THIS FORUM IS DEDICATE TO ANY ONE EVER PERSECUTED OR PROSECUTED FOR NON-VIOLENT MARIJUANA RELATED OFFENSES.

The hero myth

Listen, if the likes of Michael Phelps wants to imbibe, let the man imbibe! What, he can't relax for once and smoke a bong without having to make a pathetically expedient public apology for making "bad choices"? He's only got like 14 Olympic gold medals! Can the man not relax a bit once in a while? Sheeesh. The problem with marine mammals though is they have no balls, and Mr. Phelps would be no exception. Hey the guy didn't have to go scream the virtues of marijuana on the rooftops when he got caught, but to pander to big money and make a public apology about bad choices? That's weak brother. He should have at least taken the opportunity to admit that bongs are not as good as vaporizers and that ... HE'S A GOD DAMN CHRONIC IN THE FIRST PLACE! Bad boy Michael, lets slap your wrist and get you back on the straight and narrow -- you American money-making icon you. Faster, HIGHER, stronger there mate. Uh-huh (Hell I think I'll put that on a T-shirt below the pic of him with the bong).

Let me tell you something: I have a REAL hero. And he turns out to be my own nephew. David Bratzer is front-and-center in the local war on drugs. He proclaims in town hall meetings and in the local paper and news interviews for all who would actually listen and hear -- that the war on drugs is not working, that there has to be change, that drugs have to be legalized and regulated in order to end the madness, this senseless drain on human and financial resources. Not to mention dealing a major blow to organized crime in the process. David is vocal. He's public. He's passionate about what he believes to be true. ...And he is also a cop.

I phoned up David's father ( ostensibly one of the brother-in-laws who had seen my movie on youtube before ever knowing that I had been a grower or had made a movie about pot) after reading a big write-up on his son in the paper. I told him that David was MY hero and I wanted to meet him. And I wanted to meet him not because he was a cop who was a proponent of abolishing prohibition, but because he was a man of amazing principle who stood up for what he believed in ... despite the backlash and ridicule that he might face. "Now that's a man," I said to his father, waiting through the pregnant pause to hear his response to both my movie and my comments on his son. He then chuckled into the phone and blurted in his slow, prairie twang: " Well I'm glad you like him. So when do I get my copy of the movie, "browndirt?" True story.


Look I talk to people every day who have been victims of this phony war on marijuana. I talk to medical patients whose doctors won't prescribe it because of the stigma still attached and would rather feed them pharmaceuticals that dope them up and make them incoherent and depressed; I get reams of emails from growers who are persecuted and prosecuted for growing the herb; tons of comments on youtube from people who are sick and tired of the war on mj and the mentality and logic that supports it, an so on...

Mj is such a polarizing topic when it comes to ideologies. For me, it transcends the substance and is really symbolic of a way of thinking. And the pot leaf is truly emblematic of our deeper individual rights and freedoms. Show me someone who doesn't think marijuana should be legal and I'll show you an out of touch square. As I say in the movie: there's the ideologues and the realists.The ideologues want to change the world by legislating morality and the realists just want to live and let live, allowing self-determinism be the guiding hand of fate. ...So there are two warring factions here I believe in this battle of ideas. And wars of ideology are never won on the battlefield, but in the hearts and minds of men. So the tide of common sense will eventually overcome these draconian, out-dated sensibilities.

Hey people often come on to my site and say that I AM THEIR hero. Not at all comfortable with that. In fact I don't want 16 year old's coming onto my site and saying that they want to grow pot for a living now because of me. That was never my intent. Mine is a cautionary tale, one about how complacency and apathy can allow our civil liberties to erode if we are not watchful. And it is supremely ironic now that the film almost romanticizes guerrilla growing in a way. By all accounts people should be scared away from growing after seeing my show. But it's having the opposite effect because it's the ideas that come to light behind the telling that are so compelling; which is to say: get the hell out of our minds, bodies and bedrooms! That's not what government is for!

You see growing is like a career in the arts -- you get an education first and THEN you persue your dream. Because you might not make it brother. I was reminded of that very fact one year while trapped in an f350 turbo diesel loaded up with 35 bales of promix in the back, the truck high-centered on a 3-degree slope with a 40-foot drop below and all four wheels off the ground. What a way to start your morning. We had blasted past our turn off down this mainline logging road in the predawn light while delivering bales to a mega patch and buddy threw it in reverse and barreled right off the road -- blinded by our late-coming dust plume. When she high-centered we lurched to a stop and teetered there as the dust settled, the undercarriage creaking as I shakily reached up and opened the passenger door and crawled out, reaching in to reel buddy up and out my side to the safety of Terra firm a. **** he was heavy as well. As we walked down the logging road 100 miles in the middle of nowhere, with no visible means of avoiding a 100-mile walk to get help, he kicked the dust and lamented about what a mistake it was NOT going to university ( Now keep in mind that this was a guy who could memorize a textbook in a day, stood to make a million dollars growing dope that year, and was cool as a cucumber but if you gave him cold fries at Macdonalds he might just kill your family!)

SO GET YOUR EDUCATIONS KIDS (And remind me to tell you the ending of that bizarre story one day).


.....Hello everyone, I'm the browndirtwarrior. Welcome to greenPassion and The War Room. Shout outs to the fine people making this possible (and you know who you are)

This is a place for the "thinking man's stoner" and original "ganjSTers." And by "original" ganjSTer (or "ganjSTas," for those of you in the hood) I mean those who have at least been put behind bars for non-violent pot-related offenses. "Non violent," because we don't want to muddy the waters on the marijuana debate. We don't want to feed the propaganda that there is somehow a relationship or correlation between marijuana and crime -- other than the fundamental truth that people choose to make it what they will ... and that organized crime exploits the ignorance of the laws.

Pot is popular culture, not counter culture, I've always maintained. And that is the way I have attacked it in my art -- with pop culture references. Look, when I see a business man in a suit duck down an alleyway in downtown Vancouver at lunch and light a spliff? It tells me that marijuana is mainstream. Doctors do it, lawyers do it; ****ing judges do it. What the hell is wrong with the rest of the world? Can't they see that?

So Let's start a dialogue on the war on drugs, particularly mj, and bust the myths, break the stereotypes and call a spade a spade. Let's expose it for what it is. Why don't they want us getting high? Because you can't control and indoctrinate a free thinker, that's why. IT"S ABOUT CHOICE. Don't treat me like a head of cattle, don't lump me into a statistic. Just fix your god damned social ills and less people will be inclined to ABUSE drugs (notice I said "Abuse"). No wonder we ritually abuse instead of taking drugs as a sacrament in our culture ... as in ancient cultures. We're messed up. The great social experiment is not working. Look at the inequiities. There is a great reckoning happening right now. A great turning point in history. Ending the war on drugs plays a huge role in that because it has become one of the biggest social issues of our time. Gangs get bigger and more violent. More and more people get caught in the crossfire. Failed states errupt. This is all happening in our hemishere. Right now. Right at this point in history. No the war on drugs is huge my friends. Huge in that it is going to become one of the great flashpoints in history. And we are all on that stage.

S let's rally the troops!

Are you a casualty of this war? How has it affect YOU? What are your views and opinions about the war and those who perpetrate it? What insights do you have into the situation and the solution? Everyone has been touched by this war in some way. Let's hear YOUR story.

SALUTE!

(And excuse the bad writing. I'm just getting my legs again!)

i have a permanent mark on my record for possesing an un used pipe and rolling papers when caught with a gram by NINE cops at gunpoint.

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.

I've been arrested for simple possesion under 5 grams twice since I started smoking as a teenager over a decade ago. Both times I was court ordered to go to drug abuse counseling for a year at my expense, attend AA meetings, and submit to weekly drug tests(also paid for by myself). I'm real vocal now about the benefits of marijuana and the fact the drug war doesn't work.

Unfortunately, "that sounds about right"....

yeah its does at that.

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.

I was picked up for speeding. When retrieving my insurance papers from the glove compartment, the policeman noticed my dugout and bat. This, he said, gave him the right to search my car. He found 126 grams of what was later determined to be MJ. I received a 5th degree felony. 90 days in the county jail, with work release. After 2 years probation, with random UA's and AA meetings, the felony was to be reduced to a misdemeanor. I found out, just over a year ago, that the paperwork for the reduction to misdemeanor hadn't been added to my file. Therefore, I had no idea why I was being turned down for jobs which I was eminently qualified. I finally found out from a nice person at a temp agency. I went to the courthouse and talked to someone at the court administrator's office, to get it straightened out. I got a paper from them, explaining the reduction to misdemeanor.

A month or so later, I was refused another job,.......for the same reason. Felony on my record.

I went back to the courthouse. This time, I was a bit more assertive. By the time I got it completely straightened out, 2 of the 3 ladies in the office, were in tears; and the other one just kept her mouth shut, with her eyes wide open.

I apollogized to them for my anger, after I witnessed one of them change my file on her computer. I insisted, she let me see what she was doing.

Thinking of this, has now brought my anger back. How much hassle and lost income have I incurred? I can't begin to calculate it. The original "offense" took place in 1993.


Pappy

yah.. those bastards have been terrorizing me for about 15 years now wanting "their" money..

They are gonna keep getting what they have been getting too.. NOTHING!!!

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When the government fears the People, that is Liberty. When the People fear the Government, that is tyranny. ~Thomas Jefferson



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that permanent mark was supposed to be expunged after i completed rehabilitaion classes and 158 hours of community service, but i found out when i tried to join national gaurd its still there, and no amount of my pleading, yelling, or any other actions could change it, they tried telling me it was 200 dollars to expunge i think when i left i might have broken their door.

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.

.. you can move mountains if you have enough money...

or have a basic knoledge of chemistry and ALOT of household cleaners * disclaimer i do not promote or advise anyone to constuct home made explosives. *

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.

awesome thread..

Busted for possession in Texas a few times.

Had a nice collection of unpaid pot tickets in California, maybe eight? I got one of them at 16:20 - no kidding. I saved it for years, until it finally wore out in my wallet.

I never paid a fine. Told 'em I had more time than money. By the way, if you ever have to go to jail, San Diego is like a hotel compared to San Antonio, which is more like gladiator school with really, really bad food.

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-Michael

Nice little section! I got banged up for growin and nickin electricity, i think they should of let me of with a caution, but you know the judge tort me a lesson dont get caught lol But whats done is done **** happens.

Great stories guys! Let's keep 'em comin'.

Who has got suggestions on how to end the drug war?

i propose the radical solution that all drugs be made legal to buy (thereby cutting out the gangs, organized crime and providing tax revenue for treament programs for addicts) and just keep the status quo where usage is concerned. Buy all you want but same penalties apply for using; with the exception of mj and tobacco. Mj should be legalized like alcohol and tobacco should be made illegal to sell but remail legal to use. But it should be made a crime to start (even though this would be difficult if not impossible to enforce but may deter most law abiding citizens from starting). This would invite organized crime through the black market sale of the substance but would shift the drug war onto tobacco where it belongs.

I'm with you on that.

I say make everything legal and make sure we have a bunch of body bags while Darwin runs rampant the first six months. After that, drugs will just be one more stupid thing you are free to do if you don't care how long you live.

Drugs should be illegal just as much as candy and fried food should be legal.

With the exception of cannabis, most drugs are pretty bad for you. In a free society, people should be free to make bad choices. (Oddly enough, heroin addicts can live long, full and productive lives - if the heroin is pure and the needles are clean. I don't recommend using heroin, of course. I just thought I'd say it for the sake of accuracy.)

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-Michael

brwndirt dont get me wrong man I love ya still and enjoy the vids but i still gotta say I think ya did that for the wrong reasons and not just for a film. As a person you are still special to me I just dont agree with your reasoning behind the prohibition vids thats all. And what about 1/4 million$??????????? I could never grow my monster plants out here for one dime. I cant seem to put a price on this safe medicine. Sorry man the Karma just aint there for me but entertaining anyway still so good job and keep up the good work. I think it's time you get back to "nature" once again dont you?????????????? If not for your mind and soul for the aid of others who are suffering not only an ailment but also the harshness of the economy.
Gotta say though those were some gorgeous gardens my friend. Get that greenthumb of yours rollin again my friend. You could help tens of thousands!
Peace and Be Well My Friend!,
Med
OOPS!!! It's comin I just know it. Go ahead guy's hit me with both barrels but like I said this is JMO. Peace

I guess I should bite my F%$& tongue and listen once in awhile huh? Great thing is and I think brwndirt will agree is that we all are entitled to our own opinions.LOL I'll probably get bounced for this so i am sorry beforehand but thats just the way it is ya know.
Peace,
Med

You asked for it! Bad choice to write in green i cant read it proper lol

Oops Sorry! How's that?LOL

i edited your posts MC they are in black now, and i thing BDW is grown enough to realize there will always be diffrences of opinions.

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they call me ishmael, and mobys music sucks. smile if you get it.