McCaffrey's Directive:
| March 3, 2000 New update on McCaffrey' latest directive. From: Rep. Cynthia Thielen thielen@aloha.net Please put pressure on your Congressional delegates and send letters to President Clinton about this problem. I understand that U.S. Attorney Janet Reno has met with McCaffrey. I also understand that the Secretary of the Treasury will be meeting with him shortly. Don't waste time on writing McCaffrey. But do tell your congress people that your businesses are being jeopardized by McCaffrey. Customs and DEA are unhappy with his March 5 directive. They want to resume sensible policy they had been following for years. Hawaii's senator Inouye wrote to Sec. of Treasury asking what is going on. Get your Congressional folks to do the same. Have them draft their own letters or do proposed draft for them. Customs is hit hardest by McCaffrey's order, as it has to seize and store the hemp products. To date there have been 5 seizures at the Buffalo port of entry. I hope the products weighed tons and took up tons of space. As an aside, DEA is not going after hemp products already in USA. Good thing, or DEA would have to raid the Hawaii Legislature! Remember, we are fighting to keep Canadian companies alive, to keep US companies that sell hemp based products in business, and to ultimately get the right for farmers to plant industrial hemp so Hawaii won't be the only state where it is grown. The only thing that will prevent all of this from happening is your inertia. Don't depend on the next fellow. Get hustling (and for the NAIHC folks who believed you were making headway with McCaffrey, well--he tightened the screws after you met with his staff!). Cynthia |