Conservative Cannabis Charter

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With special thanks to NC NORML [http://ncnorml.org] for helping create this charter and providing fact sheets, in support.

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Please, Sign our petition!

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Here we present the VetsForWeed Conservative Cannabis Charter.

1. Secures Individual Liberty
2. Provides Farmers the Freedom to Grow a Cash Crop
3. Reduces Violent Crime and Gang Activity
4. Cuts Medical and Prescription Drug Costs/Usage
5. Yields State and Local Budget Revenues
6. Reduces Tax Burden on Property Taxpayers
7. Reduces Youth Access
8. Creates Agricultural, Manufacturing and Sales Jobs
9. Removes prohibition of Religious Freedoms

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1. Secures Individual Liberty
   Reason Foundation concluded that “The evidence suggests that legalization of marijuana for medical or recreational use affirms individual liberty…”
   "This war on drugs has been a detriment to personal liberty and it's been a real abuse of liberty," Ron Paul said during his failed campaign run earlier this year. "Someday we're gonna awake and find out that the prohibition we are following right now with drugs is no more successful, maybe a lot less successful, than the prohibition of alcohol was in the '20s."
   Marijuana legalization: Economics and civil liberties – https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-11-07/marijuana-legalization-economics-and-civil-liberties
   Liberty Lost: The Moral Case for Marijuana Law Reform – https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1073&context=ilj
2. Safer, Less Addictive Pain Relief than Opioids
   The National Institute of Health found over a 6-year period that “States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8% lower opioid overdose mortality rate.”
   Research Findings: Opioid Crisis and Cannabis Legalization – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fact-Sheet-Opioid-Crisis-2020-02-23.pdf
   Decriminalization Reduces Problematic Drug Use – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/1790
3. Provides Farmers the Freedom to Grow a Cash Crop
4. Reduces Violent Crime and Gang Activity
   The Economic Journal reported that states with legalized medical marijuana bordering Mexico saw a decrease in “activity of Mexican drug trafficking organizations and affiliated gangs, along with violence these organizations use to maintain control of the market.”
   Marijuana Legalization and Arrests in Colorado – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3966
   Marijuana Arrests in Washington State Following Legalization – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3972
   Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests in Colorado and Oregon Following Legalization – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3973
5. Cuts Medical and Prescription Drug Costs/Usage
   Medical Cost Savings and Tax Revenue – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fact-Sheet-Cost-Savings-and-Tax-Revenue-2020-2-23-.pdf
   Research Findings: Opioid Crisis and Cannabis Legalization – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fact-Sheet-Opioid-Crisis-2020-02-23.pdfCannabis/Marijuana is Not a Gateway Drug – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FSGateway-Drug-Myth-2020-02-23.pdf
   Medical Marijuana (Cannabis) Research – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fact-Sheet-Medical-Cannabis_Marijuana-2020-2-23.pdf
   Core Attributes of a Patient-Centric, Medical Cannabis Regulatory Program – https://norml.org/marijuana/fact-sheets/item/core-attributes-of-a-patient-centric-medical-cannabis-regulatory-program
6. Yields State and Local Budget Revenues
   The Budgetary Effects of Ending Drug Prohibition – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/tbb-83.pdf
   Medical Cost Savings and Tax Revenue – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fact-Sheet-Cost-Savings-and-Tax-Revenue-2020-2-23-.pdf
7. Reduces Tax Burden on Property Taxpayers
8. Reduces Youth Access
   A Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs article reported a 27% overall reductiion in the ages 12-17 and a 42% reduction among those ages 12-14.
   Cannabis/Marijuana is Not a Gateway Drug – https://www.ncnorml.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FSGateway-Drug-Myth-2020-02-23.pdf
   Prevalence and Trends in Marijuana Use Rates in Colorado Before and After Amendment 64 – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3876
   Use of Marijuana by Young People in Colorado Since Legalization – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3969
   Arrests of Young People on Marijuana Charges in Colorado Since Legalization – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3970
   Marijuana Use by Young People in Washington State Following Legalization – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3971
   Marijuana Legalization May Lead To Decreased Use By Young People – https://drugwarfacts.org/node/3994
9. Creates Agricultural, Manufacturing and Sales Jobs
   Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute found that legalizing cannabis leads to job creation. NC needs to revitalize our agricultural and manufacturing industries.
10. Removes prohibition of Religious Freedoms
    Doctrine of the Church of the Sacrifice – http://churchofthesacrifice.org/doctrine/
    Sermon: God’s mercy regarding consumption – http://churchofthesacrifice.org/sermon-1-gods-mercy-regarding-consumption/