cannabisnews.com: Selectman Advocates Hemp Seed Plantings!





Selectman Advocates Hemp Seed Plantings!
Posted by FoM on June 30, 1999 at 17:59:48 PT
Author : Felix Carroll 
Source: Map Inc.
PROVINCETOWN He calls them seeds of thought. Others call them seeds of crime. Yet all agree the seeds in question are those of the cannabis leaf. Marijuana, that is.
And if Selectman David Atkinson has his way, Provincetown will turn a little greener after July 3, and a little more pungent. The self-described libertarian patriot, who doesn't mind rolling his own controversy, is proposing a "Free the Seed Day," inviting the public to plant hemp seeds on public property.The police will RSVP. That is, BYOC. They will be there, and they'll bring their own cuffs."Are you serious?" Police Chief Robert Anthony said when told about the plans and about copies of posters now circulating around town advertising the event. "This is the first I heard about it." Free the Seed Day coincides with the quasi-libertarian holiday Disobedience Day, celebrated since the 1980s in several communities nationwide. The holiday - not sanctioned by the Libertarian Party - encourages citizens to break victimless-crime laws. "We're planting the seed of thought, give people the idea to have a little fun," said Atkinson, who ran for governor of Vermont in 1990, promising to legalize marijuana. He lost that race, but won his effort at town meeting in April to have Provincetown file a home-rule petition to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. The state Legislature has not yet discussed the petition. In the Green Mountain State they called him Disobedient Dave. One year Atkinson even served as the national spokesman for Disobedience Day. He once celebrated the day by participating in a helmetless motorcycle ride. Another time, he took part in a nude swim at Texas Falls in Vermont, at a swimming hole where neither swimming nor nudity was allowed. "Since he became selectman in Provincetown in May 1998, he has been called everything from refreshing to foolish. But even in a town that traditionally has had a laissez-faire attitude regarding personal preferences, his latest plans have had a less than euphoric effect. Betty Steele-Jeffers, chairwoman of the board of selectmen, said the plans are inappropriate. Indeed, when Atkinson took his oath of office, he swore he would "faithfully perform all the duties placed upon" him to the best of his abilities and "in accordance with the laws of this town and the commonwealth." "Atkinson likens the stands he takes to those of the Founding Fathers. Back then, he said, the framers of the Constitution believed in the sovereignty of the individual. "James Lampke, president of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association - the bar association of municipal attorneys, based in Hingham - said it was a judgment call as to whether Atkinson is breaching his oath of office. "John Quincy Adams and George Washington probably took oaths of office, too," he said. "Our country has had a history of freedom of expression and civil disobedience - in appropriate cases. Whether something is appropriate or not is not up to me to decide." What will actually occur in Provincetown July 3 is unclear. Atkinson posted his plans on the Internet and invited state and national marijuana-advocate groups to participate. He said a lot of people are interested. Nothing will be done as a group, he said.
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