FROM OUR MAILBAG 6/28 - 7/9/98:
Clinton & Gingrich Launch Billion Dollar Ad Campaign in Atlanta
ADAM J SMITH STILL TALKS SENSE...
FROM L. John K., Tenino, WA, USA:
Dear Editor,
Thanx so much for your message. We need many more sites like this to help make citizens aware of just what the drug war is doing to our once free country.
I speak from experience: I spent about 7 yrs in & out of Calif. juvenile & adult prison systems for possession of small amounts of cannabis way back in the 50s & 60s. I watched violent armed robbers etc.get out in less time than most of the small time drug possession inmates. I thought surely by now this madness would have stopped. it's only gotten worse.
For the past 30 yrs. I've been a model citizen. I have a trade,(journeyman toolmaker), I own 12 acres here in Washington State. I've raised a family. I'm now a grandfather. I don't use drugs or alcohol any more. I just grew out of it. However, drugs themselves never had a harmful effect on my life. I was always rather temperate about it. It's been the laws that have caused me & many others I know the problems.
I consider myself a legalizer. I firmly believe in a Libertarian form of govt. I hope before I die to see all victimless crimes legalized between & among consenting adults. Blah blah.
Thanx for listening.
L. John K.,
Tenino, Wa
ADAM J. SMITH RESPONDS: John,
You are certainly not alone in finding that the drug laws did you more harm than drugs themselves. 7 years of your life is certainly a tragic loss. Interestingly, our leaders seem wedded to a policy (Prohibition) which not only destroys the lives of hundreds of thousands of non-problematic users, but which insures that through an unregulated black market, children all over America have easy access to everything from marijuana to methamphetamine. Wouldn't it make more sense to put this market into the hands of licensed, responsible professionals and to create meaningful age restrictions on sales? The problem is that there is a lot of money in incarceration and interdiction. So instead we continue to imprison people like you, while we corrupt democratic institutions world-wide in an absurd quest to enforce the unenforceable.
If you are interested in becoming part of the solution, my organization, the Drug Reform Coordination Network is building a nation-wide grass-roots movement, connected via the internet. Come check out our web site and subscribe to our weekly newsletter and legislative alert network. It's only one to two emails per week but you'll be kept up to date on the Drug War and the movement to reform it, both nationally and internationally, and you'll get timely bulletins letting you know how and when to make yourself heard to your state and federal legislators and officials.
Thanks for sharing your story. And thanks to Rod for letting me plug my organization. Keep the faith. The end of the war is coming... and sooner than you'd think.
- adam
And from Those Irrepressible Ghouls over at the LAIDP:
FROM Zachariah Love, Los Angeles, USA:
Big Big Bulletin, Babies -
No shit this time, the news is actually worth reading. We've taken leave of what little sense we had, and we're upping the stakes in our current Lee Jr. game, but good! In a crazy, experimental-type move, disguised as a gesture of generosity, we're raising the grand prize for the August - January contest to (you ready?) ONE THOUSAND AMERICAN DOLLARS!!! Are we nuts!??! Maybe so. Whatever the case, we urge you to take advantage of us by zipping over to http://stiffs.com, pronto. While you're there, you might also want to dip your wick in our newest far-out feature, The Blurb Of The Day, delivered fresh to you each morning. Well, it's not delivered, really, but that's just as well, considering who would probably be doing the delivering. Ever seen our PR guy in the morning? Anyway, that's the scoop, we just thought you wouldn't want to miss your chance. Lots goin' on here at Death Central ... Be part of it!
See ya,
Zachariah Love, Commissioner
Drew Scharlatt, Two-Time Champion
and Greg Hicks, Bartender
The Lee Atwater Invitational Dead Pool
Featuring The stiffs.com Select-O-Matic
http://stiffs.com
Guest Writer, Dan VandeMortel Scores...
FROM Mark K., [No City Provided], USA:
Thank you for putting out some of the best reads on the net. Everything that I have read here has sparked an interest or made me smile. I especially enjoyed Dan VandeMortle's piece [in] Irish Eyes. I am looking foreward to reading more from him. Keep on telling in like it is!
Peace,
Mark K.
United States of America
ROD RESPONDS: Mark, thanks for visiting the G21 and for writing! We really do appreciate hearing from our visitors/readers. We work hard to both present perspectives from ON THE GROUND around the world, and get our stories right.
Considering the many major gaffs by larger organizations, we're very proud of our track record and the important stories we've been able to present here. We hope you'll tell ALL your friends about our site, and come back often yourself.
Regards.
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