This April 20th, about a hundred people from all over the New Hampshire area gathered at the Concord State House for the 7th annual rally to end Prohibition. I was there with my camera to capture the event. People smoked pot. They played music. They wrote messages with chalk. They gave speeches and live-streamed interviews. They even gave away pornographic calendars sponsored by local businesses. Happy people living in peace.
Supposedly armed bureaucrats are “just following orders” when they kidnap and cage these peaceful people for having the wrong plant in their pockets, but when these same people gather together in large numbers, the evil law enforcers leave them alone. It’s a simple numbers game. An individual is an easy target. By outnumbering the bad guys, good guys can prevent and negate potential conflicts.
That is the lesson of the 420 Rally in Concord, and it is the strategy employed by the people moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. People who believe in liberty are coming together in one geographic location to live free and achieve liberty in our lifetime. The more of us there are, the less likely a potential conflict.
The day after this rally, people calling themselves the NH Senate voted to continue the war on peaceful cannabis consumers. Here’s what one of the so-called “Senators” told the Concord Monitor: “We are in a war…The last thing we need is to tell our citizens that it’s okay to use a little marijuana or any other illegal substance.”
I’ve got news for you, dude. It *is* okay to use marijuana. It’s NOT okay to be threatening peaceful pot smokers. We’re past the point where we have to defend marijuana. We’re at the point where the bureaucrats have to defend being against it. With each passing day, people are gaining more courage to live free as bureaucrats are becoming more impotent. These guys are criminals wearing badges, we smoked pot right in front of them, and their hired henchmen didn’t lift a finger to stop us. So they can either write some more words on paper for us to ignore, or they can put down the badges and join humanity.
Filing for Municipal elections closed today for anyone wishing to pay a fee of either $2 or $5 depending on the office. Prospective candidates can still file until the end of the week, if they wish to submit a petition in lieu of the filing fee. Steven Lindsey, Randy Filiault, Bradford Hutchingson, Ian Freeman, Carl Jacobs, Kris Roberts, Emily Hague, David Meader, Beverly Creamer, David Curran & Robert Sutherland have all filed for City Council At-Large, and three candidates filed for the Mayoral position. Kendall Lane has filed for re-election, while he has two challengers; Rich Paul and Darryl W. Perry. The City Clerk’s Office has not yet heard from the State Attorney General if Paul, who is ineligible to serve, will be removed from the ballot.
Of the six Council positions elected in the five ward, there are candidates in half of those races. Ward 1 is electing two councilors this year, as one position is a mid-term special election; David Crawford and Sheryl Redfern are vying for that seat. James “Robinhood” Cleaveland is challenging incumbent Mitch Greenwald in Ward 2, while Conan Salada is challenging Robert O’Connor for the Ward 4 seat.
One other race has competition. William Marcello, Kathleen Richards, Fred Parker and Matthew McKeon will face off for three Selectmen positions in Ward 3.
The Fundraiser for Rich Paul’s appeal has been successful and the campaign to free Rich Paul is moving into a more long-term strategy. The appeal lawyer’s retainer has been raised with $3,000.00 contributed by Rich’s parents, $3,500.00 contributed by the Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund , and the remaining funds donated through the fundraising campaign. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all those that donated and supported Rich Paul!
The lawyer hired to represent Rich through the appeals process is Joshua Gordon and he has one of best records for successful appeals in New Hampshire. Rich and many of those involved behind the scenes are confident that Joshua will do a good job. The appeals process is a long one and should verdict be overturned the case may be retried.
The Civil Disobedience Evolution Fund believes in “supporting the good people who disobey bad laws” and has seen fit to make a substantial contribution to the Appeal Fundraiser. CD Evolution has not been very active as of late but they are hoping to change that starting with this appeal. Please take a moment and visit their website for more information on the volunteer organization.
The fundraising is not finished by any means. Next up we need to raise the $1,200 it will cost to get the trial transcripts from the court and while the initial retainer is covered Joshua Gordon may require more hours of work than estimated and there are other expenses that may come up. Couple that with the possibility of a retrial and the money needed is still quite substantial. Essentially, the first step of this journey is complete and now we need to prepare for the next steps.
Rich Paul has become a martyr for the legal marijuana movement, risking a life in prison rather than accept that something he loves should be a crime.
As Harry Cheadle of Vice reported earlier, the New Hampshire libertarian was arrested on four charges of selling marijuana and one of selling LSD last year. Paul refused to bargain with the FBI or accept a plea bargain — even when offered a deal with no jail time — and when his trial came Paul tried in vain to convince the jury not to convict him.
At his sentencing on Friday, Paul faces a maximum of 100 years in prison, even if he is likely to get far less.
While his story has been held up as a paragon of ludicrous drug laws, the 40-year-old claims that he’s really being targeted because of his membership in a libertarian political group.
Be a part of the campaign and help give Rich Paul a chance to avoid as much as 81 years in a cage! I’ve started a fundraiser with gofundme.com here!
I have also started a facebook event. Please join the event, invite your friends, and donate!
There will be more updates and a press release later in the week. Rich has sacrificed a lot to try and effect change in the court system, the least we can do is give a few dollars to help him out!
to make a substantial contribution to the Appeal Fundraiser. CD Evolution has not been very active as of late but they are hoping to change that starting with this appeal. Please take a moment and 
