Cannabis Culture article on 420 celebrations

Thanks to Ian Freeman and Free Keene for pointing out this article for us:—

The Growth Operation for Freedom

By James B. Schlessinger Jr., Cannabis Culture – Friday, April 9 2010

Activists from Keene, New Hampshire are working to create more liberty by challenging and bringing attention to absurd and outlandish laws.

Activists from Keene, New Hampshire are working to create more liberty by challenging and bringing attention to absurd and outlandish laws.

The scene is Keene, New Hampshire, and our intrepid hero is one Mr. Andrew Carroll. Amid a gathering of friends and onlookers, this brave soul held aloft a piece of plant matter. His black trench coat and shock of red hair in stark contrast to the snow-covered square, Andrew dared to openly possess this innocuous natural substance: marijuana. Having advertised this event in advance to ensure a spectacle, the throng numbered a few dozen. A short speech was made, select lines from Nietzsche were read, and Mr. Carroll then offered to pass around the bud, allowing others to participate in this act of civil disobedience.

And lo, in the distance, the king’s men approached. Andrew scrambled to find the person holding the bud so that he could complete the act as intended. Two officers from the Keene Police Department made their way to our hero and engaged him in conversation.

Greetings were exchanged and Mr. Carroll held out his open hand with this small green item visible in his palm. When asked by the lieutenant if it was marijuana, Andrew snapped back, “Yes it is.” The arrest was made, the trial was conducted, and Carroll, not wanting to pay the $420 fine—really!—and give revenue to the state, spent nine days at the local house of corrections.

Read the entire article on Cannabis Culture