I don't have any plans of any sort for activism within China. If I did do anything while in China, it would be in relation to Canada rather than China.
In China.

The reason I had suggested the testing was for multiple reasons. She accused me of smoking, dealing, and soliciting the sales. I feel confident that she will have no follow up if I offer a drug test. I do not believe I will ever have to take one.

What I have spoken about are facts, and if anyone that I have talked to ever had a problem with them, we have usually went down to the computer lab and had a look over the studies before they are convinced. I let them choose the websites we use, so that they do not feel that it is biased and untrue information.

I am confident my family would backup my right to say what I do.They have in the past, as my mom did yesterday. When talking to the principal, she made it clear that whatever I had said was clearly researched and that I am not selling marijuana. She never questioned me on either of these.

"She accused me of smoking, dealing, and soliciting the sales."
Sue her for slander.
akunuka

I would have no family backing for that.

I did actually mention it to my mom after the phone call, but she only scoffed at it. She does not believe in suing anyone, for anything.

How familiar are you with political ideology?


Tell you principal and anyone else who asks that you are promoting the works of people like Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard and Thomas Szasz.

None of those individuals used drugs and they all promoted freedom.

They are recognized as political icons of the libertarian movement.

The principal nor anyone else can fault you for adopting libertarian principles.

Make it a political case. Soon as you mention the above names, all the criticism will stop, because the authorities will fear the arguments you make.

Tell them you fell in love with Thomas Jefferson. The above named people all loved Jefferson too.

I have yet to see anyone make a stronger case for freedom than the man who is credited with separating church and state.

"Were the government to prescribe to us our medicine and diet, our bodies would be in such keeping as our souls are now. Thus in France the emetic was once forbidden as a medicine, and the potato as an article of food. Government is just as infallible,[sic] too, when it fixes systems in physics. Galileo was sent to the Inquisition for affirming that the earth was a sphere.... It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself." --Thomas Jefferson--

You tell your teacher that you are a fan of this man,

http://www.szasz.com/

and all the pressure will end.

Tell them you read this book...


http://www.amazon.com/Our-Right-Drugs-Case-Market/dp/0815603339


and want to make the same arguments.

Our Right to Drugs: The case for a free market argues for an end to patents, prescription rights and drug prohibition.

The book makes a very powerful case.

Your turn to start scaring them.

Tell them you are intersted in libertarian ideology and ask why they don't teach it in school.

Wow you must go to a small school if you aren't a trouble maker and still got the principal's attention .

Great idea Chris. Milton Friedman, the economist held up as one of the greatest by many president's, is an avid supporter of the free-market to control drugs -- not state sanctioned morality.

Tell her to call the cops. There isn't a damned thing they can do about it. When I WAS a cop, I always promoted medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, even when I did not use myself. We still have some rights left in this country, if I am not mistaken. Good for you for taking a stand.

It seems that your principal makes accusations and doesn't back them up.

Next time this happens, if you have the presence of mind, just say " Prove it or take that back"

like " you just accused me of beinng a dealer, that is hurtfull and unkind and untrue, eithher prove it ot take it back"

If you want to get hardcore with her, which is optional to you could, carefullly document the incident, with witnesses if possible, then send both her and separately her boss registed letters containing your documanntation of the incident and respectfully ask that it not happen again. Do it regardless if she retracts or not.

Hi there Never tried,

Whenever I hear about someone who doesn't consume cannabis and yet sees the injustice with the laws and is active in the effort of cannabis law reform I become optimistic that progress is being made. (FYI: the president of the SKMP is a non-toker!)

Thank you!

People like you, who don't have the "achilles heel" of risking arrest by speaking out, have added credibility and there is really not much that can be done to stop you from speaking out about a valid social justice issue.

I encourage you to continue spreading the truth and print out some of these handouts to make available to people you are trying to reach:

Cannabis Information Handouts
http://frankdiscussion.netfirms.com/info_flyers.html

-FrankD

P.S. - I'm interested to hear about your reasons for being so vocal.

Hi, Never tried. (If you do decide to try it, will you change your name?)

I just want to echo some of FrankDiscussion's sentiments and congratulate you on your principled stand. You really are in a unique position and you have the intelligence to use it well. Thank you for that. There's good advice in the thread and I can't add much right now other than to say hang in there.

I also envy your trip to Shanghai. Do I understand that you'll be tutoring there? I wish you good luck in what will be one of the best adventures of your life. From a small town in Canada to the ninth largest city in the world will definitely be awesome.

I haven't directly talked to the principal about this topic, as she has never approached me and went directly to my mother. Since then, I've been spreading the word more than before - I didn't know it was spreading as far was it did. It is effective, as I have even had students I have never seen before approach me and question what they heard from others.

FrankDiscussion,
I chose to be vocal primarily because of an incident in the fifth grade, where we were subjected to a DEA cartoon video that dealt with marijuana. This video to my recollection referred to marijuana causing permanent brain damage, addiction, indirect and direct (cancer) death, loss of memory, impotence and decreased genital size.

At the time, there was no reason for me to believe otherwise. This was reinforced by other programs in grade two and later in the dare program during grade six.

Earlier last year, I was suffering from depression due to family problems and I started looking for something that I could safely use, without a prescription and any permanent side effects. I originally found marijuana, but put it aside for months because of the lack of availability and the threat of a criminal record. I began then with simply contradicting false statements regarding marijuana, but went no further.

I then looked into other herbs and alternatives. I came upon Salvia Divinorum, Nutmeg, Amanita Muscaria mushrooms, and various prescription drugs. The herbs, did not seem to have any anti-depression effects, though I kept them in mind as an 'escape'. Amanita Muscaria and nutmeg were completely put off because of the toxins, but the research in this led to my research in magic mushrooms. The pills were put out of my mind as well because of the possible side effects and need for a prescription. Prescription medications were out of the question because I did not want to approach my parents about depression. I had tried before, but it made the situation only worse.

The girl I mentioned before helped me to find an end to the depression, although by that time I had already been exposed to the truth about marijuana and began researching more in depth.

I then began speaking more openly about marijuana within my family and in my school, as well as some local law enforcement and public speakers as they came to the school. I felt very taken back by the denial that I received from others when I spoke about marijuana. For some people, it was simply taboo to speak about it. I decided then that I would try my best to take away that taboo and spread the truth.


As for the school size,
The school is small, yes, and the principal also doubles as a teacher for two of my classes. There are approximately one hundred students in the school.

Political ideology,
Not too familiar with political ideology, but I'm reading about it as we speak. I am also talking a look at those fact sheets. I'll choose a few to photocopy and place about.

I have decided to keep the incident documented, but only personally unless it comes up again. Whether I will bring it up or her, is unclear at the moment.

Donnar,
As for changing my name, if it is possible, then yes I would change it upon the first use. If it was not possible, then I would add it to my signature and/or location, etc.

As for the trip, yes, I will be tutoring privately in Shanghai. It appears now that I will primarily be tutoring oral English by simply making conversation for the period entire session. (May have to look up some news each day to keep my lips moving during the session)