cannabisnews.com: Cable Show Puts Marijuana Use in The Spotlight





Cable Show Puts Marijuana Use in The Spotlight
Posted by CN Staff on December 09, 2004 at 14:37:31 PT
By Julien Gorbach, Staff Writer
Source: Tri-Town Transcript
Action -- When the smoke clears, Jim Pillsbury has the answers. Or the questions, anyway.   Pillsbury is the host of a talk show than runs every night on Channel 8, a public access channel provided by Comcast Cable. He is also well known, and controversial, as one of the leading area advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana.
"I wouldn't call the show a pot show," he said. "A pothead does the show, but it is not a pot show by any stretch of the imagination."   A Framingham resident and spokesman of the MetroWest chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, Pillsbury did battle with the town of Ashland two years ago in a lawsuit over liability insurance for a pro-marijuana rally.   In the spring of 2002, the town tried to require Pillsbury to come up with $1 million for a rally he had planned at Stone Park, where he was going to collect signatures for a state ballot question to decriminalize marijuana.   The two parties settled, with the town agreeing to allow the park's use for $150 in liability insurance, and a fee of $25 per hour.   Then another flare up occurred in the summer of 2003, when the mayor and cable committee of Gardner initially objected to airing his show when a local resident brought a tape into the studio. The town backed off when Pillsbury brought in the ACLU.   Now the town of Natick won't let him shoot his program on the town common without liability insurance, and he said chances are good he will take them to court as well.   "I am not looking to brawl with anybody," he said. "All I am looking to do is practice my Constitutional right to free speech via my TV show."   Pillsbury points out has done seven shows about marijuana of the 115 he has aired since first coming on the air in September 2002, which he argues hardly shows an exclusive focus on the subject. The program cablecasts to 36 towns, according to the schedule on its Web site.   He describes it as a live call-in show that is straight talk without the screaming, probably closer to NPR than AM radio or Jerry Springer.   "We are not taking anybody's clothes off or have lesbians that steal their partners or anything," he said. "I am not creating controversy. I am just reporting on it and delving into it to try find the truth."   Pillsbury has done shows about judicial reform at the probate level, paid police details, "baby safe havens," where mothers can drop off newborns at police or fire stations with no questions asked, and three shows about "how crooked and monopolizing incredibly corrupt" former statehouse Speaker Tom Finneran is.   "We talk about a political hot button that people talk about on other shows, but they don't really get into the nuts and bolts of it," he said. "We spend at least half an hour and sometimes an hour on a subject. And most of the time you can't get more than 30 seconds on the network news. All TV and commercial radio except NPR and PBS is more at the whim of the advertisers and political correctness. And we are public access, which is free speech is at its finest."   The marijuana shows discussed decriminalization and medical use of marijuana, and have featured an interview with the promoter of Hempfest Boston and two hemp fashion shows.   Former Gardner Mayor Daniel Kelley says now that the dispute back in 2002 was a misunderstanding. Based on his impression of the local sponsor, he thought the town was being asked to air some videotapes that advocated the use of marijuana, "with people sitting around and smoking."   But now that he has seen the program, he likes it, he said.   As for Pillsbury, he's not ashamed to let the world know he's a pothead.   He's 51 years old and has smoked pot for 34 years. He has raised three beautiful daughters, owns a couple of homes in Framingham, volunteers at the Salvation Army, describes himself as civic-minded, helping friends and neighbors and a patriot.   "I am doing OK in life considering the fact that potheads are supposed to be losers," he said. Source: Tri-Town Transcript (MA)Author: Julien Gorbach, Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, December 9, 2004Copyright: 2004, Tri-Town TranscriptWebsite: http://www.townonline.com/Feedback: http://www.hiasys.com/contactus/contactus.htmlMetroWest NORML of Massachusetts1257 Worchester Rd. #129Framingham, MA 01701Phone: (508) 788-6249Contact: Jim Pillsbury E-mail: jpills6930 aol.com Related Article & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Pothead With a Purpose http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16668.shtmlCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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