New mover Chris Cantwell reflects on his first month in the Shire:
A few weeks ago, my shotgun would have subjected me to years in a state prison, I paid an 8.625% sales tax on nearly everything I purchased, and a progressive state income tax made every effort to steal from me the fruits of my labor. Finally, a local municipality driven mad by xenophobic anti-immigration activists declared my apartment illegal and threatened to evict me from my home. Thanks for that, no, really, thank you, because coming to New Hampshire is the single greatest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.
So I fit what I could in my van and fled the criminal gangs calling themselve The State, operating inside the arbitrary geopolitical boundary commonly known as New York. 5 hours north, I find myself in Marlborough, New Hampshire, just outside of Keene.
While visiting the 21st annual Extravaganja festival in Amherst, Massachusetts, I had the chance to meet a long-time advocate for a peace declaration in the war on drugs. Jack Cole is one of the founding members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition who worked in undercover narcotics for a great portion of his police career. Though he had known for years while working in the field that he was actively harming communities by perpetuating an unnecessary war, it was some time before he decided to make speaking out against the war a major part of his life. Since doing so, he has found it difficult to, in good conscience, not continue to work hard to maintain the momentum LEAP has been building in opposition to prohibition policy.
In this interview, Jack overviews the surprising success LEAP has had since its formation in March 2002. Now spanning 86 countries, LEAP is beginning to have even more active duty criminal justice officials, as early on their public membership was almost exclusively retired individuals. Jack also gets into how the drug war is greatly decreasing the effectiveness of more imperative criminal justice functions because of the ease of fishing in the drug war.
Many thanks to Jack Cole and his fellow spokesmen for LEAP, who undertake the important task of disseminating unpopular truths. See the 13-minute interview embedded below.
Today the FBI celebrated May Day its own way with the arrests of five individuals who the bureau’s spokesman described as “self-described anarchists”. According to the feds, three of the five men arrested were directly involved in a plot to detonate a four-lane highway bridge in Cleveland, Ohio. They planted what they thought were explosives, went to a location outside of the blast radius, and tried to activate the bombs. An arrest warrant had already been signed before the men even made their way to the site. They had been duped in a typical sting operation in which they are given inert material under the guise that they are explosives to be used for a specific operation, and they are busted when they go about completing the task. While the facts have not yet fully emerged from the events of today, we are to rest assured that the year-long plotting and faux-terrorism incident was under complete investigatory quality control from the brightest minds in law enforcement. Whether the co-conspirator and source of the (non)explosives was an undercover federal agent or a confidential informant, it sounds as if the would-be terrorists were more specifically aiding the plot of another. (more…)
For years I have been doing outreach at Keene State College. This normally consists of handing out fliers on campus, especially during class changes. Only this year did I ever encounter any trouble from campus security, when they threatened me with a no trespass order if I were to continue handing out information. Upon visiting with one of the college directors in his office, I inquired regarding their policy. I was told that not even KSC students may hand out fliers on campus! I was informed that I could have a table in the student center, just like the students can have. I would be allowed to sit behind the table, quietly, and only interact with people who came up to speak to me.
This was unacceptable to me. It’s highly ineffective. Why sit at a table all day or even for a few hours, when my friends and I can deliver hundreds of fliers in fifteen minutes during class change? Besides, aren’t college campuses advertised as the holy grail of free speech? What a bunch of nonsense.
So, last week on Thursday, I returned to the campus with new mover Daryl Perry. (more…)
Advocates of marijuana legalization gathered at the Statehouse on April 20, to push their cause, march in the plaza, and even fill the Hall of Flags with anti-drug war lyrics to the tune of Christmas carols.
The rally – 420 at 4:20 on 4/20 – was a collection of advocates, users, and other “liberty-minded” individuals, pressing their belief that drug laws are more harmful than good and that they should be allowed to smoke if they want to.
The advocates gathered outside the plaza for a litter pickup before the rally. At 4 p.m., Rich Paul, an activist from Keene, spoke from a megaphone, saying prohibition earlier in the nation’s history caused needless death and destruction. Paul even pointed to the recent shootings in Greenland that caused the death of the police chief there. (more…)
Well over 100 turned out for a 420 celebration at the Concord state house, now in its third year! The Shire Choir performed several “Chronic Carols” inside the state house, while plenty of cannabis was smoked in front of the building as state police looked on. Thanks to the police for doing the right thing and standing down and allowing peaceful people to be free.
New mover Chris Cantwell reflects on his first month in the Shire:
While visiting the 21st annual Extravaganja festival in Amherst, Massachusetts, I had the chance to meet a long-time advocate for a peace declaration in the war on drugs. Jack Cole is one of the founding members of 
