Tag: free speech

May 5, 2014 - Some members of the Canadian band Lemon Bucket Orkestra have teamed up with local musicians from Kiev and are touring Europe and singing about peace and justice, hoping to calm things down and avoid war. They are calling it the Lemonchiki Project, paying homage to the lemons activists had to put in their mouths to deal with the Berkut tear-gassing them as they tried to take control of their country away from the Putin puppets who were destroying their country. Read their story and find out more of this exciting project at the Lemonchiki Project website.

MAR 28, 2014 - Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot have really been in the news a lot recently, I even heard Mika Brezhinski on Morning Joe say "Pussy Riot" the other day! The two activist-musicians have formed a NGO called Zona Prava "Law Zone" (Use Google Chrome to translate Russian),  a campaign to work for prisoner's rights and justice. Read about the NGO Zona Prava on Hollywood Reporter. Also, Pussy Riot will attend the Women In The World summit April 3-5, 2014 in New York. Read more about Nadezhda and Maria attending the WITW Summit on The Daily Beast.

MAR 23, 2014 - I was flipping around the channels the other day, and I stumbled upon a cool music video of the song "Surrender" by the band Angels and Airwaves that paid homage to the Occupy and Anonymous movements, and singing about the youth uprisings not only in America but across the world. It was tastefully done, and the music is pretty cool. Check out the video below.

MAR 18, 2014 - With all the awesome motivation behind repealing marijuana prohibition and medical marijuana programs being enacted across the country, JTMP reminds our supporters that even though we are 100% firmly behind this movement and we are not letting up, we would like to point out that recreational and medical marijuana use is NOT for everyone, and certainly not for brains under the age of 25. A recent article by DailyMail details how George Michael abused recreational marijuana (also along with alcohol and pills) so be careful out there folks and make responsible decisions. Don't drink and drive, and don't smoke and drive. JTMP recommends that if you are considering recreational marijuana use, that you wait until your brain fully forms, which is about the age of 25. Let's use common sense and make responsible decisions; but JTMP doesn't want a nanny state government telling us if and when we can and cannot enjoy recreational marijuana. That is up to the individual. Leave the ones alone that are responsible, and arrest the ones that break the law; and get rehab and treatment for people who abuse it like we do to drunk drivers and alcoholics. Recreational and medical marijuana users just want to be treated equally, fairly, and justly.

JTMP would also like to point out that medical marijuana is not for everyone and not for every health issue. Although it has been shown to cure cancer and many other diseases, many times it is used simply as a treatment to alleviate pain. If you are considering using medical marijuana, please seek a competent and licensed doctor, and only under their recommendation and guidance should you try it. Some cautions to watch out for is Sativa strains of medical marijuana have a very strong "head buzz" that can cause anxiety and psychotic attacks, but that is very rare. The "body high" relaxing Indica strains might be better for you. Get informed and educated on the different strains of medical marijuana and the different cannabinoids that have such great health benefits before making a decison and trying it. Ask your doctor, the pharmacist at the dispensary, and there are many websites where you can get information on strains and cannabinoids such as Leafly.com and SCLabs.com.

All we Progressives ask is that adults have the right to access recreational and/or medical marijuana safely and legally, and get this nanny prohibitionist state off our back. There are people who abuse alcohol and prescription pills every day, yet we allow the alcohol and pill prescription system to conduct commerce; all we ask is the marijuana and hemp industry have that same right. For more information and how to get involved in expanding recreational and medical marijuana in your state, please visit Marijuana Policy Project and sign the petition demanding President Obama remove marijuana from the Schedule 1 Category of the Substance Abuse Act. For information on expanding medical marijuana rights for patients or yourself, please visit Americans For Safe Access; and a reminder JTMP will be covering the ASA Unity Conference April 5th-7th here in DC so check back!  (Photo credit: Laurie Avocado/CC)