What is it about this text that most Americans seem not to understand? Almost, everything, it would appear.

How is it that these famous words -- written on hemp paper by a man who grew hemp, and endorsed by other revered men who grew or used hemp -- are not "self-evident" enough to render unnecessary specific arguments about hemp? Why is there even any discussion about whether Americans should be allowed to grow hemp and use it to preserve their lives and/or simply in the pursuit of happiness?

As a Libertarian, I have often wondered if the marijuana reform movement itself wouldn’t be better served by talking more about transcendent principles, rather than the virtues of a plant? Of course, these "unalienable Rights" would equally apply to the use of whatever other chemicals that someone may want to use. So there would be no need to argue about the "latest research" used justify arresting healthy people -- or the need for "double blind" tests to justify not arresting sick people.

There would be no reason to argue with politicians, who obviously do not care about facts. Why not simply throw their own words about "freedom" back in their faces. We are a free people, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and the government simply does not have the right to do this! If the politicians would not respond to this, then wouldn’t the people?

Alas, I think that the answer is No. The sad, very sad, fact is that a majority of the American people no longer believe in the principles on which this country was founded. Occasionally, some college professor will give his students the assignment of trying to get people to sign a "petition" which is actually nothing more than the Bill of Rights. Most people not only do not recognize it, they consider it subversive. Apparently, so does the Congress and Supreme Court when the issue is "drugs."

But why a cannabis-specific movement, organizations and – close to home – a web site.

In the case of NORML, the answer is easy. NORML is there because people want it there. There is a large constituency that wants to focus on marijuana reform, just as there are people who want to focus on other specific issues, gay rights, property rights, etc. NORML’s charter restricts it to marijuana laws, so that is what it does.

It is NORML’s job to be a clearinghouse for information on marijuana, and to serve as an umbrella for the marijuana reform movement. It does not have a monopoly on these activities, but in a world of very scant resources, it needs to focus its energies.

It is not NORML’s job to make Libertarians out of its members. On the other hand, it would certainly be helpful if the Libertarian organizations would give greater emphasis to the marijuana issue. The problem is not that NORML is too narrowly focused. The problem is that NORML should never have been necessary.

It is even more outrageous that there is a need for any organization dedicated to the proposition that human beings should not be arrested for using a plant to alleviate their suffering. Consequently, I think that the medical marijuana movement is the most morally compelling cause in America. I have to try to speak-out – cry-out -- on behalf of these people. I simply have no choice. That is why I am doing this. But the principles that I invoke to try to help them are much more fundamental than those of the Declaration of Independence.

The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a Resolution saying that even the dying should not be given access to cannabis to lessen their suffering. There is an evil that is gripping them that clearly puts them beyond the reach of American principles. They are beyond the reach of the most basic tenets of the Judeo-Christian tradition. These people have not merely lost their minds. They have lost their immortal souls.

Unless, of course, I am lying and just saying this as part of a selfish plot to "legalize all drugs." Am I exploiting sick people, tricking them into thinking that they aren’t in pain or vomiting, because I want to be free to use all drugs, and I don’t care about children? Do I want to poison their minds? Is this also the reason that I want farmers to grow hemp, so we can hide our marijuana fields? These are some of the kinder things that I have been accused of – sometimes in sworn testimony.

Well, the point is that someone is lying. While truth is an abstract concept, lies are specific. The prohibitionists say that it is fine and good to talk about freedom, but when America’s youth is threatened by the most dangerous drug known to man, we have to recognize that freedom has its limits. Marijuana prohibition is that limit.

Is that true? Both God and the Devil are in the details. I have said that I do not think that the marijuana reform movement can liberate America from the fraud of marijuana prohibition, much less the fiasco of drug prohibition in general. But I have also said that we should not have to. Our job is simply to speak the truth. This web site is one small part of that effort.

The fact is that marijuana prohibition is not merely a violation of individual rights. It is not a failed social policy. It is not another "noble experiment" gone awry. It is a fraud, that has metastasized into a mortal threat to personal freedom, medical science, the justice system, honest journalism and even our ability to think clearly about the most fundamental concepts. All of this is happening around a very beautiful plant that has the power to help us alleviate suffering, clean the environment and explore the mind. Understanding the elements of this phenomenon is "mind-expanding" in its own way, beyond what any mere chemical can ever offer. For these reasons alone, cannabis is worthy of study as an end in itself -- as well as a means to defend truth and freedom.

Our friends, Libertarians, Liberals and Conservatives – there are those in all these camps who say they agree with us – must give this issue a higher priority. Doctors must do their duty to their patients. Lawyers must defend the justice system. Scientists need to stop the prostitution of science. Journalists need to start reporting the facts and stop playing "drug war" propagandists.