cannabisnews.com: Framingham Resident Advocates Marijuana Use
Framingham Resident Advocates Marijuana Use
Posted by CN Staff on July 16, 2003 at 22:55:07 PT
By Andy Smith, News Correspondent
Source: Metrowest Daily News
Ashland -- Jim Pillsbury is a pothead, and he doesn't care who knows it. "We're all labeled in some way," he said yesterday. "So I don't mind having my name associated with drug reform. "I play guitar, write, drive, make love, and do everything humanly possible after I've consumed cannabis. It's nothing to be ashamed of."The Framingham resident and spokesman of MetroWest's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said he won a victory of sorts last week when he and the town of Ashland settled a lawsuit over liability insurance for a pro-marijuana rally.
In spring 2002, Ashland imposed a $1 million liability insurance on a rally Pillsbury had planned to collect signatures at Stone Park to support a 2002 state ballot question to decriminalize marijuana.Backed by NORML and the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, or MassCann, Pillsbury brought a free-speech lawsuit against the town.The two parties settled last week, with the town agreeing to allow Pillsbury use of any recreational facility for $150 liability insurance. Ashland can also charge $25 per hour for use of the park.Assistant Town Manager Dale Morris said yesterday the town was only concerned with its liability and the safety of its residents. The nature of the proposed rally was never an issue, he said."It's a free country and he has his constitutional right to voice his opinion," Morris said.Pillsbury said he exercises his "rights" every night. He said he sparks up while reading, gardening or listening to Bob Dylan albums.After a week spent working in a Cambridge biotech lab, he might even indulge in multiple sessions, with a couple joints on the beach."I'm a 50-year-old guy in excellent health, and I've smoked pot for 34 years," he said. "I think part of my good health is because at the end of the day I can consume a bit of cannabis and relax."Pillsbury claims he's hardly alone."If all the people who smoke pot didn't go to work for one day, this country would come to a screeching halt," he said.Movements toward loosening marijuana laws, both here and abroad, have encouraged Pillsbury. Canada recently proposed legislation to decriminalize the drug. And in November 2000, 67.5 percent of Framingham voters approved a nonbinding ballot initiative instructing their state representative to support a bill making possession a civil infraction.Pillsbury drove support for that initiative, and said he plans to collect the 200 signatures needed to give Ashland a similar ballot question in 2004. Last year, he joked that the Ashland park was ideally suited for his cause."If I could get Stone Phillips to come to Stone Park to interview a bunch of stoners, that would be good," Pillsbury said at the time.Pillsbury said he has no immediate plans to use Stone Park, except as a possible location for an episode of "The Jim Pillsbury Show," his live public access political program.In 2004, he plans to run as the Libertarian candidate for state representative in Framingham's 6th Middlesex District. He was defeated by incumbent state Rep. Debby Blumer, D-Framingham, in 2002.Until then, Pillsbury will continue with his activism."What motivates me is freedom," he said. "Freedom to ingest whatever it is that I want into my body. Cannabis is something I choose to use in the privacy of my own home or my back yard, and I should be able to do that."Pillsbury said with the wrong user, anything from lawnmowers to milk can be abused. He believes pots only real drawback is the legal repercussions of getting caught. In 1985, he was convicted of selling marijuana, though he did not serve jail time."I want to break the stigma of the pothead who sits around all day and does nothing with his life," he said. "We're as good of human beings as anyone. I'm a volunteer at the Salvation Army, I'm involved with civic responsibilities, and I'm concerned about my neighbors and my community."I really think pot smokers are generally happier in life. There's a good perspective that people get after they've consumed pot, and I think that's good for society."Source: Metrowest Daily News (MA)Author: Andy Smith, News Correspondent Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2003Copyright: 2003 MetroWest Daily NewsContact: mdnletters cnc.comWebsite: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/MassCannhttp://www.masscann.org/Marijuana Advocate, Town Settle Park Suithttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16865.shtml Voters to Weigh in on Decriminalizing Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14642.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on July 17, 2003 at 11:42:53 PT:
MY LETTER TO CONGRESSMAN PALLONE
Today, Thursday, July 17, 2003, I personally delivered a prepared letter asking for the decriminalization of Marijuana, to the "legislative office" of Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., who is the only member from New Jersey of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health. This letter had a heavy duty staple attaching the letter to various documents printed from www.cannabisnews.com, www.cannabisculture.com, www.hightimes.com, on the studies supporting medical Cannabis. AT LEAST I TRY!! I don't simply sit around griping that one vote does not make a difference!! I write and telephone State Legislators and Congresspeople asking:[1] FOR DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS;[2] AGAINST FUNDING THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
$100 million which they want to use for militarization of police in the spirit of Operation Garden Plot ["to assist local law enforcement"], to develop non-lethal weapons so they can continue to provoke violence at protests to douse us with non-lethal weapons, while military personnel wait at the hospitals to jot down notes on the harmful effects of the nonlethal weapons, using us as human experiments, an attempt to quash our Right to dissent, to force their corporate agenda down our throats, especially for the Republic National Convention coming to New York City next year;[3] VOTE AGAINST FUNDING THE UNITED NATIONS, which supports "The New World Order", because the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not have a freedom of speech [we can't talk about abortion], does not have a Right to keep and bear arms, does not have a Right against unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant, does not have a Right against self-incrimination, DOES NOT HAVE A TRIAL BY JURY. In short, falling under United Nations rule would enslave us![4] To improve the curriculum of government school so that the students are taught the dark side of government, to offer students martial arts and weapons training, so that they become fully informed, competent, citizens upon graduation. See, e.g., www.johntaylorgatto.com; 10 U.S.C. Section 311 [defining the "unorganized milita" as every able bodied male between 17 and 45 years of age].[5] To repeal most of the gun laws, for the reasons stated in www.jpfo.org, e.g.: (a) every genocide of the 20th century began with gun control laws, (b) Adolph Hitler killed more people who were NOT Jewish, (c) most crimes are committed by criminals who obtained firearms under the table, (d) the government is immune from civil liablity for failure to show up at the scene of a crime, (e) drug laws are used to obliterate our Second Amendment Rights.Today, I also e-mailed Senator Biden to thank him for setting the DEA straight on the RAVE Act.Richard Paul Zuckerman, Box 159, Metuchen, N.J., 08840-0159, (Cell telephone number)(908) 403-6990, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com.Member of: www.norml.org; www.normlnj.org; www.cannabisculture.com; www.hightimes.com; www.fija.org; www.jpfo.org; www.greenparty.org; www.njlp.org.Diploma in Paralegal, New York University, 2003;Diploma in Truck Driving, Smith & Solomon School of Truck Driving, Edison, N.J., 1995;B.A. in Political Science, Kean University, 1987.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 17, 2003 at 11:05:37 PT
Thanks Virgil!
I hope it goes in our favor!
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Comment #3 posted by Virgil on July 17, 2003 at 10:34:09 PT
MPP on big MMJ bill in the House
======================================================================TO: Marijuana policy reform advocatesFROM: Alexis Baden-Mayer, MPP national field directorDATE: Thursday, July 17, 2003SUBJECT: Medical marijuana votes in Congress:
Call to praise or blame your U.S. representative!======================================================================U.S. House of Representatives committee actions on medical marijuana
continued on Tuesday, July 15, with yet another valuable roll call
vote (see below). Now, it's time to get ready for the first floor vote
on medical marijuana in the House in five years. Next week, U.S. Rep.
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) is planning to propose an amendment to the
Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary Appropriations bill that would
defund the DEA's raids on state-approved medical marijuana patients
and providers.Please help the Marijuana Policy Project prepare for this vote by
checking the roll call votes listed below to see if your U.S.
representative has earned praise or blame recently. If he or she has,
call today and express your support for medical marijuana. If your
representative is not listed here, please wait for our next action
alert, in which all subscribers will be asked to send letters to
Congress in support of the Hinchey amendment.======================================================================2003 U.S. HOUSE COMMITTEE ROLL CALL VOTES ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA----------------------------------------------------------------------July 9, 2003 - HR 2086 -- Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) Reauthorization Act of 2003 Amendment proposed by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) that would
deny funding to any agency that attempts to enforce a
federal law in a state that has a conflicting state law
addressing medical marijuana Rejected 11-17 YEAS (11)If your U.S. representative is on the following list, please call to
praise him or her for defending the rights of medical marijuana
patients and providers who abide by state laws: Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI) ........... 202-225-2906 / 202-225-6942 (fax)
Conyers, John (D-MI) ............ 202-225-5126 / 202-225-0072 (fax)
Jackson-Lee, Sheila (D-TX) ...... 202-225-3816 / 202-225-3317 (fax)
Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA) ............. 202-225-3072 / 202-225-3336 (fax)
Meehan, Martin (D-MA) ........... 202-225-3411 / 202-226-0771 (fax)
Nadler, Jerrold (D-NY) .......... 202-225-5635 / 202-225-6923 (fax)
Sanchez, Linda (D-CA) ........... 202-225-6676 / 202-226-1012 (fax)
Schiff, Adam (D-CA) ............. 202-225-4176 / 202-225-5828 (fax)
Scott, Bobby (D-VA) ............. 202-225-8351 / 202-225-8354 (fax)
Waters, Maxine (D-CA) ........... 202-225-2201 / 202-225-7854 (fax)
Watt, Melvin (D-NC) ............. 202-225-1510 / 202-225-1512 (fax) NAYS (17)If your U.S. representative is on the following list, please call to
blame him or her for encouraging continued attacks on medical
marijuana patients and providers who abide by state laws: Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN) ........ 202-225-2811 / 202-225-3004 (fax)
Cannon, Chris (R-UT) ............ 202-225-7751 / 202-225-5629 (fax)
Carter, John (R-TX) ............. 202-225-3864
Chabot, Steve (R-OH) ............ 202-225-2216 / 202-225-3012 (fax)
Coble, Howard (R-NC) ............ 202-225-3065 / 202-225-8611 (fax)
Feeney, Tom (R-FL) .............. 202-225-2706 / 202-226-6299 (fax)
Forbes, Randy (R-VA) ............ 202-225-6365 / 202-226-1170 (fax)
Gallegly, Elton (R-CA) .......... 202-225-5811 / 202-225-1100 (fax)
Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) ........... 202-225-5431 / 202-225-9681 (fax)
Green, Mark (R-WI) .............. 202-225-5665 / 202-225-5729 (fax)
Hart, Melissa (R-PA) ............ 202-225-2565 / 202-226-2274 (fax)
Hostettler, John (R-IN) ......... 202-225-4636 / 202-225-3284 (fax)
Jenkins, Bill (R-TN) ............ 202-225-6356 / 202-225-5714 (fax)
Keller, Ric (R-FL) .............. 202-225-2176 / 202-225-0999 (fax)
King, Steve (R-IA) .............. 202-225-4426 / 202-225-3193 (fax)
Sensenbrenner, Jim (R-WI) ....... 202-225-5101 / 202-225-3190 (fax)
Smith, Lamar (R-TX) ............. 202-225-4236 / 202-225-8628 (fax)----------------------------------------------------------------------July 15, 2003 - Fiscal Year 2004 D.C. Appropriations Bill Amendment proposed by Sam Farr (D-CA) that would
remove the "Barr Amendment" provision that has
prevented a voter-approved medical marijuana
initiative from taking effect Rejected 35-16 YEAS (16)If your U.S. representative is on the following list, please call to
praise him or her for voting to allow D.C. residents to make their own
choice about medical marijuana: Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) .......... 202-225-3631 / 202-225-2203 (fax)
Dicks, Norman (D-WA) ............ 202-225-5916 / 202-226-1176 (fax)
Farr, Sam (D-CA) ................ 202-225-2861 / 202-225-6791 (fax)
Fattah, Chaka (D-PA) ............ 202-225-4001 / 202-225-5392 (fax)
Hinchey, Maurice (D-NY) ......... 202-225-6335 / 202-226-0774 (fax)
Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH) ............ 202-225-4146 / 202-225-7711 (fax)
Kennedy, Patrick (D-RI) ......... 202-225-4911 / 202-225-3290 (fax)
Kilpatrick, Carolyn (D-MI) ...... 202-225-2261 / 202-225-5730 (fax)
Moran, James (D-VA) ............. 202-225-4376 / 202-225-0017 (fax)
Obey, David (D-WI) .............. 202-225-3365
Olver, John (D-MA) .............. 202-225-5335 / 202-226-1224 (fax)
Pastor, Ed (D-AZ) ............... 202-225-4065 / 202-225-1655 (fax)
Price, David (D-NC) ............. 202-225-1784 / 202-225-2014 (fax)
Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA) ... 202-225-1766 / 202-226-0350 (fax)
Sabo, Martin (DFL-MN) ........... 202-225-4755
Serrano, Jose (D-NY) ............ 202-225-4361 / 202-225-6001 (fax) NAYS (35)If your U.S. representative is on the following list, please call to
blame him or her for refusing to allow D.C. residents to make their
own choice about medical marijuana: Aderholt, Robert (R-AL) ......... 202-225-4876 / 202-225-5587 (fax)
Berry, Marion (D-AR) ............ 202-225-4076 / 202-225-5602 (fax)
Boyd, Allen (D-FL) .............. 202-225-5235 / 202-225-5615 (fax)
Crenshaw, Ander (R-FL) .......... 202-225-2501 / 202-225-2504 (fax)
Culberson, John (R-TX) .......... 202-225-2571 / 202-225-4381 (fax)
Cunningham, Duke (R-CA) ......... 202-225-5452 / 202-225-2558 (fax)
Doolittle, John (R-CA) .......... 202-225-2511 / 202-225-5444 (fax)
Edwards, Chet (D-TX) ............ 202-225-6105 / 202-225-0350 (fax)
Frelinghuysen, Rodney (R-NJ) .... 202-225-5034 / 202-225-3186 (fax)
Goode, Virgil (R-VA) ............ 202-225-4711 / 202-225-5681 (fax)
Granger, Kay (R-TX) ............. 202-225-5071 / 202-225-5683 (fax)
Hobson, David (R-OH) ............ 202-225-4324
Istook, Ernest (R-OK) ........... 202-225-2132 / 202-226-1463 (fax)
Kingston, Jack (R-GA) ........... 202-225-5831 / 202-226-2269 (fax)
Knollenberg, Joe (R-MI) ......... 202-225-5802 / 202-226-2356 (fax)
LaHood, Ray (R-IL) .............. 202-225-6201 / 202-225-9249 (fax)
Latham, Tom (R-IA) .............. 202-225-5476 / 202-225-3301 (fax)
Lewis, Jerry (R-CA) ............. 202-225-5861 / 202-225-6498 (fax)
Mollohan, Alan (D-WV) ........... 202-225-4172 / 202-225-7564 (fax)
Nethercutt, George (R-WA) ....... 202-225-2006 / 202-225-3392 (fax)
Regula, Ralph (R-OH) ............ 202-225-3876 / 202-225-3059 (fax)
Rogers, Harold (R-KY) ........... 202-225-4601 / 202-225-0940 (fax)
Rothman, Steven (D-NJ) .......... 202-225-5061 / 202-225-5851 (fax)
Sherwood, Don (R-PA) ............ 202-225-3731 / 202-225-9594 (fax)
Simpson, Michael (R-ID) ......... 202-225-5531 / 202-225-8216 (fax)
Sweeney, John (R-NY) ............ 202-225-5614 / 202-225-6234 (fax)
Taylor, Charles (R-NC) .......... 202-225-6401 / 202-226-6422 (fax)
Tiahrt, Todd (R-KS) ............. 202-225-6216 / 202-225-3489 (fax)
Vitter, David (R-LA) ............ 202-225-3015 / 202-225-0739 (fax)
Walsh, James (R-NY) ............. 202-225-3701 / 202-225-4042 (fax)
Wamp, Zach (R-TN) ............... 202-225-3271 / 202-225-3494 (fax)
Weldon, Dave (R-FL) ............. 202-225-3671 / 202-225-3516 (fax)
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) ............ 202-225-4306 / 202-225-3549 (fax)
Wolf, Frank (R-VA) .............. 202-225-5136 / 202-225-0437 (fax)
Young, Bill (R-FL) .............. 202-225-5961 / 202-225-9764 (fax)======================================================================
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 17, 2003 at 10:21:42 PT
News Brief -- Associated Press
Compassionate Cops Leave Weed Behind
Associated PressJul. 17, 2003 SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Getting busted in Santa Cruz won't leave you out of joints.The sheriff's department in the Northern California community has a new policy on pot busts - deputies are leaving a little weed behind. County officials and the federal government have been at odds over medical marijuana. Pot is illegal according to the feds, despite a voter-passed state proposition to legalize medical marijuana. Now, Santa Cruz officials have decided to let people arrested for pot keep some of the evidence. Deputy Kim Allyn says marijuana can spoil. She adds some people are worried that they'll have to go without their medicine if they're caught in a bust.
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on July 17, 2003 at 10:07:55 PT
but... I thought SUV's funded terror!
http://www.freefreenow.org/
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