***This episode of Bowl After Bowl was originally published January 8, 2015. The title and notes have been republished as originally written***
Happy New Year Bowlers! Our New Year’s resolution is to further the fight for cannabis freedom in 2015.
One significant victory has already been achieved this year. The community worked together and made #RecallChadwick a success by gathering more than 300 valid signatures. To avoid a recall, Councilwoman Virginia Chadwick resigned last Monday. She painted a picture of herself as a good civil servant and proclaimed “real leaders” in the community had comforted her and told her that “the recall was ridiculous.” When the floor was briefly opened for public comment, only one Columbia resident spoke, saying, “Don’t let the door hit ya.” However, the council members lavished Chadwick with praise for “representing her ward” and her leadership on Tobacco 21.
Spencer drafted a petition to repeal Tobacco 21 but only had 20 days to acquire more than 3,200 signatures. That time period included the holidays, when most Columbia residents were out of town.
But the fight is just beginning.
Missouri Liberty Alliance (http://missourilibertyalliance.org/), a political action committee, was founded to raise money to support political change. Community members dedicating time for freedom fighting deserve compensation. Donations to MLA can be made through PayPal.
Another hot city issue is the continued illegal operation of Uber within the city limits of Columbia. This flat-out disregard for the law has apparently angered the city council. Of course, the same city council let Opus skirt many city laws and legal processes when they secured permission to construct a student housing complex. Laura Nauser, who is supposedly the most libertarian member of the city council, was the first out of the gates last Monday night to call for court action against Uber.
At Bowl After Bowl we have a different definition than Ginny Chadwick of what makes a “real leader.” One example that comes to mind is Show-Me Cannabis (http://show-mecannabis.com/) Deputy Director Amber Langston. She will be hosting an event in Kansas City tonight that we will be attending. Recently, Langston was covered by the Kansas City Star. Here is a video of her speaking at the Joplin, Mo. Cannabis Revival 2011:
Click here to read the feature on Amber published by the KC Star. (http://www.kansascity.com/living/article5448900.html)
The article mentions Jeff Mizanskey (http://justice4jeff.com), a Sedalia man who has served more than 20 years of a life sentence without parole for non-violent cannabis offenses. Show-Me Cannabis is leading the effort to free Mizanskey. No one should be in prison for a plant.
Governor Jay Nixon pardoned nine non-violent “offenders” (http://governor.mo.gov/news/archive/gov-nixon-grants-pardons-nine-non-violent-offenders) after the holidays, but it’s worth noting these “offenders” had already finished serving their sentences. Pardons carry no merit unless someone really values what Governor Nixon thinks. These nine people still have criminal records because a pardon is not an expungement.
Across the Missouri-Kansas border in Wichita, the group Kansas For Change has submitted 4,500 signatures for the Marijuana Reform Initiative, which would decriminalize possession of 32 grams and less of marijuana for people 21 and older. The group’s first attempt to decriminalize possession of cannabis failed when they fell 46 signatures short last summer.