165 lines
8.7 KiB
Plaintext
165 lines
8.7 KiB
Plaintext
Ä [14] ANEWS (1:343/70) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ECHOMAIL008 Ä
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Msg : 195 of 207
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From : Mike Swartzbeck 1:109/70.816 30 Dec 92 23:41:00
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To : All
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Subj : Resistance 1/2
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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.MSGID: 1:109/70.816@fidonet A767E423
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.PID: MacWoof 1.5.3
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NORML Announces the Organization of "The Resistance"
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Part 1 of 2
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Following is a message from the new national director of the National
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Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), announcing the
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"Organization of 'The Resistance'", November 1992.
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The following is posted without any permission whatsoever from NORML, although
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I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised.
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*******************************************************************
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I am writing this on the occasion of the election of a new President of the
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United States, which presents us with a unique opportunity that we must seize.
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During the election campaign there was much talk about "change", but the only
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talk about marijuana consisted of jokes about "inhaling". This is the first
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change we must make.
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Marijuana prohibition is no joke to someone who is sick with cancer, AIDS,
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glaucoma, or to someone in a wheelchair. Marijuana prohibition is no joke to
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people losing their property for possession of a gram of vegetable matter, or to
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someone serving a sentence longer than the average sentence for murder for
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growing a few plants. So, we must begin by making marijuana prohibition an issue
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that is taken as seriously by the media and by our friends, and by this new
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administration, as it is by the enemies of our freedom.
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We must begin by demonstrating that we take our own issue seriously by building
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a new NORML and building coalitions ont only within the fractured marijuana
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reform movement, but also with our allies across the political spectrum. If we
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do not do this, how can we expect others to take us seriously? Marijuana
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prohibition has never been a joke, so it is past time for reform movement to
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stop being a joke.
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During the last twelve years what I have called the Narcocracy has taken on a
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life of its own, corrupting not only law enforcement, but also education and
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even the military. It has become its own "special interest", independent of, --
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and now threatening -- the political process that created it.
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Of course, if this tyranny was not self-imposed, if soe foreign power had done
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this to us, there would long since have been a genuine "resistance movement".
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"The Active Resistance" will be the name of a new NORML publication we will
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inaugurate along with the new Clinton administration, but it also must be the
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new name for the reform movement as a symbol of our new-found seriousness and
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commitment to what has become a genuine life-and-death struggle between the
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friends of freedom and the forces of tyranny.
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The average American may think that this is a dramatic overstatement, but the
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average American has no idea about what is really going on in our country. The
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sick and dying are being denied medicine to ease their suffering. Lives are
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being wrecked and Americans are being corrupted by the spoils of the "drug war".
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In the "Velvet Revolution" led by the great Czech Vaclev Havel, the people of
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Prague told the Communists and their thugs, "Don't be afraid. We are not like
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you." This must be precisely our message to the Narcocracy and its
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collaborators. We are not like them. They use lies, violence, and hatred to get
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the American people conditioned to give up their freedom. We must use truth,
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courage, and love to lead them to reclaim their rights.
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I believe that medical access to marijuana is not peripheral to marijuana
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prohibition, although logically it should be. In fact, it is central.
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First, nothing more conclusively demonstrates the fanatic cruelty and dishonesty
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of the Narcocracy than this. Second, the Narcocracy knows that it cannot afford
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to have hundreds of thousands of Americans with legal access to marijuana and
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who consequently cannot be terrorized into silence the way millions of smokers
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(perhaps even you?) are today.
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Consequently, we must now coalesce around this issue, in the way that resistance
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movements have historically grouped in an impregnable mountain redoubt. This is
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an unassailable high ground on which they can't win, from which we will begin to
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take back freedom for everyone.
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<continues>
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--- MacWoof Eval:21Dec92
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* Origin: Don't be afraid. We are not like you. (1:109/70.816@fidonet)
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.PATH: 30039/816 109/70 343 25 396/1 13/13 138/112 343/300
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Ä [14] ANEWS (1:343/70) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ECHOMAIL008 Ä
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Msg : 196 of 207
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From : Mike Swartzbeck 1:109/70.816 30 Dec 92 23:42:00
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To : All
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Subj : Resistance 2/2
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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.MSGID: 1:109/70.816@fidonet A767E456
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.PID: MacWoof 1.5.3
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NORML Announces the Organization of "The Resistance"
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Part 2 of 2
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**************************************************************
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Inevitably the Narcocracy will charge that the reason that we want to give
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medicine to sick people is to stop them from arresting healthy people. This is
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an illogical half-truth, which closer to the truth than they usually get. But,
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in fact, America needs the "medicine" of truth and freedom as badly as the sick
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and dying need medical marijuana because freedom is sick and dying, and America
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is going blind.
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Of course, all this begins with money, and that is where each of you can make a
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crucial difference, whatever constraints there may be on your ability to
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participate openly in The Resistance. This is something which I understand all
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too well.
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The process of building a new NORML is really quite simple, after all, this is
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not General Motors that we are turning around. It really is just a matter of
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basic management and money. Building new coalitions depends first on having the
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new NORML capable of handling rapid growth. We must move to a new office, have a
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small but efficient staff, and we must be able to afford the travel, mailing and
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other communications that are basic to any movement. How these resources are
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used, of course, is the crucial question.
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Along with upgrading our publications, the first outreach on the medical issue
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will be a new association, The Emergency Coalition For Medical Cannabis. I
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believe that we can get very substantial support for this from the entertainment
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industry. I have already laid the foundation for this in both Los Angeles and
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Nashville. But we cannot proceed with this until we have our own house in order.
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How fast this can be done is purely a function of the available resources.
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As I said in the beginning, we now have a unique opportunity. The new Clinton
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administraton must come into office knowing that the marijuana issue is one to
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be taken seriously and cannot be ignored with the demagogic drivel about "drugs"
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that characterized the discredited Bush Administration.
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During the first hundred days the agenda for the new administration will be set.
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The question for us is simply: will medical access to marijuana be on that
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agenda? Will marijuana be recognized as an issue separate from "crack and smack"
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or will the Narcocracy be allowed to continue to undermine the basic rights of
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the American people?
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The answer to these questions is largely in your hands. Please give as
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generously as you can and reach out to your friends and get them to do likewise.
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If any would be more comfortable contributing to the Emergency Coalition (which
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is not tax-deductible at this time) they may do so. But please do not let this
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moment in history pass without being a part of it. Rights are not given; they
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are taken. Freedom must be won, and re-won, again and again.
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Thank you for taking the time to support NORML, and consider these points.
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Please make a generous contribution today, and please call me if you have any
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questions.
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Sincerely,
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Dick Cowan
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National Director
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****************************************************************
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The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
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can be reached at 1636 "R" Street NW, #3, Washington DC 20009
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Phone 202.483.5500 Fax 202.483.0057
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--- MacWoof Eval:21Dec92
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* Origin: Don't be afraid. We are not like you. (1:109/70.816@fidonet)
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.PATH: 30039/816 109/70 343 25 396/1 13/13 138/112 343/300
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