Banning Synthetic Marijuana Won’t Stop Your Kids From Getting High

by | Apr 17, 2013 | 2 comments

Pot LeafLocal mom Kimberly Diemond, understandably concerned about her children, has decided to turn in frustration to advocating for violence against her peaceful neighbors in a hopeless crusade against drugs. She calls for prohibition of synthetic pot in this feature story by the Keene Sentinel’s Danielle Rivard.

What Kim is advocating is prohibition. It didn’t work when they prohibited alcohol, it’s not working on cannabis and other illegal drugs, and it won’t work on synthetic marijuana or “bath salts”.

The article outlines some very scary stories that have happened to people who have smoked these synthetic research chemicals – there’s no doubt that they are untested and possibly dangerous. There’s also little doubt they would exist at all, were it not for Kim’s war on drugs. It’s because of the fact that cannabis is prohibited that the people marketing these other products are successful. Cannabis is nowhere near as dangerous as the research chemicals have the potential to be. Cannabis has been used for thousands of years. It’s a relatively benign drug and some would say it works miracles.

However, people with the same mindset as Kim Diemond are the reason why cannabis is still illegal. Little do they realize that their own prohibition is responsible for creating greater and greater threats to their children.

Arresting people is not a way out of the drug problem. Putting addicts in jail is not helping them. Adding even more people to the jails in the name of stopping these research chemicals is just continuing and expanding the insanity of the “War on drugs”, which is really just a war on our family, friends, and neighbors. (more…)

Hearing on Motion to Restrict Recording of Witnesses in Rich Paul’s Trial

by | Apr 16, 2013 | 2 comments

This hearing happened on 4/15, the day before the beginning of Rich Paul’s trial. The state’s prosecutor, John Webb, would like to prevent the camera from recording the visages of several witnesses. Defense and the media (me) object. Judge ultimately decided to restrict recording the faces of the undercovers, but not the other agents. Here’s the raw video of the hearing:

Actual trial footage to come later.

Ambush Interview with FBI Agent Investigating NH Libertarians

by | Apr 16, 2013 | 2 comments

Today outside of day one of the historic trial of Rich Paul for cannabis distribution, myself, Pete Eyre, and Ademo Freeman had the opportunity to interview FBI Special Agent Phil Christiana. Earlier in the day, on the witness stand, Phil admitted to working for the joint terrorism task force, and was very reluctant to reveal any information about his asking Rich Paul to wear a wire. When asked directly why he was investigating the Keene Activist Center, he stated that he could not speak about the KAC. Coincidentally (or not) two weeks after Rich’s arrest, city bureaucrats obtained a search warrant to inspect for smoke detectors and evidence of a ‘lodging house’.

2013_04_16_fbi_christiana

Phil Christiana

As he exited the courthouse following his testimony today, the three of us asked Phil about his investigations into peaceful people in the Keene area. According to him, Rich’s case is the only time he has worked with the NH Drug Task Force, receiving approximately six calls for service from local and state agencies per year. His responses were brief and slick. When Kim Kossick, Rich’s public defender, inquired why Christiana offered to drop charges if Rich would wiretap others at the Keene Activist Center, the agent responded that he was not at liberty to discuss an investigation relative to the KAC. Christiana has had an interest in finding informants within the New Hampshire liberty movement for a few years. He approached Dave Ridley in 2005 but ceased interacting with him once informed that everything he relayed to Ridley would be shared publicly. According to Dave:

My experience with him was that he was more or less polite and professional…but creepy. He came to the same Keene house when I lived there, to learn more about Russell Kanning’s plans for civil disobedience at Manchester Airport’s TSA checkpoint. (more…)

Peace News Now Interviews Garret

by | Apr 16, 2013 | 0 comments

Following the significant increase in attention being given to Robin Hood of Keene, I was interviewed today by Derrick J Freeman of Peace New Now, as he recorded updates from the Shire in additional conversations with James Cleaveland and Rich Paul. Our interview covers background details that expand upon some of the information presented in a recent Keene Sentinel article. A video report was also prepared last week by WBIN.

2013_04_11_sentinelfront