NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS
1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
SUITE 1010
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
TEL 202-483-5500 * FAX 202-483-0057
E-MAIL natlnorml@aol.com
Internet http://www.norml.org/

... a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.

June 29, 1995

Major Announcement: Capricorn Records To Issue HEMPILATION CD In Fall Supporting NORML And Protesting Marijuana Prohibition

        Capricorn Records and NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, are collaborating to put out a CD album this fall that will be a vocal protest against the injustice of marijuana prohibition.  High Times Magazine, which covers the music scene in addition to reporting on marijuana, helped assemble the talent.  Capricorn issued a press release from Nashville announcing the CD and NORML issued the following statement from Washington.
        Statement by NORML:  Since even before the days of Harry Anslinger's aborted plans to arrest jazz musicians in the 1930s, there has been a connection between music, musicians, and marijuana; however, it has been very hard to find connections between the music business and the marijuana reform movement.  No more.  Capricorn Records has broken down the closet door by assembling an extraordinary group of today's hottest bands for the first-ever benefit CD for NORML.  It is appropriately called HEMPILATION.  The bands include the Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, Cypress Hill, Drivin-N-Cryin, Gov't Mule (featuring Warren Haynes), 311, Widespread Panic, Ziggy & The Melody Makers, and others.  The artists are contributing "HEMP" classics or original pieces.
        The connection between NORML and Capricorn actually dates back to the 1970's when Phil Walden, the President of Capricorn, served on the NORML Board of Directors.  When the HEMPILATION was announced, Walden said he hoped that "this project will not only be a great source of entertainment, but will also help spread the word about the many positive actions of NORML and the benefits of hemp as more than a drug."  Walden made clear that the HEMPILATION wasn't an endorsement of using marijuana but rather the belief that the criminal prosecution of marijuana users was unjust and unfair.  This, of course, is NORML's position.  We are not trying to get people to smoke marijuana, but rather to get the government to stop arresting those who do.  "HEMPILATION is a testament to these bands' support of NORML's efforts to reform these laws," Walden explained.
        The liner notes for the CD will include more information about hemp and marijuana prohibition and will contain a membership application for joining NORML.  This -- along with the royalties donated by Capricorn and the artists -- will make an enormous difference in the ability of NORML to work to end the arrests of marijuana users.  NORML naturally hopes that everyone who buys the CD will become better informed and more motivated to get involved in the defense of freedom, whether they smoke marijuana or not.  The HEMPILATION offers a way for both music lovers and musicians to stand up for freedom.
        We also hope that more people in the music business will be moved by the example of Capricorn and the HEMPILATION artists to support NORML and the marijuana reform movement.  It takes courage for a businessman like Phil Walden to take the lead in supporting NORML, but when others see the public support for Capricorn and the HEMPILATION, they may find that standing up for one's beliefs is a very satisfying experience.  In fact, the music business has the power to change America.  It remains to be seen how many other musicians and music industry executives will be inspired by the example of Walden and the artists on the HEMPILATION and will come forward.
        Almost ten million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges since 1965.  If the music business really got behind the marijuana reform movement, these arrests would stop.  A lot of musicians like to sing about pot probably even more like to smoke it and they may think that this makes them look "cool."  However, what is really "cool" is standing up for freedom.  Freedom Is NORML.
        [For more information on the HEMPILATION, contact Jeremy Much at Capricorn Records, (615) 320-8470.  For information on music industry's support for NORML call Steve Bloom, High Times magazine, at (212) 387-0500.]

Jimmy Montgomery Remains In Prison As Nation Celebrates Freedom

        June 29, Oklahoma:  Paraplegic Jimmy Montgomery, passed over for early release for non-violent offenders (people in wheelchairs are so dangerous), remains in prison in Oklahoma, pending parole board hearings on July 12.  Montgomery has almost died several times.  His life and freedom now depend on action by the Oklahoma Parole Board.  NORML urges that everyone contact the following Parole Board members before July 12:

Supreme Court Ruling On Student Drug Testing Expected To Decrease Pot Use And Increase Alcohol And Hard Drug Use By Students

        June 26, Washington, D.C.:  Comments on the Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of random drug testing of student athletes generally overlook the fact that such tests do not detect alcohol use and are far less effective in detecting the use of cocaine and other hard drugs than marijuana.  Marijuana metabolites (not the drug itself) are detectable in urine far longer than residues of cocaine, etc.  This will have the effect of encouraging the use of hard drugs and alcohol which are far more dangerous than marijuana.
        In his opinion supporting the ruling, Justice Scalia wrote that the "Fourth Amendment does not protect all subjective expectations of privacy, but only those which society recognizes as legitimate."  After decades of hate propaganda to justify arresting millions of marijuana users, the American people have now been conditioned to believe that forcing someone to urinate on command does not violate their legitimate" rights.  What the Fourth Amendment actually says:  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall Issue, but upon probable cause supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."  Thomas Jefferson had intended to put in the part about "only those which society recognizes as legitimate," but he forgot.  He was probably suffering from short term memory loss because he grew hemp at Monticello.  We are not going to be drug-free, just unfree.

Anaheim Repeals Ordinance Barring Former Drug Offenders From Parks

        June 27, Anaheim, CA:  In response to a lawsuit brought by NORML and the Southern California ACLU, the city of Anaheim has repealed an ordinance that would have kept persons convicted of marijuana charges out of the city's parks.  A medical marijuana patient convicted of growing cannabis for his own use would have been barred from attending a rally in favor of medical access to cannabis had the ordinance not been enjoined by the courts prior to its repeal.
        [The case was handled by Mark Silverstein of the Los Angeles office of the ACLU.  Mr. Silverstein can be reached at (213) 977-9500.]

Announcing: Compassionate Oregonians For Medicinal Cannabis

        June 15, Portland, OR:  Oregon citizens, frustrated by the Oregon Legislature's failure to address access to medicinal cannabis and the Federal Government's denial of the need, have joined to form this not-for-profit organization.
        The organization can be reached at: 2600 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd., #126, Portland, OR, 97212 or call (503) 288-8816.

Counting Down: The Ten Millionth Arrest Since 1965 Will Take Place On July 20

        The ten millionth marijuana arrest since 1965 will take place on July 20th, the last day of a prohibitionist propaganda conference on marijuana sponsored by NIDA (the National Institute on Drug Abuse).  Speakers at the conference will include such propagandists as Drug Czar Lee Brown and HHS Secretary Donna Shalala.  Their objective will be to avoid "inhale" jokes and justify another ten million arrests for marijuana during a heroin, binge alcohol drinking, and inhalant epidemic.

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ALMOST 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 ... ANOTHER EVERY 90 SECONDS!