Chapter 7 war on drugs
This free forum is the second part of a series of lectures against the "War on Drugs". The speaker is also from New Jersey, Ed Forchion, who calls himself "NJ Weedman" and created A "legal marijuana party".I fell in love with him as soon as I saw his image in the flyer, and I thought he must be a very rebellious guy.
Ed was born in a Christian family, but he was disgusted with Christianity since he was a child.He believed that Christianity was a religion imposed by whites on blacks, and blacks should believe in their own religion.He later became a believer in Rastafarian, a religion invented by black Jamaicans in the 1930s.
At the age of 16, Ed smoked the first marijuana cigarette in his life. He found that marijuana had a good effect on the asthma he suffered from, so he stopped taking the "chemical" drugs prescribed by the doctor and changed to Cannabis is very effective against asthma.Since then, he has been nicknamed "weedman (grass people, this 'grass' refers to cannabis)".
After that, he joined the army, fell in love, got married, and had children like ordinary people.Below is a family photo of him in June 1989 when he was stationed with the army in West Germany.
In the army, of course, he could no longer use marijuana. Because of his severe asthma, he soon retired due to illness.This guy changed his name to "Edward" and went back to the army.This time, he secretly continued to use marijuana. As a result, he served until he was officially discharged in 1990, and his asthma did not develop.
After retiring, he bought a truck and hauled it between the coasts of the United States. In Arizona in 1992, he met a group of people working to legalize marijuana, and Ed became active in their campaign.He founded the "Marijuana Legal Party", participated in several elections, and once received more than 2,000 votes.
In November 1997, he was arrested by New Jersey police after being found in possession of marijuana.Ed rejected the state's plea agreement (pleadeal, an agreement with the government to admit a misdemeanor in order to avoid a heavier punishment), and decided to go to court to fight.He quotes a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Rebellion against unjust laws must be open, loving, and willing to accept any punishment. I believe that a man who willfully violates what his conscience tells him Unjust laws, and are willing to go to prison for them, to arouse people's consciences to perceive injustice, such a person is expressing the highest respect for the law."
In court, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but after 17 months, he was released from prison under the Intensive Supervision Program (ISP).Strengthened supervision and control is a stricter punishment than parole. The police can search his body and residence at any time for possession of marijuana, and he is not allowed to visit his own children or continue to engage in political activities.Ed felt that his legal rights had been greatly violated. From then on, he changed his name to "1st Amendment Activist (1St Amendment Activist)", thinking that he had the right to say whatever he wanted to say, and the government's persecution of him violated the First Amendment to the Constitution.
New Jersey police arrested him again in 2002, as Ed continued to proclaim that marijuana should be legal.The court ruled that Ed was no longer suitable for enhanced supervision and control and must continue to serve his 10-year sentence.The incident has drawn widespread media attention, with people questioning it as a violation of freedom of speech.New Jersey's largest newspaper, "The Star Ledger," reported the case, and this is a photo of the hearing published in the newspaper:
In January 2003, federal Judge Irenas overturned the New Jersey court's judgment and ordered Ed's release and placement under enhanced supervision.Ed continued his campaigns on "legalizing marijuana" and "defending the First Amendment."
The above is Ed's legendary half life.The topic of his speech today is "The Anti-drug War on Racial Discrimination".He pointed out:
1. 13% of drug users are black, 35% of those who are harmed by drugs due to arrest are black, 55% of those who plead guilty are black, and of those who end up in prison, A whopping 74% are black.
2. Blacks are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned for drug use than whites.
3. The proportion of drug use and trafficking is the same among minorities and non-minorities, but the proportion of minorities being intercepted, inspected, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned is higher than that of whites.
4. In the face of the same crime, people of color are usually given heavier sentences than white people.
Thus, Ed declared that the war on drugs was a race war and that people of color should rise up against it.He has gone to Washington several times to protest. On the one hand, he used his personal experience to explain the government's violation of citizens' human rights, and on the other hand, he promoted the "War on Drugs" as an unfair government campaign.
At the same time, he showed us three TV commercials against the "War on Drugs" that he co-produced with others.In these ads, Ed stands in front of the American flag and says:
In front of one of the greatest flags in the world, I want to tell you that the "freedom" that this flag stands for is at stake.Just like the Prohibition Movement in the 1920s, the "War on Drugs" is destroying our free society, and even the freedom of speech and religion guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution have been weakened.The government will take your kids away for your public claim that "marijuana is legal" - it happened to me!Now is the time to end the "War on Drugs" because it is really a "War on Personal Freedom" and it is going on in America!
Have you ever heard our government say that marijuana is dangerous, addictive and has no medical value? —I have heard it.But I also know some scientific facts: marijuana has never killed anyone, has helped many people, and has been used as medicine for thousands of years, and even doctors have openly questioned the claims about the dangers of marijuana, and many doctors recommend Use marijuana to treat certain medical conditions.Who do you trust: your doctor, or your politician?
Have you ever doubted the reality of a "drug-free America"?Many people realize that it is impossible to have a "drugfree America" and a "free America" at the same time.I choose freedom.America's leadership of the free world is being called into question by the "war on drugs."How can we lead the free world while having the most citizens in prison?Do you think this is America?Let's return freedom to America and end the "War on Drugs"!
Ed raised funds to air the commercials on television, but was turned down by the television company Comcast.Ed took Comcast to court, which was dismissed.Ed decided to continue the lawsuit.
Philadelphia is also a place where Ed often comes to.As the US law stipulates that the use of marijuana in religious ceremonies is legal, Ed and Pat, a white man, come to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on the third Saturday of every month, where they hold "religious ceremonies" and smoke marijuana openly.The Liberty Bell is a symbol of American independence, but I still don't know what Ed and the others did there
What kind of "religious ceremony" is it, "patriotic religion" or the Rastafarian religion he believes in?
When he went there for the first time, Ed specially invited a reporter to take pictures together just in case.Sure enough, before they smoked for long, two policemen came over and asked them what they were doing.It may be because a reporter was taking pictures. The police did not dare to make a fuss. They only questioned the two separately, and then issued summons to them, but did not specify the date of their appearance in court.So Ed and the others went to the Liberty Bell to take drugs once a month with confidence and boldness.The Philadelphia police are used to the two of them now, so let them go.
Later, when they watched the video shot by the reporter, Ed suddenly discovered that he was searched by the police, but Pat was not.Speaking of this, Pat, who was sitting in the audience, smiled and said to everyone: "I used my 'white power' at that time!"
Ed was naturally very indignant about this, and took the police to court in the name of racial discrimination, but nothing seemed to work.
This time is probably the most attractive time for Freedom Forum.Ed continued to talk until 10 o'clock in the evening, and the audience was still full of ideas.But because the time was up, I had to stop.Afterwards, we moved to the bar to continue chatting as usual.I was the first to the bar, and then Chuck came, and he said excitedly, "This is the best speaker ever!"
After everyone arrived, I asked Ed a question: "I often see some stories about prisons in movies. They are all about abuse and shady scenes. Based on your experience, are those stories true?"
He said: "Based on my personal experience, those are exaggerations. ——However, the prison I work in is for drug offenders, and those criminal and violent offenders are not kept there, so I can only say that From the prison I was in, the plots in the movie were all exaggerations."
I chatted until almost 12 o'clock, and I went back.Later on his website