey with tainted facts funded in and out of state interests that can gain financially, those blinded by addiction, chronically dependent, and rec users.

    Interesting times ahead.

  143. bearcreekbat 2015-09-02 12:49

    Lynn, don’t you think it is a bit “over the top” for you to accuse Rapid City’s 74 year old Neurologist, Dr. David Sabow, along with the 76 percent of doctors who approve of medical marijuana use,

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/survey-76-percent-of-doctors-approve-of-medical-marijuana-use/

    of being so stupid that they are relying on “tainted facts funded in and out of state interests that can gain financially, those blinded by addiction, chronically dependent, and rec users.”

    Perhaps the opinions of these medical professionals deserve a bit more respect than you seem to give them. And don’t you think that law enforcement and churches supporting legalization deserve some respect?

    http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2015/06/press-release-six-hundred-churches-call.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LawEnforcementAgainstProhibition+%28Law+Enforcement+Against+Prohibition%29

    Your frequent barbs aimed at larry and Bob, coupled with name calling and sarcasm, seem a sad substitute for rational analysis of the opinions of actual medical professionals and law enforcement officers.

  144. Bob Newland 2015-09-02 13:19

    Lynn, invest your valuable time in collecting “violent” tirades. It will keep you from more harmful ventures. Form your coalition with Steve Allender (really? Allender?). Hang out with your like-minded friends and make speeches about how pot makes kids kill thier grandmothers with meat cleavers. Maybe along the way you can find an answer for the hanging interrogative:

    “How much prison time do you think is about right for someone convicted of ingesting a harmful substance?”

  145. Lynn 2015-09-02 13:39

    Making threats of violence, expressing how someone would die or get physically harmed with those one disagrees is very disturbing regardless of who or what age they are. Btw I was not aware of Bob’s age but it really doesn’t matter. Comments like that can not only encourage violence but it can possibly offer a glimpse in how this person deals with problem solving.

    Bob has made physical threats towards Grudz in the on Madville and DFP and remember a similar and inappropriate conversation posted with Bob trying to get the petition signature of Attorney General Marty Jackley and his wife and the visual signals that Bob made in comments that crossed the line and that Bob should leave from a social gathering.

    If your used to a life of using violence and threats to solve problems or those who disagree with you than one probably can’t see anything wrong with that. We see it in abusive relationships whether it be domestic or in the family.

    Like I’ve said before and it’s backed up by stats the use of drugs, violence and crime seem to go together.

  146. Lynn 2015-09-02 13:42

    As Cory posted above regarding Bob’s past comments.

    “Bob, you use such violent language too frequently. You’ve done it in Facebook comments as well, recommending a violent end to opponents. Leslie, I can’t excuse such statements as mere allegory. Such language serves no productive end. Such language heard at my picnic would put a severe damper on everyone’s enjoyment of the afternoon.”

  147. bearcreekbat 2015-09-02 14:06

    Lynn, if we make it a crime to possess or ingest marijuana, then by definition the use of marijuana and crime necessarily go together. The purported link between marijuana and violence, however, has been debunked.

    Recent scientific studies indicate that “the enactment of laws legalizing people’s access to medical marijuana is not associated with any rise in statewide criminal activity, and that it may even be related to reductions in incidences of violent crime.”

    http://www.alternet.org/drugs/increased-access-cannabis-associated-reductions-violent-crimes

    Colorado’s experience after legalizing “recreational” marijuana also undermines the argument that legalization leads to more crime or violence.

    “Denver’s crime statistics during the first six months of retail marijuana align with a report recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE showing that legalizing medical marijuana causes no increase in crime and may in fact be accompanied by a decrease in some violent crime, including homicide.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/marijuana-crime-denver_n_5595742.html

  148. Bill Dithmer 2015-09-11 09:48

    I forgot for a couple of weeks, here is the story.

    From THE CHURCH OF BILL

    THE GREAT NORRIS HEMP HOUND or The misidentification of a pot plant.

    About 30 years ago there was a brief period of stupidity that lasted if I remember right about a month. It wasnt constant, and it wasnt anything bad, it was just the way it was.

    The names have been changed, not to protect the innocent, but to portect their relatives.

    First off, let me explain something. I highly doubt that my fertile mind could have come up with this lame shit back then, and I resent the volume of thought hinting at my incompetence that will be forthcoming.

    For convenience sake, lets call me The Blindman.

    Well, I was due. It had been almost two whole weeks since I’d done anything even remotely stupid so it came as very little surprise that it started when it did.

    It was late September and we’d had a very light frost, and that means hunting. While most hunters are struck that time of year with the bird flue, my own perticular mental problem was coonhunting. There is just something about a crisp fall night that both excites and relaxes someone like me. It took very little to get me to go hunting.

    A friend that at that time lived in White River called and we decided to meet at the old Sammons place southeast of Norris. Lets call this person Fred.

    We put the dogs on the ground just off the old dam grade and sent them down stream. It didnt take long and Freds old Bert dog struck. We had a nice ten minute race before they treed, we caught the dogs, and left the coon the run again.

    I only tell you these things so you understand that early on in the evening our intentions were pure. There were no preconceived notions of legal mischief, only coonhunting.

    When we went to leave the Sammons place we just loaded the dogs in Freds S15. No lets call it an S10 just to confuse the reader. We then drove over to the CutMeat and turned loose again. It was during this turnout that the trouble started.

    The dogs got in about a half mile and struck. They only went about a hundred yards and treed up solid. While fighting our way through the still thick brush we went across this draw that was maybe twenty yards wide and a hundred long. It was what we stupidly, take note that I am freely admitting this, thought was marijuana!

    The plants were every bit of 12 ft high with foot long buds everywhere. Like big nose in the credit card commercial we were faced with a problem.

    Your two young men, your out in the middle of nowhere, nobody has any idea where you are, and you’ve just found the mother load of pot. What will you do, what will you do?

    After an indepth discussion that last about a minute and a half, it was decided that we would catch the dogs, take them back to my pickup, and then return for the harvest of a lifetime. It was 9PM when we dropped the dogs off.

    We drove back to within about ten yards of those magnificent weeds and started pulling plants and loading them in the S10, or maybe it was an S15. After about an hour we had a pile that was about a foot over the cab and we figured weighed about 500 lbs. Then more discussion about what to do with our newfound stash.

    At that time The one we call Freds family had a farm site with what we needed about ten miles away. The only problem was that while we had backroads for five of those miles, it was a heavily used highway for the rest.

    By this time it was 11pm and after a time of fortification in the way of beer Cuervo and an endless bowl we headed out.

    Out on the highway it went much better then it could have. We found out that our perticular speed limit was 20 mph. Any faster and we started losing pot out the back. We met lots of people we both knew but none turned around to stop us and talk.

    We had just turned down the gravel road headed towards the farm when we got our adrenaline rush for the night. Our windows were down and we heard the sirens before we saw the lights comming from the same direction we just came from.

    We were maybe a hundred yards down the gravel when a loud car went by on the highway followed by a tribal cop. It was what you would call a rush. We had another four miles that passed without any further mishaps.

    When we turned down the driveway we were met by Tiger the red healer that stayed there. There was a house, some grain bins, and off to the east about a quarter mile an old wood shed. We drove through the pigweeds and backed up to that shed to unload our find.

    There were wires along the sides and between the rafters in the shed so we found some old baling twine and started hanging the plants by the roots. It was darker then the inside of a black cow out so we had all the clearance lights on and it was in reverse for even more light. I might add here that Tiger seemed to be interested in what we were doing, even munching on some of the seeds.

    By the time we finished it was after 1AM. We shut the doors on the shed most of the way and climbed in the pickup to leave.

    Have you ever had the feeling that you just made a huge mistake and no mater what you do from now on the damage is already done? That was the general feeling when Fred turned the key and we heard not the sound of a starter turning over, but clicking.

    There we were backed up to an old shed out in the middle of nowhere. We had a bunch of weed in the shed, and the outfit wouldnt start. We were at another Maldon moment, “what will you do, what will you do.”

    Well we still had beer, we still had Cuervo, and we still had herb, so we inebriated while we planned an exit strategy. It was decided that our only chance was to get into the old house and call someone. That part was easy, but remembering where Freds dad had put the phone so nobody would break in and make a bunch of long distance calls, well that was like a good old fashioned snipe hunt.

    We had been at it for about 15 minutes when Fred yelled SHIT, then pulled a chair over under a trap door in the celling stood on the chair pushed the door up and shazamm there was the phone.

    We needed a jump. We needed a jump from someone that we could trust not only to keep a secret, but who knew how to find us. At 2AM that could only be one person. Lets call him Baines. We knew he had just closed the local liquor emporium in Norris and would make the trip without drawing attention to himself.

    While we were starting the pickup Baines seemed to be having a lot of fun at our expense, even mentioning that the promise of silence might be in jeopardy. As far as I know this story never got any farther then the three of us.

    Fred took me back over to the Sammons place to pick up my dogs and truck and I went home. We didnt see each other again for two weeks. Then one afternoon Fred called. He hadnt been back to the shed, but he had been to the place. The only thing that was strange was that Tiger was missing, and had been gone for a week. We decided to check our lifetime supply of pot that night.

    The first thing we noticed was that other then our tracks from the two weeks previous, nobody had been back to the shed. But when we opened the door we had a shock. Every plant had been stripped of their buds. There was some coon shit, but not much. There sure hadnt been any humans around that shed. Adding even more to the mystery was the disappearance of Tiger.

    We went back to set in the yard for a while to talk about what could have happened. We had been setting there for a half hour bullshitting when we heard something in the weeds.

    There about twenty yards from us was Tiger. He had burs and weeds in his coat and mud from one end to the other. He had lost no weight, and in fact looked heavy. He acted terribly timmid, and all the world like a drunk after a week long binge. The longer we were there the better he got, and finally he walked over and shit on the driveway. It was allmost a full moon and we both noticed that old Tiger was kind a loose. When we walked over to where he had been we found our pot thief. His crap was solid seeds.

    Now we know that Tiger was the victum not of pots THC, but hemps CBDs, but at the time it seemed like a terrible loss of weed and we moaned about it for months after that. Tiger had a full recovery but would never go near the shed again.

    It is said that a dog can reach the mental capacity of a two year old child. Sometimes it actually takes otherwise intelligent people fifty years to surpass that unlofty goal.

    The Blindman

  149. leslie 2015-09-11 10:30

    so was it hemp or not?

  150. Bill Dithmero 2015-09-11 17:00

    Yes it was hemp

    The Blindman

  151. Porter Lansing 2015-09-11 18:01

    Great tale …

  152. Deb Geelsdottir 2015-09-11 21:52

    Hahahahahahahaha! Great storytelling Blindman! Thank yoooooo!

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