Pubdate: Sat, 16 Apr 2016
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2016 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006
Author: Ed Forchion, NJWeedman.com For The Trentonian
Column: NJ Weedman's Passing the Joint

MR. CHRISTIE, 4/20 IS HERE AGAIN

Dear Gov. Christie my old pal - we will be puffing outside your 
office on 4/20 at 4:20 p.m. Take this as a personal invitation from 
me: NJWeedman.

April 20 - The Stoner Holiday is next week and once again here in New 
Jersey there is a planned civil disobedience demonstration on the 
steps of the state capitol as a direct challenge to you Gov. Christie 
and your prohibitionist policies. http://tinyurl.com/CapitolSmokeout 
- - I personally plan on firing one up in your honor celebrating your 
demise at the Presidential level, don't stand to my left unless you 
want to see what you've erroneously and naively railed about. Try it 
i think youll like it.

To the people of Trenton - This civil disobedience event is being 
coordinated by the East Coast Cannabis Coalition. The East Coast 
Cannabis Coalition is a growing network of grassroots organizers 
working together across the East Coast and beyond to legalize 
cannabis. Do you support an end to the drug war? If so, are you going 
to join in this protest here in in front of Christie's office? 
Potheads, Ganja smokers and Cannabis Consumers, medical & 
recreational as well as spiritual users will be attending - will you? 
You don't have to ingest marijuana to attend - non-420 smokers also 
believe no one should be arrested for cannabis. This is a gathering 
of cannabis legalization supporters, activists, and artists. They 
will gather at City Hall at 2PM and march to the NJ Statehouse and 
hold a rally and concert in support of cannabis legalization in New 
Jersey. #legalizeNJ

This is the 3rd year that such a civil disobedience act was held on 
April 20th. The other two Easter Sunday 2014 and Monday April 20th 
2015 went off with out a hitch, no arrests and great statewide media 
coverage. This year it's on Wednesday and Gov. Christie and the state 
legislature are presumed will be inside the state capital as 
hundreds, including me openly defy the state 2:c-35 marijuana laws at 4:20pm.

  Warning: Stand to my left and I'll pass you the Dutchie!

Philadelphia decriminalized small amounts of marijuana last year and 
its arrests went from 21,000 to 700. Why can't Trenton and New Jersey 
do this, simple - Gov. Christie obstructs legalization more so than 
the George Washington Bridge?

States across the country are changing their MJlaws and discontinuing 
arresting people for marijuana, arrest went up in New Jersey. Last 
year 25,000 New Jersians were arrested, ruined and prosecuted under 
New Jerseys "racist marijuana laws" with the blessing of THE GOV., 
state legislators, Police agencies and the vile lawyer associations. 
In states like Colorado, Washington, Oregon and the district of 
Columbia marijuana has been legalized and the world has not ended as 
Chicken Big Christie has claimed would happen. Its time to get up 
stand up for our rights!

As a follower and admirer of the 1960's civil rights movement that 
invoked "civil-disobedience", sit-ins and boycotts to end 
segregation. I've always been a big supporter of Civil Disobedience 
in regards to ending cannabis prohibition and have encouraged it as a 
useful tool. My favorite quote is: "F-the law, smoke it anyway!"

Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain 
laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying 
international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic 
violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a 
whole. Civil disobedience is sometimes, though not always, defined as 
being nonviolent resistance.

Beginning this spring and lasting thru the Nov 2016 Election I 
predict massive and numerous Civil Disobedience demonstrations 
through the country for a VARITY of different social causes including 
marijuana legalization.

Two weeks ago hundreds of marijuana users (including me) openly 
smoked in front of the whitehouse.

Last week in Washington, D.C.-Over 400 people were arrested including 
Kyle Moore a NJ Congressional Candidate from the 1st district, as 
they participated in Democracy Spring at the U.S. Capitol Building in 
but, unsurprisingly, corporate mainstream media completely failed to 
report accurate coverage of the event Nationally. I predict that wont 
be possible as these events continue and ramp up in number's and issues.

Democracy Spring describes itself as a movement to "take back our 
democracy" use "mass nonviolent action," a week of sit-ins, on an 
"historic" scale not seen in this country since the Vietnam War 
Protests. Last monday's arrest of 400 people - including journalists 
- - certainly were historic, TV and cable news outlets' essentially 
ignored what happened.

I predict as events like the 3rd Annual Smoke-out on our NJ State 
House steps will get media attention. Maybe even Gov. Christie will 
attend, I've invited him. I predict the legalization of marijuana 
will become a "cause celeb" issue this election cycle and say proudly 
"its 420 and its time has come."

As the internet media outlet The Intercept noted, CNN completely 
skipped coverage of both the sit-in and the arrests. "MSNBC mentioned 
the protests for approximately 12 seconds, while Fox News mentioned 
the arrests and discussed the protests for about 17 seconds." Even 
worse, the two outlets narrowly skewed their reports, describing the 
massive movement's targeted concern as "voting rights issues."

Though the massive protest movement's goal to conduct a "bold 
intervention to turn the tinder of passive public frustration into a 
fire that transforms the political climate in America, that sparks a 
popular movement that can't be stopped" certainly includes voting 
rights, cable news' misrepresentation trivializes Democracy Spring's 
rather significant intentions.

A few mainstream outlets - NPR, Al Jazeera, and CSPAN - did devote 
attention to the Washington DC event, but on the internet millions of 
ordinary citizens shared the DC images & stories via Twitter and 
Facebook  puff, puff I think America is about to have its own Arab Spring.

Expect to see plenty of Civil Disobedience this year; I hope the City 
folk here in Trenton come out on 4/20 at 4/20pm. You and your 
brown/black children are being disproportionately arrested and ruined 
by white state officials and law enforcement who don't think your 
lives matter. You are just chattel for the new age concrete 
plantation system. You are the victims of President Nixon's Black 
Plan and Gov Christie's refusal to legalize marijuana is no different 
than Alabama Gov. Wallace's refusal to end segregation.

In New Jersey selling marijuana is a whites only business  (Factually 
all five operating Alternative Treatment Center's are white owned). 
These white ATC owners can sell marijuana legally while brown/black 
peoples are arrested for marijuana at three times the rate of whites 
in this state.

The all white NJ State Supreme Court this year refused to even look 
at the issue of New Jerseys 2c:35 marijuana laws as being racist or 
DEJURE/DEFACTO discriminatory. We must take up the successful tactics 
of the civil rights movement to end the racist marijuana laws!

Are you coming NAACP?
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom