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Chris Wright      Response 9

Question 9: Describe briefly what you feel is the greatest challenge facing Minnesota farmers right now. Outside of lobbying the federal government for support, specifically describe three actions, programs, or laws that you would support as governor to meet the farm crisis. If your programs involve new state expenditures, how would you pay for them?

Our farmers have been fighting flooding and enormous amounts of rain
this season that have encouraged the growth of the fungus known as
wheat scab in the northwestern counties of the state. Between the bad
weather and disease our department of agriculture has attempted to
provide support to farmers faced with financial difficulty with mixed
success.

First, I would attempt to strengthen Article XIII, Section 7,
of the Minnesota Constitution through supporting legislation to allow
farmers the right to sell and peddle the products of the farm or
garden without a license, presently denied by statute.

Second, Article XIII, Section 7, gives farmers the right to sell any plant that
is not an unsafe product. Therefore, since the DEA's own chief judge
acknowledged that there has never been a documented cannabis induced
fatality and that it is safer than some foods, (because you can get a
toxic effect from eating ten raw potatoes but you can't eat enough pot
to kill yourself) then the farmers of this state have a right to grow
marijuana without a license through the MN Board of Pharmacy, as
required under the Controlled Substances Act of our state. Requiring a
license to grow marijuana violates our state's Constitution. This will
give our farmers a new cash crop that will create millions of dollars
of revenue bringing farmers out of debt.

Third, I would repeal the state's Controlled Substances Act and regulate
narcotics just like liquor. The state's Liquor Act should be amended to include
narcotics and the responsibility for enforcing the act should continue to be in
the hands of the Department of Public Safety. This will allow those
who purchase marijuana from our farmers to sell more of their products
to distributors who are licensed and regulated to sell from controlled
substances outlets. The taxes raised on controlled substances,
including alcohol and tobacco, should be targeted by the state for the
sole purpose of bringing about harm reduction in society.