Cannabis Candidate exhibits himself, hemp, cannabis and marijuana
As many are now learning, Selthofner’s passion for politics stems from people and not pot. Politicians are people, we sometimes forget. They are no different than you or I. Certainly they are no better and certainly they are no worse. So what exactly is a politician then? According to Wiki, a politician is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making. Sounds like a synonym for ‘informed voter’ to me. Elect the right person and everyone who voted for them is a politician by definition.
So now that we have that straight, what the heck is going on at the county fairs? First of all, when you walk by either of the Democrats’ or Republicans’ booth, you don’t even know who is who or what is what. They each have so many names, pictures, titles and fancy gimmicks, just “staff” handing out the usual political jargon. It is hard to even find a candidate at these booths, let alone a real issue of reform. When you are lucky enough to find a candidate, it seemed hard for them to reach across the table and come out to really get into politics, which is nothing unusual.
What was unusual was to see one candidate running for one office manning his own booth and greeting fair attendees himself. Not only was this candidate reaching across the aisle to democrats and republicans, but he reached people who had no political affiliation and those yet to form their own. His booth was set up with no tables or barriers to cross for voters to reach him. His passion for his platform was clear, green and well received. With truth, honesty and compassion, talking about hemp and cannabis county fair style suited Selthofner just fine.
Unusual or not, Selthofner certainly drew attention to his district’s topic of marijuana reform. During the last legislative cycle he continued his awareness campaign. The county fair offered the perfect venue and Selthofner provided the perfect booth to showcase not only the benefits of the hemp cannabis plant, but also the benefits of Selthofner as a State Assembly Candidate.
“Communication is a key element needed between a state assembly representative and the district that elects them if he or she is going to truly vote based on the will of the people” Selthofner stated. He went on to add “those same communication elements are vital in Madison. We all know that not everyone will agree on every issue, but we need representatives that will champion the causes the people of their respective districts, no matter their own personal views. We also need leaders to say “NO” and I am not afraid to do that either. Saying “NO” is an effective communication skill that both liberals and conservatives will have to answer to if they present politics as usual to an elected Independent candidate.”
Planting the seed of marijuana reform came easy to the agriculturally rich Waushara County Fair. Inside the vendor exhibit area where Selthofner had his booth he was surrounded by seed bearing plants of tremendous varieties. Many farmers remember industrial hemp ultimately produced for rope as part of the family farm. “Fiber, fuel and food?” one fair goer joking asked “what are you smoking that gives you the munchies to want to eat industrial hemp?” Calm, cool and collective, Selthofner went on to explain that although the hemp plant has a seed, one could classify it as a nut. With a brochure specifically on the topic of the hemp seed and part of Selthofner’s exhibit to provide “hemp seed samples”, Selthofner soon convinced this fair goer to try a hemp seed shot with him. “Delicious” the man said, “you are not so nuts after all.”
The transition from industrial hemp cannabis to medical marijuana came easily for Selthofner as he explained to the county fair “Industrial Hemp Cannabis is like field corn, we process this plant in a variety of ways to make a plethora of products. On the other hand, sweet corn, like medical marijuana, is consumed unprocessed and as natural and organic as possible.” This basic fundamental gave folks a fair understanding as Selthofner discussed the natural plant based medicine with them. Acceptance of marijuana as medicine came with as much high support as an Independent Candidate. From this reporter’s view, it seemed like people are sick and tired of being sick and tired.
The biggest conflict of the Waushara County Fair is that marijuana never killed anyone. In general, this statement from Selthofner seemed to draw the most intense conversations about marijuana reform. With the current laws, most marijuana used is smoked, even medically. Scientific studies have been done and the patients have smoked marijuana. The Wisconsin smoking ban is on everyone’s mind. Everyone knows people are dying each year from smoking cigarettes (nicotine). But the bold claim that marijuana never killed anyone, ever, got people talking about hemp and cannabis.
Selthofner explained that “Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, if marijuana caused cancer and killed people, it would be widely reported and a clear public health danger. Fortunately, that is not the case. Even the gateway theory is proven suspect under these facts. With marijuana the most commonly used illicit drug ever, if using marijuana lead to other drugs, we would be nation of drug addicts.”
The debate to “tax this plant” continued on with the conversation of legalization of marijuana, which is part of Selthofner’s platform. “Wisconsin is broke and prohibition does not work. With no tax payer dollars to spend on anything and the laws changing from coast to coast, Wisconsin should move forward on this issue” Selthofner explained. As Selthofner shared with fair goers some of the staggering numbers related to marijuana prohibition and lost revenue, people listened. The large scale marijuana operation by Mexican cartels recently captured news headlines and people are understanding prohibition is creating problems we cannot solve unless we end prohibition itself. Selthofner closed his individual meetings with people by asking “Is Wisconsin poised and ready to protect our borders and public lands by supplying the nation’s pot through passing a comprehensive cannabis law?”
As we are all now aware thanks to Selthofner’s campaign, marijuana reform is no laughing matter. Selthofner closed out the fair by sharing his sense of humor and captured a couple pictures of some supporters “getting high” and he invites you to view them and other moments from the fair on his personal facebook page. The following link has been provided. High Support at the Waushara County Fair and Getting High at the Waushara County Fair.
