From fentanyl and vaping related deaths to worries over synthetic cannabinoids, America has prohibition on the brain. But trying the same old policies only harder hasn’t helped – is there a better way to approach our burgeoning drug abuse problem? Join your hosts on an exploration of how fentanyl was introduced to the US market, how Chinese companies have made a mint exporting an alphabet soup of new chemical compounds, and how America can take a new approach to drug policy. LISTEN NOW…
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Dear Senators,
I’m reaching out to implore you to do the right thing this morning, and vote to override the Governor’s misplaced veto on HB 364, and support homegrown cannabis for qualifying patients. With your experience in the Senate, having heard testimony on this issue over the years, I have to believe that you now know that allowing patients to grow medicine for their personal use is the most compassionate approach we can take. Patients, not criminals!
You have a historic opportunity to change the lives of patients for the better, including for a dear friend of mine, a paraplegic who needs daily MJ for pain, and cannot always afford what the dispensaries charge. Cannabis treatments from dispensaries remain cost prohibitive for many patients (more than $400 per ounce!!!), so allowing patients to grow a plant/herb that gives them relief should, of course, be allowed in a free society.
Sadly, the Governor is wrong on this issue and I hope you will do the right thing and stand with patients and the majority of Granite Staters, including the House of Representatives who yesterday overturned the Governor’s veto by more than the 2/3 majority required. It is clear: Granite Staters want this madness to end.
If you are a Republican, I understand it is difficult to stand against our party and our Governor, but I trust you know in your heart of hearts, it is the right thing to do. If you are a Democrat, today’s veto override vote should be a no-brainer. I know that, personally, I will be watching Democrat Lou D’Allesandro’s vote ever-so-closely. If he votes against this bill, against compassion, and against patients, as he has done on MJ issues in the past, I hope voters of District 20 will finally give him the boot in 2020 in favor of my candidacy.
You all have an important decision to make, but I believe this is why you are there to serve. I hope you will stand with the will of the people, patients, and freedom, and vote to override the Governor’s veto on HB 364.
Yours sincerely,
Carla Gericke
Governor Sununu needs to start listening to the will of the people over other entrenched special interests (like police unions who are only supposed to “enforce the law” NOT lobby). A vast majority of Granite Staters support the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, and yet, here we are, still muddling through our pathetic, terrible, uneconomical and largely useless medical marijuana laws. While I agree with the Gov on many issues that promote and enhance the #NHAdvantage, he is wrong on cannabis, and I hope his vetoes on MJ reform and homegrown are overturned when the legislature goes back into session later this month.
Bipartisan “Letter to the Editor” in today’s Union Leader from Sen. Jay Kahn of Keene (Senate District 10) and Sen. John Reagan of Deerfield, who represents Senate District 17 (read full LTE here):
“Our state government has made it too difficult and too expensive for many New Hampshire residents to access therapeutic cannabis products. Two fixes passed by the Legislature are immediately available. We ask you to contact your state legislators and urge them to override the governor’s vetoes of SB 88 and SB 145 and lower the barriers for accessing therapeutic marijuana.”
“We must do better for Granite Staters who receive physician-authorized permission to use therapeutic marijuana. Residents can’t simply obtain their physician’s permission and go to the local pharmacy. By statute, a patient must wait 90 days, while they fill out a state form and submit a photo on a CD-ROM so they can receive a state ID card. The process is awful, which makes us think Governor Sununu was poorly advised when he vetoed legislation to fix it.”
For those interested in learning more about the medicinal qualities of marijuana, I recommend watching the documentary, Weed the People (watch trailer): “Cannabis has been off-limits to doctors and researchers in the US for the past 80 years, but recently scientists have discovered its anti-cancer properties. Armed with only these laboratory studies, desperate parents obtain cannabis oil from underground sources to save their children from childhood cancers. ‘Weed the People’ follows these families through uncharted waters as they take their children’s survival into their own hands. Some of their miraculous outcomes beget the unsettling question at the heart of the film: If weed is truly saving lives, why doesn’t the government want people to access it?”
Why, indeed… Could it be because the government, represented by special interest like police unions, correctional unions, and the like, BENEFIT from prohibition? Did you know who the top 5 lobbyists against marijuana legalization are? Let me help you:
Police unions
Private prisons
Prison guard unions
Alcohol companies
Big Pharma
Can you figure out why? 🙂
A New Hampshire state Senate committee recommended the Senate put off action on marijuana legalization until 2020, in a blow to a legalization effort that has sputtered in recent weeks.
A few thoughts regarding the objections listed in the Concord Monitor article:
1. Unless you plan to ban children from ever watching TV again, where shows about MJ are freely available, you really need a better excuse than “we need to protect the chillun”. If we can successfully protect children from a much more dangerous **drug**… ALCOHOL… methinks we can do the same for a safer, natural alternative.
2. It’s “illegal federally” is an excuse in NH now? For shame! What about states’ rights and the 10th Amendment? Or does that only apply when y’all want to circumvent federal stuff you DON’T like… Wayfair and internet taxes spring to mind. Don’t get me wrong, NH should be nullifying the nonsense coming out of DC left, right and center, but this a BS excuse, and y’all know it! I will add, I hope Trump de-schedules cannabis… I assure you he would win reelection in a landslide!
3. Speaking about crack-pots (haha), the most dangerous part of this whole issue is THE PEOPLE WHO STILL BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT’S EIGHTY+ YEARS OF LIES AND PROPAGANDA. Here are some facts: Cannabis has NEVER been the cause an overdose fatality. It is a PLANT found in NATURE. All human beings have cannabinoid receptors in their bodies. Maybe, just maybe, y’all can stop MEDDLING with peaceful people’s lives and stop criminalizing people’s personal choices. You have done enough harm. Stop, just stop.
PS: Can you imagine if someone tried to “legalize” an amusement park like Six Flags in America today? “You want to strap kids to what and do what???” Stop treating children like hopeless, helpless, delicate flowers, stop coddling them and treat them with the respect they deserve, which means telling them the TRUTH about things. Yes, even “scary things” like drugs, but also the destructive, racist history of the War on Drugs, a war waged by our own government on US.
I wrote a wrap up of the rallies that took place at the State House yesterday, April 20th. You can read about it at Shire Liberty News.
"As Granite Staters, we have to decide. We have to decide whether we want to walk this path towards socialism and its undeniably disastrous ends, or whether New Hampshire’s ‘Live Free or Die’ ethos is the very thing that makes our home so uniquely awesome, and that we need to fight to preserve our freedoms.
I believe ‘free markets, free people, and free enterprise’ is worth preserving. I believe our natural rights are worth fighting for. That’s why I am running for office."
EDIT on 4/20/19 to include full article below:
Yesterday was one of those epic days for pro-liberty activists in New Hampshire. My day: Get driver’s license renewed at DMV and pay $50 for the “privilege to travel” (boo!); make protest signs; don my “this is my protest sock” socks; go to rallies at the state house; then, dinner and a show.
April 20th is traditionally the day when cannabis culture is celebrated at the steps of the state house. Yesterday, in addition, a teachers’ group hosted a demonstration called “Enough” about selective solutions to gun violence in schools. (This is a polite way of saying they weren’t exactly “down” with any pro-gun suggestions.)
I gave a lot of thought to the sign I wanted to take. Something that would get people thinking, hopefully spur conversation, and work at both rallies. I finally settled on “Pro Gun/Anti War.”
At the 420 rally, cannabis activists gave speeches, including Rich Paul, Rick Naya, Representative Caleb Dwyer (LP). I spoke about the importance of personal responsibility, how the federal government’s marijuana policies have hurt ordinary people, and how states’ rights on cannabis (and other things) should prevail. I mentioned my Senate race, and asked people to come talk to me if they had questions about my sign.
Supporters came over afterwards to say they loved it, got it, and wanted to help with my campaign. The first, best thing you can do is tell your friends and neighbors that a real choice exists this November, and that it is important to vote for liberty candidates, even if, or especially if you don’t usually vote.
Voters in District 20 (Manchester Wards 3, 4, 10, 11, and Goffstown) have a choice this November between a ten term incumbent the NHLA calls a “Constitutional Threat,” or me, an emancipator of the individual, a protector of the smallest minority… someone who cares about YOU, the taxpayer. Because I am one.
Before I arrived, according to the honorable Glen Aldrich, this happened: “A state trooper came out and told everyone to leave, many started walking away, Rick Naya tells everyone to come back then tells the trooper cannabis is decriminalized and come give him a ticket and go away. The trooper walked back into state house never to return.”
We held a moment of silence to honor the millions of people who have been harmed by the War on Drugs and then, as is custom, people sparked up at the stroke of 4:20PM.
I wandered over to the “Enough!” rally being held near Main Street. I stood towards the back with my sign, and was joined by a man whose sign read: “Scared of Guns in NH? Move to Massachusetts, ‘The Nanny State!’” The “Enough!” folks didn’t like this and swarmed around us, trying to block our signs. We were joined by a few additional counter-protestors, including a man with a baby swaddled to his chest who said he was glad we were there. “Can I stand with you?” "Yes, please!"
As I listened to the competing chants coming from the different camps–the cannabis activists demanding, “Leave Us Alone!” and the teachers chanting, “Enough!” with calls to “Do Something”–I was struck by this incongruity.
THIS is the battle for the heart of New Hampshire.
You can organize society in two ways: Top down (government as a false god, dictating everything) or bottom up (individualism with a few ground rules). Here we had two competing groups feeling equally strongly about their approach: The teachers favoring socialistic answers, more restrictions of INHERENT rights, more nanny statism; the stoners favoring a hands-off approach, desiring less police- and nanny statism.
And there’s the rub: As Granite Staters, we have to decide. We have to decide whether we want to walk this path towards socialism and its undeniably disastrous ends, or whether New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” ethos is the very thing that makes our home so uniquely awesome, and that we need to fight to preserve our freedoms.
I believe “free markets, free people, and free enterprise” is worth preserving. I believe our natural rights are worth fighting for. That’s why I am running for office.
I left Concord behind to attend a birthday party of Christine B, the FSP’s former events’ director and PorcFest XI producer. A dozen or so “liberty ladies” met for dinner at Piccolos in downtown Manchester, and then headed to The Palace Theater to see “Mamma Mia!”
At dinner, I mentioned to the wife of a core activist of the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance how much I appreciate the hard work he puts in to creating the weekly Gold Standard that makes pro-liberty recommendations on bills. This dedicated wife teared up, grateful that someone had noticed her husband’s tireless work.
This reminded me how important it is to thank your liberty activists early and often! Tell them you appreciate them! Show your support by donating to your favorite Shire liberty causes: the Free State Project, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, the Get Involved PAC, the Foundation for New Hampshire Independence, and my race.
The sold-out musical was fun. Set to the music of ABBA, the audience clapped and sang along. During the rendition of “The Winner Takes It All,” I could barely keep down my own tears.
“I don’t wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You’ve come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all
So the winner takes it all
And the loser has to fall
Throw a dice, cold as ice
Way down here, someone dear
Takes it all, has to fall
It seems plain to me.”
If it’s true that the winner takes it all–I’d quibble and say in a free society, where free markets function properly, voluntary exchange benefits ALL parties–then, let’s make sure we win! Our future as Granite Staters of a free state depends on it!
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Donate today or to avoid fees, send checks to:
Carla Gericke for NH Senate
497 Hooksett Road #134
Manchester, NH, 03104
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Thanks for your support! Let’s win!
“The Culture High” (2014) is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen on the marijuana debate, connecting many of the disparate dots. I’m left with a sense of frustration–WHY is legalization taking so long? (Hint: special interests of the poli-crony-elite persuasion.) And a sense of hope–many in the film believe we will see global legalization (in some form) in our lifetimes. I’m also hopeful on a smaller scale because of today’s decriminalization of small amounts of MJ in NH (3/4oz, or a “Bradley,” in honor of the senator who reduced the amount from the standard 1oz). In the movie, they cover David Nutt’s firing for doing the science behind drugs and coming up with the following chart. Yes, you read that right. Alcohol is by far the most harmful drug. Yet, here in NH, the government peddles booze by the highway. The same government that is considering introducing KENO gambling to pay for full-day kindergarten. In case you don’t know it yet, the state thinks “bad things” can be “good” for you, as long as “they” run it on your behalf (and take the tax money). Don’t be fooled, folks. We MUST resist any form of MJ legalization that does not include a homegrown provision. The film also discuss how FACTS don’t matter to politicians. They simply want “evidence” to support the policies that are already in place. This is why it is so difficult to shift people in power’s perspectives–it’s hard admitting you were wrong. But it is the right thing to do. Which means…I will no longer tolerate ignorance by any NH politician, reporter, or state employee on this issue. If you utter the words “Gateway Drug,” expect to be ridiculed. If you support putting peaceful people in jail for MJ, expect to be ridiculed. YOU NO LONGER HAVE ANY EXCUSE FOR YOUR IGNORANCE. (If you don’t know where to start, watch “The Culture High,” it’s full of people like you, former cops, policymakers and politicians who have the DECENCY to admit they were duped and are now doing the right thing.) I was deeply saddened by yesterday’s news about Ross Ulbricht’s appeal being turned down, but ultimately, thanks to the Internet, the battle to free minds and to #FreeRoss continues to tilt in our favor. As Lyn said to me yesterday: We won’t stop the fight. I add: Never give up. Peaceful resistance will prevail. There are more of us, than them! Viva la EVOLution!
