The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws released a well organized document that  hits all points in regards to the process of the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana[cannabis].  Any outdated stereotype based objection that you may hear from your representative or family member can be defeated with information contained in this document.

The report goes in depth into case studies examining the effects of cannabis decriminalization in various states and countries that have passed the appropriate laws.  A noticeable trend in virtually all the studies is that the existence of legal access to cannabis does not cause an increase in the overall use of the substance, and particularly that its use among youths is not increased.

My suggestion is to download the file below and attach it to an email to each of your elected representatives.  If they’re not receptive to the information, they’ll possibly send you a letter back thanking you for your opinion.  They will go on to say that it is not their intention to blah blah blah…. Don’t let this be the end of the interaction.  You should respond to them and repute any argument they may have in favor of keeping this God given medicine illegal.

Here is the link to the pdf.  Read it.  Share it.  Force this information into the in-boxes of the decision makers of this state.

Real World Ramifications of Legalization

It’s this writer’s experience that some wooden headed representatives refuse to accept new information, so you will have to be persistent, and armed with facts.

Don’t want to share your yahoo or gmail address?  Get yourname@IamnotaCriminal.org today at I am not a criminal dot org.

You can help drive thousands more people from rural Texas to join us in this year’s Texas Cannabis Crusade.  If you want to spread the word about our march to the cannabis consuming members of your community, consider ordering a box of TCC Posters.  These posters are high quality 18″X12″ full color versions of the poster below.  All you need is spare time, a stapler, tape or spray glue, and you can tell everyone in your city or town that they should join you in Austin on May 1st.

Of course, we would love to ship these posters out to every town in Texas, but our limited budget prevent us from doing so.  Your money goes to cover the overhead costs of printing and shipping these posters.  If you and four of your friends can spare $20, you can order a 100 pack of these posters to hang all over your town, and likely draw in lots of folks who otherwise wouldn’t hear about this event.

Remember this is a grassroots organization, and we depend on our roots [YOU] to help us grow.  By helping us promote this event, you are helping to re-legalize cannabis in Texas!

How many?

25 $25.00 50 $50.00 75 $75.00

Need More???!!!

How many?

100 pk $100.00 200 pk $175.00 300 pk $250.00

If you’ve done your homework, you know that all Mexicans are not crazy.  Also for the record, those who are crazy were not made that way by this stuff.  The headline of this blog was a statement uttered on the floor of the Texas Legislature by an elected representative in the early 1900’s.  This was nearly one hundred years ago, before the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed by the federal government.

Here we are in 2010, and the people responsible for making the decisions regarding marijuana are just about as educated on cannabis as the delegates were a hundred years ago.  Just last year, one member of our State Legislature stated on record that she had never heard the term cannabis before and asked about its meaning.

Ignorance is no excuse!  It was an inexcusable act to have prohibited this substance in the first place, on the basis of racism, and it is an inexcusable act not to do something to right that wrong now.  Last year HB 902 died in committee, because the people that we elected to represent us failed to do so.  Perhaps next year you will feel that it is your personal obligation to show up to a public committee hearing to offer your testimony on the subject.  It is.

Of the millions of cannabis consuming Texans out there, only three individuals were present to defend the side of right at the scheduled hearing for HB 902 last year.  The bill would have reduced the penalty of possession of under ONE OUNCE to a Class C Misdemeanor.  Not exactly full on legalization, but definitely a nice small step in the right direction.  However, this bill never got the attention it deserved, it died, and 100,000 more otherwise law abiding Texans will go to jail before September 1, 2011.

The responsibility rested within the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee to allow this bill to be voted on by the House.  They failed us.  Several members of this committee are quite aware of the facts, and have even stated that no matter how many of their constituents wanted this legislation to pass, they would not consider it.  A few of the individuals who hold firm to this belief are as follows:

Debbie Riddle  <———–Does not know definition of cannabis.  Call her office and explain it to her.  (512) 463-0572

Allen Fletcher <—Understands what cannabis is, but holds strong to his law enforcement background (512)  463-0661

Wayne Christian <——Call him & help him decide if he wants to continue to assist ruining lives. (512) 463-0556

Follow this link to find out who represents you.  Call or write to them, and tell them your story.  STOP BEING SHEEP!  This government belongs to us, but it’s working against us.  It’s time to throw the bums out!  It’s time to flood the streets.  See you on May 1st.

Hector X.

The High Times Doobie Awards are returning to Austin this year for their 8th annual award ceremony.  It promises to be another smoking hot party this year right up in the mix of all the SXSW insanity.  This year’s event is being held at Emo’s Outside at 603 Red River.

This year we will the show gets started at HIGH NOON, and runs til 6pm. The show is once again being hosted by High Times Senior Editor Bobby Black.  Making a special appearance is Hip-Hop Icon, B-Real, accepting the highest award, “Lifetime Achievement,” on behalf of Cypress Hill.

Performers this year include:

NEBULA,
KARMA TO BURN,
LOS MARIJUANOS, PROSPECT HILL,
LIONIZE, HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES,
DIXIEWITCH
& AMY JO SAVANNAH.

This year the nominees include:

BEST JAM BAND ARTIST
Phish – Joy
The Black Crowes – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
Disco Biscuits – Planet Anthem
Monsters of Folk – Self-Titled
Gov’t Mule – By A Thread

BEST REGGAE / SOUL MUSIC ARTIST
Easy Star All-Stars – Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band
Lionize – Space Pope and the Glass Machine
Matisyahu – Light
Tarrus Riley – Contagious
Ocote Soul Sounds – Coconut Rock

BEST HIP-HOP ARTIST
B Real – Smoke N Mirrors
Method & Red – Blackout 2
Kottonmouth Kings – Hidden Stash 420
Asher Roth – Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day

BEST METAL ARTIST
Mastodon – Crack The Skye
DevilDriver – Pray For Villains
Slayer – World Painted Blood
Shadows Fall – Retribution
Cannabis Corpse – The Weeding

BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK ARTIST
Them Crooked Vultures – Self-Titled
Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue
Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg
Assjack – Self-Titled
Nick Oliveri – Death Acoustic

BEST STONER ROCK ARTIST
Clutch – Strange Cousins from the West
Fu Manchu – Signs of Infinite Power
Priestess – Prior To The Fire
Seventh Void – Self-Titled
House of Broken Promises – Using the Useless

BEST NEW / UNDERGROUND ARTIST
Prospect Hill
DJ Slim
Seventh Void
Lionize
Cycle of Pain

BEST LOCAL BAND
Dixiewitch
Funkotron
Amplified Heat
Iron Age
Ocote Soul Sounds

POT SONG OF THE YEAR
“Do My Work High” – Cycle of Pain featuring Sen Dog
“Choking Gesture” – Hank III & Assjack
“Day ‘N Night” – Kid Cudi
“Must Be the Ganja”  – Eminem
“Blunt Cruisin’” – Asher Roth
“Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers”  – Method & Red

We will be there spreading the word about the Crusade.  Mark your calendar, and make plans to fight the traffic to join us at this awesome party.  Tickets are $15 at the door, and no advance tickets are being sold.

If we don’t see you there, we hope to see you and all your friends at Wooldridge Square Park on May 1st.

Time is fleeting, and the date for this year’s Texas Cannabis Crusade is quickly approaching.  This event has gained momentum every year, since its inception in 2008.  Last year our march drew over 1,500 participants, making it the largest pro-cannabis reform rally in Texas’ history.  This year will be no exception, with expected participation projected in the thousands.

The question is WHAT CAN YOU DO????

You, as a cannabis consuming, freedom fighting Texan, should be helping us add new participants every day.  Whether you have 10 or 10,000 online friends, you should give them all the opportunity to make it to this event.  If they haven’t heard about the march, there’s no way they’ll be there.  It’s up to you to spread the word of our march far and wide to all who will listen.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or make calls to talk radio shows.  Be sure to mention that you will be in attendance, and encourage others to join you.  No matter where you are in the state, there is a march that you can attend.  You may have to make it a road trip, but it is important that we have folks from rural areas, as well as local Austonians.  If you are in or around Dallas-Fort Worth, visit www.DFWNORML.org for info on the Dallas March.

If you’ve attended this march before, then you know how much fun standing up for your rights can be.  Be sure to return to this year’s march with your own small army of friends.  We have expected participants coming from the Corpus Christi, Waco, Lubbock, Beaumont areas, and everywhere in between.  If you are in need of transportation to this march, please post a comment below with your location and contact info.  We will try to connect you with someone traveling in from your area.

Go forth now and recruit one hundred people to attend.  We currently hold the record for the largest pro cannabis reform rally in Texas History, for the 2009 Texas Cannabis Crusade.  Help us shatter that record this year.  Arm yourselves with facts and go forth!

See you in May!

-Hector X.
512-553-0420

You’ve waited long enough.  We have our full musical lineup finalized.  We’ll bring you great music for people of all musical taste.  No matter your walk of life, if you are a cannabis consuming Texan, you should attend this free event.  This year, we will have America’s Pot Poet, Paul Bullock and Pot Patriot Jet Baker on hand to MC, the event.  The following musical performers will be included in this year’s Cannabis Crusade!

Chief Greenbud

Champa

Sun Salutation

Ashes of Babylon

One Step Program

Shotgun Hustler

The Raspas

Champagne w/ Friends

Radio Valley

Flatcar Rattlers

Remember this is a free event to all interested in attending.  A limited number of VIP PASSES are available.

This event is free to all who will attend. However, we do have a limited number of VIP Passes available for $100.

The price for VIP Passes will increase to $150 after April 1st, so secure yours early.

VIP Package includes:

Reserved Seat on stage at The Capitol
VIP Badge
Texas Cannabis Crusade Shirt
Meal Tickets
Bottled Water
Treats too special to mention

If you can afford it, you should definitely pick one up. You won’t regret it. Remember, your money is going to a good cause, and it is far from free to bring an event of this magnitude to life. We must raise thousands of dollars to make this event possible every year.

Click Here for more information.

“Plenty of musicians strive to be the “poet laureate” of the pot world. Unfortunately, there’s never been a breakthrough artist – until now!” – High Times Magazine

Thanks to the overwhelming response from the people of Texas over the last few years, our Third Annual Texas Cannabis Crusade is proving to become the largest yet.  Our expected attendance has exceeded the maximum capacity for our previous venue.

We are proud to announce that Outgrow Big Bro and Texas NORML will host the event this year at the historic Wooldridge Square Park.  The park is located at 9th and Guadalupe.  You can expect the same intensity as in years passed, but our new location is just five blocks from The Capitol.

Currently, we are fine tuning the new route for the march, but it will definitely include a pass by City Hall.

The full lineup will be released in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned to this site, or call 512-553-0420 for further details.

Thank you all for your continued support over the last few years!  We look forward to this year’s march, and our continued ZERO ARREST record!

Sorry for the limited updates over the last several months here on the site.

I am writing today to give a partial lineup release.  Below, in no particular order are a few artists who will be performing at the Third Annual Texas Cannabis Crusade:

Shotgun Hustler

Jet Baker

Champagne with Friends

The Raspas

Click the band name above to check them out online.  More bands and speakers to be announced at a later date.

If you are a cannabis consumer, you should also be an advocate.  Please, join us on this day for fun festivities and freedom.  Bring your friends. Bring good vibes.  Bring a bongo.  Bring a blanket.  Food and drinks will be available at the festival for modest donations to Outgrow Big Bro or Texas NORML.  This is our third year, so we are getting better at this, and our momentum is growing.

Help us keep the ball rolling by spreading news of the Texas Cannabis Crusade far and wide to all that will hear it.  Do you live in a rural area?  Send in a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, informing them of our event in Austin.  This event is held in Austin, but it’s held to benefit all of Texas.  So fill a bus, and meet us at Zilker Park at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 1st, 2010.

PEACE & DANKS!!

-Brad