So it has been a fascinating week for me. Two major events have occurred– I saw Patti Smith and I saw MDs marijuana laws begin to change.
The first is that last week I was able to attend the Katherine Hepburn Award Ceremony for artist, author and rock poet Patti Smith. It was an incredible gala and I knew everyone around me had to be pretty rad.
I got to catch up with professor Nathan Wright, who is an official Patti Smith blogger. He and several other professors are commenting as their book club reads through Just Kids. I loved it myself. See my review or check out their very intellectual comments.
As for Patti’s acceptance speech, I went ahead and recorded my memories when they were fresh. I was exhausted from the car ride home, can you tell? I got choked up from the emotional tenor of Patti’s words but her message was so powerful I wanted to share with any other fans in the universe. <3
The second major thing that happened this week was that I went to a meeting with Maryland governmental officials. I got my high heels and suit on to support someone very important to me. He gave testimony about his own arrest to a MD State Senate Committee. Later found innocent, he had been charged with possession of marijuana (aka cannabis). He spoke in favor of a law change that instead of putting those caught carrying a bit of cannabis in jail, officers would write tickets with a $100 fine.
Watch his testimony or read a summary below
David had been illegally searched while in someone else’s car. When the police found a bag of cannabis under his seat they booked both in jail. He did eventually get off the hook but had to blast all his savings to pay for the lawyers fees before found innocent.
At the end of his testimony he expressed the anger mixed with relief that he felt—why was any of this necessary? Who would his arrest benefit? Does anyone really feel safer with nonviolent marijuana users behind bars? How would he pay for college?
I was very surprised while listening to the other testimonies and the boards questions. They asked for clarification and as the Senators discussed the issue, I sensed a growing understanding and agreement that as it stands now, the process is all wrong. A waste of resources, and a burden for citizens.
I feel really positively about the changes in the landscape around this issue. Back in college I wrote my senior thesis on whether there is a right to use drugs, i.e. a right to choose what we put into our bodies. I explored the rights to privacy and equal protection in hope of finding grounds to assist suppressed minority Americans. Unfortunately, I found that the court history makes the judiciary an unlikely avenue for these changes.
Imagine how surprised I was to be attending a Maryland Senate Judiciary proceedings committee pressing for change. I remembered my old project. I had concluded with a recommendation that change should be pressed in the legislative and democratic avenues rather than court case decisions. If the committee passes this bill it will be argued in the Senate and lower house of Maryland—or go to referendum.
Called it. My next prediction–Maryland will either completely legalize through referendum or change possession to a citation by 2014.
Tying both events together I have learned– it is possible for one person, even a young person, to take one’s horrible experiences and heal the world. It is possible to achieve your dreams.
What do you think?
