Marc's Rant Zone

Beer

In my opinion, there's nothing quite like a pint of good, traditional, British real ale. To give you an idea of what I mean by British REAL ALE, try the following links.

The best place to start is with the Campaign for Real Ale:CAMRA Home Page

If you are grabbed, and want to have a go at making your own REAL ALE, then the UK Homebrew Home Page gives some useful info.

If you want to know more about hops, try looking at The National Hop Association of England homepage.

Cannabis

I DO NOT CONDONE OR ENCOURAGE ANY FORM OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, but I do believe that the world's drug problems are a result of the lack of control caused by complete prohibition. Hence, I'm a great believer in drug law reform, and feel that the first place to start is with cannabis. For information about cannabis: legal aspects, effects, links, etc, then the UK Cannabis Information - Home Page is probably the best place to go (especially if you are in GB).

Cannabis, however, differs from most other scheduled substances, in the sense that the entire plant is "controlled". Cannabis is normally used in its herbal form, rather than in the purified form of any of the plants active chemicals. In this sense, it can be compared with any other important herbal substance having medical and therapeutic value. We would not expect to be able to obtain a prescription for cannabis hash oil from our GP for the same reasons that we would not expect to be able to obtain a prescription for eucalyptus oil from our GP. This is why the case for "medical marijuana" is flawed.

However, it is also why the reasoning behind its illegality is flawed. We can easily obtain eucalyptus oil from our local herbalist or pharmacist without prescription. Indeed, we can easily obtain "poppy straw" from our local florist. Yet, herbal cannabis or hash oil is totally banned, because the British government does not trust adult citizens to follow very basic and general guidelines for its use. This is more than just an insult.

I also have a particular personal interest in cannabis, because of its proven effectiveness in the treatment of glaucoma. My mother and her sister both suffer from this hereditary disease, and early indicators have revealed that I too, will shortly be affected. Why is it illegal to treat this condition with a well-known, and very effective, herbal remedy? Why is it not possible for me to go into my local herbal store and obtain this herb, in the same way that other herbal treatments can be obtained? Why does my government force me to choose between criminality and potential blindness?

OK, I've finished with my ranting. Other interesting places to visit on this subject are: the Cannabis SeedBank Amsterdam, and Paradise Seeds Homepage. Please be sure to check your own country's laws regarding hemp before attempting germination of hemp seed. Have fun!