Would 2010 be soon enough?

I spoke with Mitch with Creative Loafing today. He is writing a story about the medical marijuana initiative. PUFMM, the Florida Political Action Committee circulating the initiative still lacks the signatures necessary to make the 2010 ballot. Mitch was looking for my thought on the cannabis situation in Florida.

Florida law makers should be ashamed of themselves for not having made cannabis legal already and it is time they went on the record. Patients who use cannabis really are caught in the crossfire. 2010 is not soon enough! For once I named names. I told Mitch about the South Florida Representative - Mark Pafford, who says he thinks we should get control over cannabis by taking it off the illicit drug market.

Tomorrow, a young man goes on trial in St. Lucie county because he refuses to plead guilty to possession of 6 grams of cannabis. Cannabis helps him treat his MS. Possession of cannabis should not be a crime. While the Florida Supreme Court allows for a medical necessity defense, the judge in the case refuses to let him present it. I wonder if the fine people of St. Lucie county believe this is how they intend their tax dollars be spent. Is a young man with MS the culprit we need to be protected against?

Most people caught with cannabis will plead guilty. Law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys will bill hours getting the plea deal. The defendant will hang their heads, profess a bit of shame, take their punishment and go home (where they will promptly put their feet up, crack a beer or pour a scotch while rolling another joint). There is no justice in the war on drugs.

48.2 Million reasons to legalize marijuana

Friday, November 6 - Florida Today published an edited version of the LTE I set. It was quite the suprise! My friend, Fran asked me on Saturday - at the Democratic Women's Club meeting- if they had edited me much. The paper didn't even call to confirm the letter so I was amazed to see it in print- guess they knew to expect letters on legalization from me.

Many Reasons to Legalize Pot

With the 75th anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition in Florida on Nov. 6, I am dumb-struck by the fact we still choose a policy of prohibition over one of regulation and control.

Marijuana, if it helps a sick person find relief, isn’t bad.

The value of planting crops that require less herbicides and pesticides, while investing in American agriculture, doesn’t require an advanced degree to calculate. Hemp for fuel, fiber and food makes sense.

Wasting resources prohibiting otherwise responsible adults from using cannabis/hemp, and legitimate business people from bringing it to market is what doesn’t make sense.

CNN reports Florida would gain an estimated $48.2 million in revenue from taxing cannabis. Can we afford not to rethink this policy?

Alcohol prohibition is an accepted failure. We define that policy by reduced respect for law enforcement, health emergencies as tainted alcohol and abuse threatened lives and gangs reaping the rewards of a lucrative unregulated market satisfying disputes with violence.

While consuming alcohol still has risks, the danger of being caught in the crossfire between distributors, dying from tainted products and going to jail for manufacturing is greatly diminished.

Melbourne

Message from the Lighthouse - or Plant Your Seeds

This isn't the first time I have painstakingly agonized over how to em-passion people to take action to end the war on drugs.

I remember struggling in the dim light over an electric typewriter in my dollhouse sized apartment in Elkhart, Indiana. President Bill "I didn't inhale." Clinton had been elected and there was a movement afoot to change marijuana laws.

Each year- just before April Fools day, fliers circulated pointing us to Ann Arbour Hash Bash, rumored to be a virtual utopia for pot smokers. Any fool knows an April Fools day joke when they see it - but High Times assured loyal consumers that change was coming. Who knew the Hash Bash was real and the "just say no" message to the Dare Generation would destroy so many lives.

My solution- a chain letter - A Message from the Lighthouse, bringing hope and lighting the way. The letter asked people to keep the chain alive by sending a copy to six of their friends and one to the White House. It reminded recipients we could overgrow the government by simply planting our seeds.

My distribution plan was simple - 50 copies hand delivered in the lot at the Rosemount Horizon (Chicago IL). The Grateful Dead was playing (3-9-93) and the crowd was like-minded. A year later, a friend in Ohio, knowing my interest in changing marijuana laws, sent me a copy. That circle was complete but the legalization of cannabis was a long ways off.

In 2000, when Phish played their Millennium Show in the Everglades, I was there. Still planting seeds, this time as a director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network. We spent four days educating concert goers about the virture of cannabis, hemp's value in a green economy and ways to stay safe while advocating for a sane marijuana policies.

Another decade has passed since that New Years weekend and the War on Drugs has claimed more victims, the violence has surpassed our wildest estimations and the estimated revenue from regulated cannabis is enticing.

Cannabis legalization can happen in my lifetime.