The Free View - weblog of a presidential candidate

Event Tonight: Judge Gray comes to Nevada County

I've been quiet the past couple days in part because I've been focusing on this big event that's been coming up, which I'm helping to put together.

Today is the big day, and I've got a super-full day, so I don't have much time to explain. Luckily, there was abig article in the paper today about the event-- so it can explain for me.

I'm going to paste the whole thing in here for archival purposes. The original will be available at The Union's website for a couple weeks before it gets put in the for-pay archives.

Talk set on illegal drug regulation

by Roman Gokhman

Would regulating illegal drugs eradicate California's drug problem?

Libertarian Judge James Gray, who will give a presentation on the topic tonight, says such a move could not only reach that elusive law-enforcement goal, but also save the state billions of dollars.

Gray, a sitting Orange County Superior Court judge who is currently seeking a seat in the Senate, will give his talk, "Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it," tonight at the Miners Foundry.

"We are putting people who are addicted in jail," Gray said Tuesday. "We cannot incarcerate our way out of this. We have proved jail doesn't work."

His answer to the drug problem is to distinguish between drug uses. If someone does drugs and gets behind the wheel, it is a crime; if he does drugs and then goes to sleep, it is not, under Gray's favored approach.

"If they don't put our safety at risk, it's a medical problem," Gray said. "Hold people accountable for what they do."

Last year, the judge publicly switched from the Republican to the Libertarian Party. One of the reasons for his shift was his stance on decreasing drug abuse, he said.

"If you're going to expect either the Republicans or the Democrats to do anything positive ... to change the hopeless war on drugs, you will be disappointed," he said.

A Superior Court judge since 1989, Gray also worked as a prosecutor and municipal court judge. He said he convicted many for drug crimes but realized in 1992 that sending people to jail does not work. That's when he started speaking against prosecuting drug offenders.

"By getting tough on drug crimes, we're getting soft on everything else," he said.

However, Gray is careful to point out the difference between legalization and regulation.

"I would not legalize any of these drugs," he said. "But I would have a program of decriminalization."

This means regulating drugs for adults without using big brands or advertising and taking them out of the hands of illegal dealers.

"We would make it as boring as possible," he said.

Gray said he wants to start with the decriminalization of marijuana first.

"Then we will see what happens," he said.

If decriminalization of marijuana is done right, he said, there would be three positive outcomes right away.

The state would save $1 billion of tax payers' money by not prosecuting petty drug abusers. Another $2 billion would be raised by taxing the drug. Finally, marijuana would become less available to youth because it would be sold through licensed dealers in the same way alcohol is sold.

Many people take Gray's views to be outrageous.

"We have a major drug problem in Nevada County," said Tony Gilchrease, chairman of the Nevada County Republican Party. "What this county doesn't need is a bigger problem."

Gilchrease said making drugs legal or regulated for adults would make it more accessible to youth, not more difficult to get a hold of.

"Are cigarettes not available today?" he said. "All you have to do is walk down the street to see 14- and 15-year-olds smoking. That argument has a whole bunch of holes in it.

"That would destroy the youth of this nation."

The event is sponsored by Nevada County Citizens for Sensible Drug Policy, a local group headed by Lance Brown, chairman of the county's Libertarian Party.

But the presentation will not be directly related to Gray's Senate bid or a Libertarian fund-raiser, Gray and Brown said.

"It's not for Libertarians," Brown said. "It's for everybody."

___

KNOW AND GO

What: "Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it," a presentation by Judge James Gray.

Where: Miners Foundry in Nevada City.

When: Doors open at 6 p.m. for a reception. Presentation starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $8 for students or low-income individuals. Tickets on sale at Book Seller, BriarPatch, Harmony Books and Odyssey Books.

Information: www.NevadaCountyEvents.org or 274-2474.

CampusLP.org Re-launch

The easiest way to let you know about the major step forward I've taken with CampusLP.org is to paste in the hyperlicious e-mail I just sent out to the Campus Activist e-mail list. So here you go:

Campus Libertarians, Advisors, and Supporters,

The new (and vastly improved) www.CampusLP.org is taking shape in a big way!

Here's a partial list of the features that have been added recently:

Discussion forums

Events Calendar

Chat rooms

Downloads area, with ready-to-print posters

This is in addition to the ability to add articles, links, reviews, and basically anything else. And *that's* in addition to free hosting and free blogs for your Campus LP group. And there's more to come. Lots more.

Like mailing lists, image galleries, lots more posters, strategies and tips, event ideas, a speakers' bureau, a grant program(?!)-

BUT-

Right now it's just a shell -- a revolution waiting to happen.

It could be a jamming recruiting center; a repository for great handouts and other media; a training camp; a virtual office for the burgeoning national Campus Libertarians organization; a place to strategize for the Convention; a place to get ideas; a place to share ideas; a place to present a united front to students and others nationwide, and so on. It could be something much bigger than any of those parts would imply, as the people behind MoveOn.org and the Dean campaign would surely tell you.

For any of that to happen convincingly, we'll need to have lots of folks participating and contributing in various ways. Even if all you do is add a link to your club, or sign up for an account for now, please take a minute right now and set up a free account at CampusLP.org, here.

This new version of the site is less than two weeks old, so it's just an infant compared to what it will grow into. But it's ready to have life breathed into it, by you. Whether you've got something to offer or are in dire need of help, CampusLP.org aims to hook you up. And if you are interested in improving the success of your club, or of campus libertarians nationwide-- CampusLP.org is all about that. 100%.

If you're ready to walk the walk in terms of libertarian campus activism, then let's start to seriously get together and amplify the impact of our shared concerns. Sound good? You in? Then let's get going, because the new semester isn't going to wait around. :-)

http://www.campuslp.org/index.php

If you've got any questions or suggestions, you can post them in the discussion forum if you want. Please spread the word to those who might be interested.

Thanks!

Be Well, Be Free,

Lance Brown
Freedom Activist

lance@freedom2008.com
ICQ #:2694547
Phone: 530-274-2474

The Free View - weblog of a presidential candidate
http://freedom2008.com

Auburn Journal LTE is published

A while back, I posted the letter I sent in to the Auburn Journal about Steve Kubby. Well, I had given up checking their web site, because I didn't think it was going to be published. Then I got an e-mail from Steve: "Hey Lance, Thanks for the great letter...." So I checked the site, and there it was.

They chopped out the whole middle paragraph from my original-- and I can see why, I suppose. Though it's a little disappointing, because it was the most impassioned part of the letter.

Here you go:

Case against Kubby is a waste of time, money

Shortly after one of your readers said that he hoped Canada would keep Steve Kubby and save Placer County the cost of incarcerating him, Canada made its decision to refuse Kubby's plea for political refugee status. Still, your reader was right to hope that no more of Placer County's resources would be wasted pursuing this folly of a prosecution.

As a Libertarian, I feel that my friend and colleague shouldn't have had to deal with any of this craziness. Kubby never hurt anyone and should have been left alone.

Lance Brown

Nevada City

Bill of Rights Day LTE in SF Examiner

The San Francisco Examiner also printed my Bill of Rights Day Letter to the Editor, though they carved it up so much that I don't really like what was left. It makes me sound like a teenager. (EDIT: No offense intended to teenagers-- I should have said "It makes me sound like I would have when I was a teenager". That's closer to what I had in my mind when I said that.)

Here's the letter they printed:

Happy Birthday, Bill

DEC. 15 is Bill of Rights Day -- the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

I've concluded that I think that's pretty cool, and if there's a holiday deserving a spot in my annual calendar, it's Bill of Rights Day.

I know the timing's not great, but what can you do? You can't change a birthday.

Lance Brown
Nevada City

...and here's what I sent in:

December 15th is Bill of Rights Day - the anniversary of the ratification
of the Bill of Rights.

I only became aware that it was a holiday in recent years, and the first
time I celebrated Bill of Rights Day was in 2001. As a Libertarian, living
through a wholesale expansion of federal law enforcement tactics in the
name of the "war on terror", honoring the birthday of the Bill of Rights
with a rally seemed like a smart idea.

The next year, the ideas behind the rising threats to civil liberties had
matured into a change in attitude of many Americans and elected officials,
about limits on the government's power to impose itself on us. In that
environment, I held a "funeral" for the Bill of Rights-- and, like most
funerals, it was a celebration of the Bill's life, as well as the mourning
of a loss.

This year, I've come to accept that this is a holiday that's becoming
genuinely important to me. And I've concluded that I think that's pretty
cool, and if there's a "new" holiday deserving a spot in my annual
calendar, it's Bill of Rights Day. Maybe you should try it out yourself
for a few years, and see how it fits for you. I know the timing's not
great, but what can you do? You can't change a birthday.

I've recently compiled nearly 20 ways that people can celebrate and honor
Bill of Rights Day, and put them into a free website:
http://billofrightsday.com . It will be there this year and every year, to
help people make plans for the big day. I hope you'll take part in this
growing tradition.

Come on everyone, give it a try: "Happy Bill of Rights Day!"

It just goes to show you-- keep it short, or they'll make it short for you (and you might not like how).

The SacBee took an alternate route. The editor e-mailed me and told me I had to cut the length for them to print it. So I re-submitted the letter, shortened a bunch. The letter they printed ended up being just what I sent in the second time.

Bill of Rights Day LTE in the Sacramento Bee

Here is a letter to the editor by me which appeared in the Sacramento Bee on December 13th, 2003. It's on their site also, quite a ways down this page.

Bill of Rights Day

Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day, the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

I only became aware that it was a holiday in recent years, and the first time I celebrated Bill of Rights Day was in 2001. As a Libertarian, living through a wholesale expansion of federal law enforcement tactics in the name of the "war on terror," honoring the birthday of the Bill of Rights with a rally seemed like a smart idea.

By December 2002, the threats to civil liberties had risen to a level where we thought it made more sense to have a "funeral" to mark the day. So we did. And this Monday we'll have a memorial ceremony, as a sequel.

This year, I've come to accept that this is a holiday that's becoming genuinely important to me. I've compiled nearly 20 ways people can celebrate and honor Bill of Rights Day, and put them into a free website at BillofRightsDay.com.

Come on everyone -- give it a try: "Happy Bill of Rights Day!"

- Lance Brown, Nevada City

LTE to the Auburn Journal

Here's a Letter to the Editor I sent to the Auburn Journal recently. It's about medical marijuana activist/icon Steve Kubby -- it concerns this story, and the letter about that story which is at the top of this page. (There is a lot more background material at Kubby.com.)

Here's what I sent in--

To the Editor:

Shortly after one of your readers said that he hoped Canada would keep Steve Kubby and save Placer County the cost of incarcerating him, Canada made its decision to refuse Kubby's plea for political refugee status. Still, your reader was right to hope that no more of Placer County's resources would be wasted pursuing this folly of a prosecution.

Your reader also observed that Kubby was receiving a "very soft sentence" for the mushrooms and peyote that were found at his house nearly 5 years ago. Well, since he hasn't been shown to have harmed anyone, and since he is a productive family man who is anything but a problem drug user -- just what sort of sentence should he get? He should get something greater than being hassled for 5 years, being bankrupted and losing his home and business? He should have a harder punishment than the torment of worrying about whether he'll be alive to raise his children, or whether he'll die while being denied his medical cannabis, as Peter McWilliams did?

As a Libertarian, I feel that my friend and colleague shouldn't have had to deal with any of this craziness. Kubby never hurt anyone and should have been left alone. Nobody's better interests are served by continuing to persecute him and his family.

Sincerely,

Lance Brown