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Simply put, prohibition kills more than what is prohibited. This is why #theMOREtour2020 began. We set out to travel to Portland, OR to join the "It's About Time March" which was unfortunately smoked out by the PNW wild fires. The March was an idea that started in the mind of one of the many victims of prohibition, Executive Director of Memphis NORML, Anna Butler. Supporters of freedom nationwide took to the streets on September 12th to create awareness in support of The M.O.R.E. Act. (Read more about The M.O.R.E. Act below)
It's so far been an amazing journey! Myself and the Ganja Grunt left from Colorado Springs
on September 4th and have so far traveled over 2k miles across this so called, "free country"but is it really free? In 33 out of 50 states in America, cannabis is considered "legal" to some extent but still, according to 2018 statistics, 1 non-violent person is arrested for simple drug possession every 50 seconds in America, even in these so called "legal" states.
Where are the digital versions of your green cotton rectangles going? To join the efforts of Platoon 420 as #theMOREtour2020 rages on! The plan is to land in Slab City USA by December but we've go another 2k miles to go!
Thank you so much to those who have contributed so far!
Helen & Pastor Peter Yeaple of CannaWeTalk42o
Stacey Theis, with the Cannaeese Campaign & owner of the Cannabus
Kimberleigh Lynn
We're going into week 3 and have raised just under $250 in community contributions! We couldn't have done this without you! 2k miles with just $250?! Yes! We know how to get things done for pennies on the dollar. We've also contributed just under $500 of our own personal resources to keep moving. After all, part of effective activism is being resourceful.
We invite you to follow our journey by subscribing on YouTube but here's a quick summary of the past 2,000+ miles we've done in 2 weeks on $250 worth of community contributions and a hell of a lot of drive!
#theMOREtour2020 Phase 1: COMPLETE
Starting in the legal state of Colorado, we traveled to New Mexico to check on Harvey the RV in Tres Piedras where he's been sitting since the breakdown in June. New Mexico is a prohibition state that thankfully has reciprocity laws allowing for patients in other legal states to travel with their medicine without fear of arrest. We then went back up trough Colorado to visit the highest dispensary on the planet just before booking it through Prohibition territory in Utah crossing safely into Nevada without incident. After another day of travel, we pulled into Weed, California just minutes before 4:20 and were able to share that moment with you on FBLive and eventually ended up in Portland.
Once we arrived in Oregon we drove through hours of thick smoke as multiple wildfires burned around us. These wildfires have been threatening what's known as the "breadbasket of cannabis" that covers northern California into southern Oregon. Eventually we ended up in Portland and spent some time assisting with relief efforts being managed by The Wave working in collaboration with Food Fleet & We Do Better. These organizations had thousands of pounds of fish & produce shipped in to create & distribute food boxes to the Columbia River Tribes in the area affected by Covid shut downs and the recent wildfires.
Then wouldn't you know it, late last week House Democrats announced that the vote on The M.O.R.E. Act they had originally scheduled for September 21st will be postponed until after the elections during lame duck sessions. so, as per usual the government is dangling that carrot of freedom in the faces of Americans everywhere as if to use it as a ploy to get you to cast your vote for one old party candidate or the other.
This means we need to keep going! We need to keep spreading that awareness and maximizing that outreach. The Plan is simple:
Leave Portland by the first week of October to head south
Visit some farms in Nevada and bring the Vegas Cannabis market to you LIVE
Stop by Mother Natures Den in AZ to visit the Yeaples
Visit Adam Kokesh at The Garden of Freedom
Head back to Taos, NM to winterize Harvey the RV
On to Slab City California where we'll set up camp for the winter and get back into Season 4 of The W.A.R.R. Room on location from one of the most incredible off-grid communities in the west.
What is The M.O.R.E. Act?
The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act (The M.O.R.E. Act) was introduced by VP candidate Kamala Harris in late July 2020. As explained by NORML "The MORE Act removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act — thus providing individual states with the authority to be the primary arbiters of cannabis policy and eliminating the existing conflict between state-level marijuana legalization policies and federal law.
The MORE Act would also make several other important changes to federal marijuana policy. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration for the first time to make medical cannabis recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states, and it incentivizes states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. The MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry." Read the full text of the bill HERE
What's hidden in the fine print?
What's not being so well publicized is the 5% federal cannabis tax that would be enacted and where those funds are being allocated.
(1) 50 percent to the Attorney General to carry out section 3052(a) of part OO of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
(2) 10 percent to the Attorney General to carry out section 3052(b) of part OO of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
(3) 20 percent to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to carry out section 5(b)(1) of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019.
(4) 20 percent to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to carry out section 5(b)(2) of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019”..”.
According to Wikepedia, "The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Pub.L.90–351, 82 Stat.197, enacted June 19, 1968, codified at 34 U.S.C.§ 10101et seq.) was legislation passed by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson that established the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA).[1] Title III of the Act set rules for obtaining wiretap orders in the United States. It had been started shortly after November 22, 1963 when evidence in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy increased public alertness to the relative lack of control over the sale and possession of guns in the United States."
It goes on to explain that the act "provided federal grant funding for criminology and criminal justice research, much of which focused on social aspects of crime.[2] Research grants were also provided to develop alternative sanctions for punishment of young offenders. Block grants were provided to the states, with $100 million in funding.[3] Within that amount, $50 million was earmarked for assistance to local law enforcement agencies, which included funds to deal with riot control and organized crime." So essentially, 50% of cannabis taxes taken by the government will go back toward funding the war on non-violent offenders for victimless crimes.
This is obviously a big concern to us here at Platoon 420 as we don't believe that any law should exist that mandates what an individual does with their bodies. Why should cannabis smokers be extorted to aid in the continuation of simple possession arrests?
Final Thoughts
We're worth MORE than what's in The M.O.R.E. Act and by MORE I mean less: less extortion and less victimless crime arrests. Perhaps it would be better to form a board to decide how to allocate those federal taxes. A board made up of those who have been negatively affected by prohibition to represent the actual needs of their community as we break through to legalization. How is it so hard for a nation that's supposed to be of the people to let their people decide?
What can you do?
Write your local representatives WEEKLY! You can find their information by visiting House.gov and simply entering your zip code. Every time you think to take your concerns to social media, stop for a minute and send those same thought to your rep. THEY WORK FOR YOU! Never forget that, but they cant represent you if you aren't communicating your needs to them.
Register with the platoon by taking the Pledge:
I will stand tall in the face of tyranny for the best interest of myself and my community. I denounce the archaic drug laws that have made victims of the people they were written to protect and I will not support any legislation that regulates what a person puts in their body. (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
Once you've registered you'll receive monthly newsletters and special Platoon only content including email templates you'll be able to use when communicating with your representatives.
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