Perpetual Human Error: Similarities of Mayan Social Structure to Current Global Civilization

The Mayan Culture was an example of a society where the majority of the population were enslaved by systems designed to leave power in the hands of the few and subjugate the many through systems of Religion, Philosophy and Economics. It is important to analyze this because it represents a time stamp of a failed civilization that looks in a lot of ways similar to the one existing in the World today. 

The Mayan People as an entire culture from Southern Mexico to Panama got up at around 2am every day. In the pitch black of night, they dressed themselves in full religious garb including feather hats, face paint and seashell chest plates to parade through the streets because they thought if they didn't, the sun wouldn't come up. Every single citizen did this every day. This religious ceremonial belief was so embed into the collective consciousness of the Mayan People, no one ever thought, "Why don't We all just sleep in? Maybe the Sun won't come up...Maybe it will. Who cares?" They never slept in. 

The Mayan religious system is based all around self sacrifice through ceremony. The common person believed their only way to the afterlife was through sacrifice of everything, children, blood and hard labor. Their Kings were considered the only way to communicate their loyalty to deity and secure existence in the after life. They performed bloodletting rituals and sacrificial death was considered an honor. They believed this was necessary for the agricultural, economic and general well being of the collective whole. The Kings had a large group of priests who enforced these beliefs to maintain citizen loyalty to the Kings as a path to salvation. 

The Military and Prison industrial complex require the same sacrifice from the collective whole for an embedded belief system all over the World. Every Nation State in the World has an army, secular violence or a radical groups allowed to take temporary power. Globally, We are sacrificing Our Children because of fear and a belief that war is a necessity to the corporations and nation states engaged in the death economy. 

Another part of daily life for Mayans was learning the Ball Game, a bit like basketball if the basketball were a 55 lb rubber ball, the court an inverted stone pyramid with walls players must scale to score by hitting the balls through the stone hoop with their hips and players often die. The smaller Mayan cities have small ball courts set up as practice courts where they train their children from a young age to later compete in large urban arenas. Their leaders would bet on the victor of these games to settle territorial State disputes (borders) and economic conflict (trade wars). The losers served as ritual sacrifice usually ending their lives in a nearby cenotes or in a blood letting ceremony. 

The Mayan People were completely subjugated to an economy rooted in the extraction, transportation and distribution of commodities. Obsidian, volcanic glass was extracted in mines worked by the population in Guatemala, transported through river systems to the ocean, then sent north to southern Mexico to be used to make the knives and daggers in sacrificial ceremonies. 

In Guatemala, the economy was structured around the extraction process. People either worked in the mines or the trade shops set up to process the raw material and prepare for transport. The transporters made the most money and represented the wealthy noble families who lived in large stone houses in Tulum, where everyone else lived in thatched huts in the jungle. All the extracted Obsidian came through the port City of Tulum. From there the material was moved to Coba where transporters paid import taxes and arranged for distribution to inland Mayan Communities. The inland community economics was centered around production of this raw material into finished ceremonial items complete with local symbols and design. 

Obsidian was only one commodity out of many the Mayans resourced. They mined copper, gold and many other available minerals used for alter decoration, jewelry and household items. Extracting these commodities and building giant temples for the benefit of the Kings where the struggle of daily life for the Mayan People all because they believed if they didn't they would individually be forsaken by God and not allowed into the afterlife. 

In today's society the same conflict is happening on a global scale. Regional wars and trade wars are all fought over the extraction, sale and transport of the Earth's commodities. The majority of the population all around the World is subjugated to maintaining economical systems designed to benefit the few and demand sacrifice with no equal reward to the masses. 

Most of the People in the World are getting physically sick from the environmental and economic conditions of the death economy and health care systems are set up to help the health care corporations profit from sick People. The food is poisoned with unnecessary chemicals and sugar or there is no food available at all for most individuals living all over the World. Corporations are profiting from the Human Condition in every country. How is this different than the practice of bloodletting? The Individual is sacrificing good health. 

Every human religious system in the World promotes ceremonial ritual and economic contribution when the common denominator of every religion is the message that each individual should create a relationship with their Celestial Parents. Religion is a conversation an Individual has with whatever interpretation of God most speaks to them. Religion is a completely personal experience meant to foster a meaningful relationship between the ascending mortal and deity. Every single individual is having a varied version of this conversation in their head throughout their lives. Religion is not a strategy to control the collective conscious of mass amounts of Individuals. 

Throughout history and in every Nation or Civilization economics, politics and religion have been used in ways benefiting few at the expense of the majority of the population. Robbing Individuals of access to the 3 core values of sustainability, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness has proven to have detrimental effects with no reduction of harm. No one in the World is safe while extreme poverty, loss of environmental resources and rampant war are allowed to exist as a part of the Human Condition. 

As a collective Human Race, We will all eventually have to come together and create systems of Government structured to put the well being of each Individual before the needs of any institutions. Institutions will need to be designed to improve the quality of Life for every individual without discrimination. Changes will need to made on all levels, Individual, Community, Country and Global. It starts with Individuals deciding what they do and do not want in their World and making adjustments. We have to be able to visualize a better World before We can build the bridges to get there. What is Your Vision of a better World?

The United Nations and Cannabis: Evolving Policy to meet increasing demands for Medical Marijuana Patients Globally

In 1961, Representatives from 185 Nation States convened and signed an International Treaty designed to control and regulate the production and use of several drugs (mainly Narcotics) considered to have scientific or medicinal value and prohibit the use of others considered addictive and harmful to society. The United Nations Convention on Narcotic Drugs has served as the basis for standardization of National drug control laws since. The United States enacted the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 to fulfill treaty obligations.

At the time the treaty was executed, two regulatory agencies were assigned to move specified narcotic drugs through the four stages of schedules, The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) were commissioned to serve as administrators and compliance monitors. 

Countries Party to the UN Conventions: Green
Non Parties: Red
Treaties Do Not Apply: Gold

Inclusion of a controlled substance in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs depends on its agreed placement in the scheduling system. Where a drug lands in the International Control Framework determines the type and intensity of controls. Currently Cannabis is scheduled as one of the most dangerous to society next to Heroin, Ecstasy, LSD, Benzodiazepines, GHB and Cocaine. Recent independent studies by the Global Commission on Drug Policy recommend Cannabis be moved to a low risk category.

Adjusting where Cannabis is scheduled in the International Framework is not complicated. The UN Conventions on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, amendments in 1971 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1972 all contain provisional scheduling measures available to initiate in response to urgent problems.

Voter approved initiatives in the United States in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington DC establishing recreational markets moves outside conformity to the UN Drug Conventions because the nature of the documents limits use of controlled substances to medical and scientific purposes only. Advances in Medical Research and changes in Public Opinion creates an environment which necessitates immediate change. 

Congress moved to clarify the US Government's position on the UN Drug Convention in October 2014 when Bill Brownsfield, The Assistant Secretary of State for Drugs and Law Enforcement at a press conference clarified. He outlined to members of the media how US Policy is centered around four pillars of thought: 1) Respect the integrity of the UN Drug Conventions. 2) Accept flexible interpretation of UN Drug Conventions with regards to how Nation States have changed since 1961. The Conventions should be updated to reflect current culture. 3) Tolerance of differing perspectives and enforcement methods of each Nation State. 4) No matter the difference, each Nation State works to combat criminal organizations.

Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes issued a statement expressing concerns new US laws are not compatible with current conventions. 

Congress responds in January 2015 when Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) call for the Obama Administration to address the disparity between US Policy and the boundaries necessary to conform to the standards laid out in the UN Drug Accord. Concerned about protecting the United State's long standing position as leader in the "War on Drugs", these Senators requested the Administration to account for remarks sending the message of tolerance for illegal drugs. (AKA Ogden Memos) The Senators also pointed out how recreational laws deviate from US commitments to confine production of cannabis to research and medical purposes only. Since the Senators letter to then Attorney General Eric Holder, was delivered, a new Attorney General has been assigned and the issue is still under review. 

Reforms are necessary as International Trade is already happening between Nation States. Jamaica is setting up small farmers to export cannabis products such as infused lotions and body oils to Countries like Canada already set up to import these goods. Canadian Company FLOR whose Shareholders are mostly Jamaicans living in Canada is currently laying the groundwork for developing a supply industry. In addition, A Bob Marley Brand of such products has been announced to be available late 2015.  Increasingly, Nation States are moving to regulate Cannabis use for both recreational and medical use. Countries like Germany, The Netherlands, Uruguay and Canada have established medical marijuana programs, while countries like Costa Rica are moving to establish similar programs through legislative action now. 

Recently, at a Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids Conference held in Prague, former deputy secretary of the INCB, Pavel Pachta told attendees the WHO would need to update their stance on Medical Marijuana to match current scientific findings soon. Many UN Representatives believing the current drug control system to be a failure are urging UN drug agencies to replace prohibition of Marijuana with legal regulation. Non Governmental Organizations working to reform International Drug Policy weighed in on the issue in a letter published through StopTheDrugWar.com. The letter represented more then 100 agencies and sited human rights violations as an immediate need for reform in global drug policy. 

Convention may shift April 2016, during the United Nations Special Sessions on World Drug Problems (UNGASS 2016) where members of the international community will present recommended amendments based on shifting trends in current Nation societies. Although some Nation States still wish to use corporal punishment including the death penalty for drug related charges, most nations are relaxing drug user laws, allocating resources to prosecute manufacturers and traffickers over users. Many of these Nations choose harm reduction policies meant to reduce incarceration over more stringent prison terms. Attendees expect contention between the Nations with hard line policies like Russia, China and more liberal countries like Uruguay and the US.

In March 2015, an International Coalition of Medical Cannabis Patients from 13 Countries led by Americans for Safe Access delivered a declaration urging the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs to either reschedule Cannabis to a less restrictive category or remove the plant from the schedule all together. Coalition member countries include Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.

"Current international policy makes it extremely difficult for many countries to establish laws that will meet the needs of their citizens," said IMCPC co-founder, ASA Executive Director, and longtime medical cannabis patient Steph Sherer. "The International Medical Cannabis Patient Coalition is uniting patient organizations as a common voice in the effort to change these policies."

Considering the International Commerce already being established for Cannabis, changes need to be made if Nation States are able to meet the needs of their Citizens. All eyes will be on the UN Special Committee in 2016. 

Research Links: 
1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs Wiki
United Nations Drug Control: Scheduling in the International Drug Control System
U.S. states' pot legalization not in line with international law: U.N. agency
Bob Marley: The First Global Weed Brand
Jamaican Small Farmers included in the Medical Marijuana Industry
Canadian Company Taps into Jamaican Medical Marijuana Industry
Legality of Cannabis by Country Wiki
United Nations Convention on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Huffington Post It's Time For The UN To Reform Its Global Drug Policies, Human Rights Groups Say
Groups from Thirteen Countries Form New "International Medical Cannabis Patient Coalition" to Reform UN Policy

Modern Day Morocco prepares to Regulate Cannabis Production for Foreign Investors

Cannabis fields in the Rif Mountains
Source: the-misadventures-of-luciengrey.blogspot.nl

The People of Morrocco have always known the medicinal and economic value of the Cannabis Plant. For centuries. Farmers have been growing and processing Cannabis to be exported to markets throughout Europe. Although it is illegal to smoke hashish in Morocco, most of the men in the country smoke openly in cafes out of water pipes while drinking mint tea enthralled in card games and conversation with friends and family. The word ‘kif’ stems from the Arabic word for pleasure. Most of the Cannabis is grown and processed in the RIF Mountains in the North Eastern portion of Morocco. The region covers more than 11,000 square miles and supplies 70% of the European Hash Markets.

A bowl containing beaten kif.

Cannabis has been growing here since the 15th century. In the 60's and 70's people considered Morocco part of the Hippie Revolution, making the Country a popular travel spot. Back then, "kif" was produced for domestic use and fields of Cannabis were believed to cover only 5,000 hectres. Morocco obtained Pop Culture fame when legendary hashish producer  Akmed (Hole in the Head) smoked white hashish with Timothy Leary at the base of Mt Tidiquin in the highest part of the Rif Mountains. There is the inexpensive commercial product and then the good stuff, which the locals call Oro Negro, or Black Gold.  The quality hash from this region goes by many names including Ketama, Sputnik, Zero Zero, and King Hassan. Ketema Gold is the leading seller in Europe. Today, Moroccon Cannabis plants are estimated to cover more than 200,000 hectres.

The growing season here begins in March. Fields of sprouts are easily visible from the road.  Farmers use rudimentary, labor intensive processes to create hash in stone houses built into the mountainsides. The plants are harvested from the fields anywhere from July to August and bunched together. The cannabis bunches are placed in drying rooms to cure before being made into hash using several different extraction techniques for a variety of end user products. The Hashish created ranges in color and texture, some sandy in consistency, some moist like clay. Many of the hashish produced ends up the same rusty color as the clay dirt found in the land here.

It's too dry in this region to grow regular vegetables. If this region of the World did not have Cannabis, they would be forced to work in cities for salaries, only a small portion of what they receive now. For many of these families, Cannabis is the only source of sustainable income available for food, shelter and other meager living expenses.

Recently, the European Union offered Farmers other options for livelihood strategies in an attempt to curb production. They realized quickly the farmers here are not willing to do anything but grow Cannabis for the purpose of  Hashish.

An estimated one million people are thought to benefit annually on the cultivation of cannabis on more than 200,000 farms. For these poverty stricken families, Cannabis is their only option as a livelihood strategy and Hashish production techniques have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

Morocco exports more than 3,000 tons of processed Hashish with estimated values of more than $10 billion. making Cannabis 10% of the Country’s economy.

Local officials have traditionally protected Cannabis Farmers from becoming a part of the larger War on Drugs with only a few scattered stories of corruption, bribery and failed attempts by the European Union to offer subsidies to farmers willing to grow other agricultural commodities. For the most part Cannabis is accepted in society as a way of life and it’s not changing any time soon.

It comes as no surprise as more countries relax Cannabis prohibition laws, Morrocco’s Parliament is considering draft legislation allowing farmers a legal system of regulation and distribution of Cannabis products. Leaders in the country see Cannabis as a way to draw foreign investment as pharmaceutical companies show more interest in distributing Cannabis medicines in global markets. Over the next three years, Governor Mohamed Boudra of Huciema-Taounate, the Country’s Northern region will be working with Parliament to enact a program designed to build confidence and strengthen ties between farmers and Morrocco’s ruling Monarchy under King Mohammad VI.

“We have to ensure that any legalization is done in an optimal fashion,”Abdelhalim Allaoui, a lawmaker with the ruling Justice and Development Party, told Business Week.“We need to establish what the medicinal virtues of the plant are and then think of exports, pharmaceutical industry developments, and how to draw foreign investment. This is a promising sector for the economy.” Business Week Article

For the families using Cannabis as a livelihood strategy and for the end user in the European Markets, this is all very good news highlighting the economic benefits of a plant known to sustain life in this region for centuries.

Ethiopia and the International Monetary System

Modern history shows Mussolini invading Ethiopia in 1935 backed by the Vatican. US & Russia refused to honer Mussolini's claim of power. The Italians occupied the land, building roads to migrate their Citizens to the Ethiopian Plataeu until 1941 when Britain backed an army of civilians and returned Emperor Selassie to his throne. The atrocities of this war are unimaginable. Let's take a closer look st Selassie.

"When the facts of history are written Haile Selassie of Abyssinia will go down as a great coward who ran away from his country to save his skin and left the millions of his countrymen to struggle through a terrible war that he brought upon them because of his political ignorance and his racial disloyalty." (Garvey, 1937)

"Rather than being interested in reform, Selassie was interested in 'development'. This allowed him to appeal for funds to help this process. To this end hospitals, bridges, factories etc. were built, all bearing the name of the emperor. But as the money poured into Ethiopia much of it was misappropriated by Selassie and hundreds of millions of dollars found their way into his personal bank accounts. The West, however, continued to back Selassie, who they regarded as a bulwark against 'communism' in Africa."http://libcom.org/user/stefan

So far, this guy doesn't sound so great.  But how was his relationship with The International Monetary Fund? I decided to follow the money trail as an exercise in filtering my own personal truth while understanding history. I compiled my findings and opinions in the embedded slideshow below. This Rabbit Hole turned out to be more interesting than I had expected. I hope this inspires people to look at everything happening in the World from a personal and realistic perspective.

 "Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl?
And the man with the golden gun
Thinks he knows so much...."
Cornflake Girl Tori Amos

International Drug Policy: Lesotho Cannabis Business Sustains the World’s Poorest People

"Basically, it's a crop that can save the children of the poorest areas of the planet and the people perceive the crop as a positive one. They know it's a plant. They know it's not a poison. It's not a hard drug. They know that it's just a way to keep their families alive without harming the planet." Franco of Strain Hunters Africa Expedition speaking on the Economics of Cannabis in very poor regions of the World

Map of Lesotho

Lesotho Landscape

The population of Lesotho, Africa is approximately 1,800,000 situated in an area surrounded by South Africa only 11,720 square miles. Lesotho is listed as one of the poorest countries in the World and yet has a literacy rate of 85%, quite high comparatively on a continent where a formal education is a valued commodity and quite scarce.

In Lesotho, Cannabis is a hard money commodity supporting families on a seasonal basis making up as much as 28% of a single household's sustaining income. In this region of the World, choices are reduced to working in the minefields of South Africa, growing Cannabis and breeding livestock. Cannabis production income percentages decrease as a part of total family income when one or more family members work in the mines, meaning the poorest families are more dependent on growing and selling Cannabis to guarantee food on the table.

Lesotho Citizens Waiting to Vote

The government in Lesotho is considered a Constitutional Monarchy, a cross between royal family rule and a parliament elected by the people. Local Officials and Police realize in this rural community the population’s ability to vote out unpopular elected officials. For this reason and a general lack of the resources necessary to target and prosecute Cannabis Farmers, residents here have been able to grow and sell Cannabis as a way to sustain their families unhindered for many generations. Local officials recognize the plant’s value as a basic livelihood strategy for the economically challenged people of this part of the World and consider the trade a low priority with regards to arrests and prosecutions.

Archeologists have found evidence of Cannabis use dated as far back as the 15th Century signifying Cannabis as a deep part of the indigenous culture here for much of human history. Here, Cannabis is referred to as ‘metakoane’ in the native language of Sesotha.

Lesotho Farming Community

The region is mountainous, passable on foot or horseback. South African Cannabis traders hike to these remote villages and donkeys serve as the transport vehicle carrying the Cannabis out of the mountains at harvest. Some sources consider South Africa to be one of the leading producers of Cannabis in the World and Lesotho farmers have a lot to do with that reputation.

Lesotho’s main exportable natural resource is water, so in 1998 construction began on the massive World Bank funded Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The project was completed in 2004  and provides water to the Gautang region of South Africa and hydro-electric power to Lesotho. The project displaced many families and farmers needing miles of roads, tunnels and facilities to be built to accommodate large scale export operations.

Lesotho Highlands Water Project dam

The World Bank sent representatives to these mountain villages to let them know as the dams, roads and facilities were built, the area where they were located would be inundated with water at the completion of the project. A relocation plan was set forth and the people were given grain and monetary compensation for having to move. Some families went higher into the mountains and some went to more urban areas in search of work.

When the Cannabis Farmers complained the compensation offered was not comparable to the seasonal money received from growing Cannabis, the World Bank wanted to retract their offers for relocation help as Cannabis on the World market is an illicit crop. Local officials had to fight for these farmers and eventually won their case after civil unrest destroyed most of the infrastructure built in 1998.

Phase 1 of Lesotho Water Project

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project became an embarrassment to the World Bank very soon after relocation negotiations when a major bribery scandal came to the surface publicly. Masupha Sole, former head of the project accepted an estimated $2,000,000 in bribes from Corporations wanting to win the bid for the largest construction project on the African continent at the time and the second largest Hydroponic Power System to date.

The companies being accused, including large European construction firms ABB Ltd., a Swiss–Swedish Firm, Spie Batignolles of France, Impregilo of Italy, ED Zueblin of Germany, Acres International of Canada to name a few, settled in court and one company was disbarred from the World Bank bidding process permanently. All of this happened just after the World Bank’s 1997 Anti-Corruption campaign denouncing bribery as a form of business in projects backed by the international money lender.

Lesotho Farmer

Even though the project has been completed and relocation efforts have found closure, the War on Drugs rages on here in Lesotho.  Annette Hübschle, an ISS senior researcher for Organised Crime and Money Laundering reports on the region: “Cannabis eradication campaigns in Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa have been highly controversial and unsuccessful. The Agent Orange-type chemicals employed by the South African Police Service have led to the toxification of arable land and ground water. Subsistence farmers have moved their plantations to inaccessible land in the mountains. A divergence of legal and social morality is clearly discernible where local communities regard the cultivation of cannabis as necessary to survival thereby depriving the police of legitimacy and support from civil, political and social structures.”

In most parts of Africa drug related policies are being amended increasing monetary penalties and prison sentences for the production and transportation of Cannabis. Farmers in Lesotho have receded deeper into the mountains and continue to produce Cannabis for most of South Africa.

 

Lesotho Mother and Child

Lesotho is an excellent example of how Cannabis production can feed the poorest of the World’s people. Similar to other countries including parts of the United States, the people of Lesotho, including local law enforcement, recognize the plant for its economic and medicinal benefits and will therefore preserve the agricultural process in their country regardless of International Drug Policy.

This is the first in a series of informative articles examining the impacts of cannabis business in regards to livelihood diversification strategies adopted by individuals, families and collectively in communities worldwide brought to you by Cannabis Activist, Stephanie Bishop

Stephanie Bishop has worked with Doctors, Activists, Attorneys and Industry Professionals to help patients and the general public educate themselves about all aspects of the Cannabis plant. From every side of the movement, Stephanie brings news and trending conversation adding discussion topics and direct action to help people form a more in depth perception of prohibition.

Stephanie currently resides in Seattle WA and has worked locally with organizations like Seattle Hempfest, Americans for Safe Access and NORML to help spread the truth about the cannabis plant and the political battle to end the War on Drugs.