Page 18 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2020

Wake Up America!
By Luisa Rangel
The biggest problem that America has with marijuana is that it is still considered a schedule one drug under the federal government which has significantly decreased the financial opportunities and medical advancements that could have been produced earlier.
A future they will never see
The fact of the matter is that the benefits of marijuana were known even when the government was in the process of creating the restrictions and punishments for its use. There were articles released in the 1930s that proclaimed that hemp would be the new product that would replace wood in paper making due the invention of a decorticator; which effectively unravels and processes hemp fibers. This along with the hemp papers superior quality and ease of growing made it the natural successor to wood paper.
Forest Unlimited Volunteers Rise Up to Plant Redwoods
By Kimberly Burr, Larry Hanson
On January 4th and 5th, Forest Unlimited - the long standing Sonoma County-based forest and watershed protection group, will be planting
1400 coast redwood seedlings in an area between the Pacific Ocean and Sebastopol. The two properties that will host the plantings are protected forever by conservation easements. Each day of the planting of the seedlings, volunteers receive a brief training, equipment, and a hearty lunch.
Since tree plantings began, thanks to the focus of Carl Wahl and Bob Nelson - whose group is a past beneficiary of Forest Unlimited’s support, plantings have occurred at numerous sites resulting in over 33,000 trees planted.
William Randolf Hearst was one of the biggest reasons that it was made illegal because for years he printed lies in his paper, in order to demonise marijuana with impunity because he also owned paper mills and if it took over the paper business it would deeply cut into his profits.
The fear that drove it into a schedule was specifically propagated in order to keep a few powerful and greedy people in business despite the fact that the natural evolution of economic progress should have at least partially impacted them.
The benefits of it’s pharmaceutical attributes of pain reduction and treatment of a manashery of ailments, from cancer to glaucoma, is well documented. Unfortunately thanks to it’s Schedule One designation the government has heavily handicapped not only themselves but private institutions as well when it comes to actually studying it in any large scale fashion. This is why it took so long for knowledge of its medical benefits to become mainstream.
Tree plantings are focused on lands under protection from future logging. Long-time board members Lynn Hamilton and Don Frank who work hard every year to make the tree planting happen, have also placed their property under a conservation easement. Last year, Bodega Land Trust has worked diligently to assist other land owners in this effort.
This also means that the creation to solutions to huge humanitarian
crises such as water pollution and dwindalling beaches have never been considered. Hemp plastic is biodegradable which could have fixed huge ecological catastrophes such as the pasific garbage patch which currently is bigger than the area of texas. They have even invented a form of hempcrete which could replace the use of regular concrete. It’s replacement would solve the problem of the world running out of critical beach and ocean floor sand.
“I am always inspired to see the enthusiastic participation of volunteers
of all ages, colors, shapes, and sizes planting for a future they will not be alive to fully appreciate,” expressed member Kimberly Burr. “The spirit to be generous and good is still strong.”
This sand is integral in keeping oceanic biomes from drifting deeper into the ocean where there isn’t enough light for plants to survive. They use that sand instead of desert sand because desserts winds toss them around too much and make them too fine to be properly bonded with other ingredients to make concrete.
Although relatively small, Forest Unlimited’s family has grown large. Many watershed groups have been formed and guided with the hands-on assistance of Executive Director Rick Coates. The Board of Directors strongly supports the ongoing efforts to teach and support watershed protection measures while also organizing large tree plantings every January.
If we effectively lobby the government to put marijuana in the same category as alcohol we can more effectively study and experiment on this miraculous plant to see what possible boons could be gained. This could save lives and the environment in countless ways, on a more entrepreneurial note it could also raze thousands of people out of poverty by providing new jobs and it could make many obscenely rich.
Preparing for the tree planting takes many months of planning. Forest Unlimited Board members with landowners off Coleman Valley Road where one of the 2020 planting will occur.
There is no reason not to take it out of
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2019 Volunters plant in pouring rain
18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 1/20