Ok, so the government wants, oh so badly, to convict and sentence mj users...well I say let's give em what they want. Think of it, this could be the largest legalization movement ever! With every stoner across the country turning themselves in, and getting jail time, the prisons will be waaaaay over crowded. Plus, it will add another dent into the economy where all the cannabis users (I estimate 25% of america) are now unemployed and are being supported by tax payer money. The last cog in this brilliant invention is the inevitable lessening of punishment or total legalization of MJ, because with 25% of america spending their days in prison, not contributing to, but taking from the american people, they will have no choice but to realize how much better off they were when they had all these stoners in the work force. And they will realize that to make up for this massive imprisonment, they could legalize, tax and regulate MJ. I know this idea is farfetched and not likely to get any kind of participation, but it was interesting to think about doing. By giving them what they want and more, we show them how wrong their wants are.
It wouldn't even get that far. The courts wouldn't even have the resources to prosecute people and therefore no-one ends up in prison. It probably would force legalization because it'd be the only way to clear the back log of cases. But it won't happen, because if there aren't enough people involved you'll get prosecuted. Not enough people would be willing to take this risk.
this is actually a decent idea in theory but like you said im sure not many people would participate. im down though
I really like the idea, but I do not think many would participate--they would chicken out. It would have to be advetised and marketed to death and that would be very expensive. Now--if you got some big money behind it and high-profile people involved--it could work! Thinking outside of the box is good and thanks for the post.
Was thinkin the same thing exactly in this thread: http://forum.grasscity.com/legalization-activism/561626-methods-non-violence.html Fellow Masshole, they'll jail you for distribution (selling or even giving away weed or seeds) although if it was 21+ I think it'd be unjustifiable and still work with the movement. And plus if they ticket you, and you say thanks officer, bye! That'll probably be the end of it whether or not you pay. Unless you have an additional local fine, the $100 ticket isn't enough to cover the cost of bringing you to court, so they have to either let it go or pursue further charges (also impossible against large numbers). Are you really satisfied with just question 2's decrim? Buying or growing on the black market, from people who push harder drugs and never card? Re-legalization is THE ONLY SANE ANSWER. I think the only real hurdles to this plan stem from media coverage and people being scared. The latter isn't a big issue for me, I'd go first if I knew people would follow and I knew I'd get a lot of press, but that's cause I'm young and don't have a good job. How about a celebrity outreach first, getting all the famous and rich stoners on board? If the "successful" potheads turned out for this, I really think it could work. Just gotta give that snowball one good shove over the edge of the hill, and watch the legal absurdity unfold. It's also HUGELY important that it stay non-violent. Banner drops are ok, chalk vandalism is ok, spraypainting cars and buildings and breaking things is not. Although this never really was a problem with the pothead crowd, was it? lol.
If people would agree to each other to meet on a certain time on a certain day in front of their nearest precinct and then if enough people show up they could go through with it. If even a couple hundred people showed up in each place they probably wouldn't be able to process them.
Agreed, it's very difficult to get people to organize...especially if that organization is centered around a certain time or date. However, like I said in my OP, it's not that practical. It WILL work if everyone follows through, but what are the chances of that? Slim, if you ask me. But, wow, I didn't expect to see such a jubilant following There must be some way of organizing this, or at least something like it. Then again, to get something like this out there you would need a lot of communication between a lot of people. Too bad GC isn't the dojo of all US smokers P.S. On average throughout the country 1 in 20 people smoke MJ on a daily basis. So that equates to roughly 15 million people out of the 300 some million in the US that smoke on a daily basis. If we get even a tenth of that number we'd be golden
If 15 million is accurate, we need like 1%, not 10%. 150,000 people jailed for weed? At $30,000 to $50,000 a year? That's $4.5 BILLION a year. The people won't allow that over weed, especially with awareness about the subject at an all-time high. We should see if WeedPolitik would volunteer his website/domain to organize things. I think the most obvious date would be 4/20, but if a few people went before that date to get some press and show that we are serious, we could probably get a lot more people to get out and do this. That's the pivotal aspect to this idea: getting a few people to take the plunge, getting press that doesn't gloss over WHY they're doing it, and just watching the snowball effect. To make this work we'd need a website, word-of-mouth and street advertising (posters, flyers, banner drops, etc.), maybe a few celebrities on board or at least speaking out on our behalf, and media cooperation. But it's doable.
The way you do it is in a "march" format, more of symbollic turning yourselves in, maybe in washington DC. Should do it while obama is still there.
I can just imagine one guy walking into a Police station in D.C like "Hi, officers!", then just lighting up right there, then two more walk in, and like even more walk in until people are piling out there to smoke. They couldn't do crap, what an amazing idea.
But then everyone needs to invest in a bus ticket, or meet up all at the same time. I'm convinced it's better to have it decentralized, have people just go whenever they're willing, and hopefully have some cameras there. Call up the news station before ya go... "Hey uhm, there's some guy here at the intersection at Main and Boyer Streets... he's smoking a bong, says he's gonna go until they arrest him... you should probably come over here." And when you have something that people DON'T want covered occurring on a specific, pre-determined time and date, there are two problems. A. Anti-legalization efforts could probably put on a bigger, more expensive show to draw media away from the story B. Cops might look the other way for that one day, letting everyone blaze and satisfy their desire to fight back, and then go right back to business as usual on 4/21. This should NOT be another rally. The intent is not to get away with smoking in public, it's to force legal reaction to your harmless actions, and force them to spend tax dollars to jail you. If you don't get arrested, you have failed. (Or we've won, but we're not that far yet). That's why I say DON'T try to have something at the whitehouse or whatever. Just gather in major cities at main intersections, wherever you will get the most exposure possible... Police stations would probably be a no-no. Not that many people would see the demonstration, it would make it more convenient for them to quickly arrest people, and having a crowd outside could get in the way of the cops should they need to do something serious... like deal with real criminals.
great idea, but like everyone else said.. totally not happening. I'd be willing to participate. we need some way to atleast ATTEMPT to organize such a movement. chain email, perhaps?
Exactly, and the dozens of famous actors, comedians, musicians, businesspeople, etc. who are all behind legalization. We are not alone here, and phone calls are free. It really WOULDN'T take a lot of money and that's why it's such a good idea. You need press, yeah, but not additional advertising. Whether or not people "chicken out" is up for debate, but would you be afraid if a thousand people had already gone before you? A hundred? A dozen? Point is, only the first people to do it will really need a pair of brass cojones. Once it catches on and word gets out, I think people will be less and less scared to join in. I don't want to belittle the civil rights movements of the 50's and 60's by implying we are on par with them, we're not. But it is important that we get this legal so people aren't suppressed by the need to remain under police and employers' radar. Those movements started with just a few people. Rosa Parks didn't have a website to discuss her plans, or any ads, or anything like that, but CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE WORKED THEN AND IT CAN TODAY. I think the fact that you're sort of martyring yourself if you go out there shows just how angry and how committed you are to changing things. It sends a very loud message when you sacrifice your own freedom (literally) to further your cause. Who's got a few bucks to throw down on Martyrjuana.com and some hosting? And if the stoner network is able to acquire, distribute, and blaze through our biggest cash crop all while it's illegal, I think we'd be able to get the word out and organize this stuff, even by word of mouth. Tell your smoke buddies, your dealer, and any random stoners and deadheads you meet on the street. We do need advertising, but that doesn't mean we need huge funding. Copies are 5 cents. Old sheets are banners you can drop from overpasses or buildings, with a few bucks worth of paint. Chalk and posterboard and megaphones are dirt cheap. That is what we need.