Legalizing Marijuana and Hemp in the Channel Islands is very important for a number of reasons.

It has over 100 proven medicinal uses. Some people even claim it can cure cancer if you create it in the correct concentration of the chemicals.

Let me also tell you some more FACTS. There have been MILLIONS of deaths from Alcohol. There have been NO known deaths from Marijuana without underlying problems.  You would have to smoke 26,000 Marijuana Cigarettes within the space of 15 minutes to overdose which is impossible.

Crime decrease.  Colorado has seen a 10.1% decrease in overall crime within the first year of legalizing Marijuana, with 5.2% of that being violent crimes.

The Economy
We have recently had a recession.  Legalizing Marijuana would benefit us massively. It would create jobs, it would generate millions of pounds per year. Look at how much money the Netherlands make. We are stupid not to follow suite. Not to mention it would mean all the street dealers who do not pay tax who are generating millions right now would be a thing of the past. Also it would save the government money not having to deal with them and the police would benefit also.  Hence making not only the drug safe, but also the people involved.

Colorado made $10 million in taxes in the first 4 months!  Think how much we could do for our island with that money!  Think how much improvements we could make for our young people.

By removing criminal penalties for certain marijuana-related offenses, thousands of individuals will avoid the collateral consequences associated with a criminal record. The Channel Islands are estimated to potentially save 2-4 million over the span of a year simply by ending arrests for marijuana possession.  Customs and Police forces can then concentrate more on the hard drugs and crimes they should be.

Colorado has also seen a rise in housing prices by up to 8.7%.

The Channel Islands could also be an epicenter for Marijuana research.

- Hemp! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp)
Hemp is one of the number one reasons we should legalize Marijuana. Hemp is a natural fiber extracted from the stem of the plant. There is an estimated 50,000 industrial uses for hemp in the world today. It can be used to make paper, now this would mean we could save ALL of the rainforests you so desperately hear about on TV. We could save animal habitats right now by creating paper from hemp! It takes a few months to grow paper where as it takes years and years for trees to grow back. It can also be used to create Biofuels. These are just a couple of main uses for hemp. It can even be uses to create a part for the clutch of a car. It should be given to us for use! This is absolutely idiotic that we are neglecting a plant with such WORLD CHANGING potential!                   (Note: Hemp is semi-legal, but there should be no need for licenses etc and this should be abolished. It should be 100 % legal!)

You must set aside your stigma involving this drug and bear in mind that Alcohol, Nicotine, Caffeine, sugar are all a form of drugs. The Government have a campaign "The War on Drugs"- but this is not working.  Drug useage has increased and cartels and drug dealers are making trillions per year, while the government are spending trillions trying to fix something that will never be fixable. 

In 2016 all the Nations are coming together to come up with a new stratergy to regulate and legalize drugs all over the world.  As independant Islands, we need to do this also, and not just follow suit. 

 This may have opened your eyes slightly - you may have been brainwashed by the government using the word drug and making everything associated with it seem dangerous and deadly. Well this is not the full case. Marijuana is also not addictive physically, it is only mentally addictive.

The reason for this petition is so we can get as many signatures as we can from Channel Islanders so i can then present this to our deputies who make our laws, so this can be reviewed and changed.  So we can come up with a new stratergy that will benefit both parties.

Please speak up and be heard.  Without your voice things will never change...

'Be the change you want to see in the world'

Please join us and have your say on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/guernseydrugcampaign?fref=ts

http://cista.org/#why

http://sundogpictures.co.uk/why-the-war-on-drugs-is-failing-in-180-seconds/

http://youtu.be/UCggeEoNGCQ

http://www.theculturehigh.com/

http://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_nadelmann_why_we_need_to_end_the_war_on_drugs#t-198463

http://www.livescience.com/24554-medical-marijuana.html

http://www.recreator.org/hemp-101-ecology-hemp/

http://cannabinoidchemistry.com/cannabinoid-receptors-in-the-human-body-located/

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/what-we-have-say-about-legalizing-marijuana

http://news.marijuana.com/news/2015/01/d-c-police-chief-says-decrim-makes-cops-jobs-easier/

http://www.medicaldaily.com/smoking-weed-doesnt-harm-lungs-if-its-joint-day-even-after-20-years-318432

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html

http://sundogpictures.co.uk/video_content/were-breaking-the-taboo-on-netflix/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/

 http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Schrodingers-cat

“Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.”
― Bob Marley

“When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself.”
― Bob Marley

“It's a good thing most people bleed on the inside or this would be a gory, blood-smeared earth.”
― Beatrice Sparks

“The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world.”
― Carl Sagan 

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”
― Bill Hicks

“We all need something to help us unwind at the end of the day. You might have a glass of wine, or a joint, or a big delicious blob of heroin to silence your silly brainbox of its witterings but there has to be some form of punctuation, or life just seems utterly relentless.”
― Russell Brand

“Federal and state laws (should) be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.”
― Richard M. Nixon 

“The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces of marijuana in their jeans simply makes no sense - the kindest way to put it. A sterner way to put it is that it is an outrage, an imposition on basic civil liberties and on the reasonable expenditure of social energy.”
― William F. Buckley Jr.

“Is marijuana addictive? Yes, in the sense that most of the really pleasant things in life are worth endlessly repeating.”
― Richard Neville 

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce [28g] of marijuana.”
― Jimmy Carter 

“So when he asked about getting high, I didn't think, I agreed. We smoked some good California green. Took three tries to put me in the place he said I should be.”
― Ellen Hopkins 

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.
[DEA Administrative Law Judge - 1988]”
― Francis Young 

“Marijuana enhances our mind in a way that enables us to take a different perspective from 'high up', to see and evaluate our own lives and the lives of others in a privileged way. Maybe this euphoric and elevating feeling of the ability to step outside
the box and to look at life’s patterns from this high perspective is the inspiration behind the slang term “high” itself.”
― Sebastian Marincolo

“The legalization of marijuana is not a dangerous experiment – the prohibition is the experiment, and it has failed dramatically, with millions of victims all around the world.”
― Sebastian Marincolo

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
―  Holy Bible: King James Version