Because this thread is the forum link at the freedomtour.ca website I decided to keep it active as a blog until the Freedomtour resumes, likely in 2011. As well as a place to post some of the letters I have written in the past.

Been busy for the last while making banners, postering and preparing for this years 4/20 rally in Vancouver at the art gallery.
Very sad to learn of the passing of Jack Herrer, his book, The Emperor wears no clothes was the catalyst that caused me to dedicate my life to the cause of liberating cannabis that ultimately turned me into a rights activist and advocate for individual freedom and liberty.

Jack can rest peacefully as his work will continue on until the goal is reached.

Here's today's letter from the archives;

Supply and demand is a real law.Re-legalizing drugs would remove"criminals from the supply side.This would save/generate huge amounts of money,some of which could be used for education and services for those who require them. Drug addiction and ABuse is a big problem (alcohol, tobacco, opiates, prescription drugs caffeine, sugar etc.) but prohibition only serves to increase abuse, raise prices, compromise purity, create "criminals" and stigmatize users. This only supports gangsters and corporations that sell "legal"(lethal) drugs.
The war against some drug choices(mostly plants) is a war against our own people, makes crimes out of things that are not crimes and breeds disrespect for governments and police. Maybe we should have our "public servants" make gasoline or sugar illegal?gasoline is sniffed and may be connected to some arsons. Sugar is causing diabetes and obesity. Help end the madness. Politicians against legalization support organised crime.

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Adults deserve the freedom not to be bullied.

The 4/20 rally at the art gallery was the biggest ever and one of the best because even with the drizzle and rain no ones spirit was dampened.
I was there manning the Freedomtour booth ( with my girl Roxy) and singing O'Cannabis at 4/20. As usual, I was able to educate some of the police personnel as well as many others who were walking by on the perimeter and were confused about the whole thing.
Up next is the G.M.M. march on May 1st.



here's another letter from the archives;

My name is Neil Magnuson,I just recently completed the inaugural run of the
freedomtour,a hemp based in-line skating pilgrimage to Ottawa(arrived in time
to take part in remembrance day,included by the veterans as a V.I.P.)the
purpose of the freedomtour is to bring awareness to what freedom is(the right
to do or not do what ever you want to do or don't want to do,without any
coercion or prohibition,until you unreasonably interfere with someone
else)and to what the role of public servants is supposed to be.
one of our main concerns is the prohibition of(certain) drugs,designed to
stop the abuse of these drugs.The billions of tax dollspent on
enforcement only serves to increase both the use and especially the abuse of
these substances.
The tens of billions spent annually,disappears out of our economy without
even taxes being collected on it.(some of it used to buy guns to protect the
dealers"turf")
These substances are simply tools that can be used beneficially or abused
with resulting real consequences.Adults deserve the respect to find and
choose for themselves what works for them and what doesn't
These laws criminalize people(especially our youth) for non-criminal
behavior(no damage done,no victim,no intent)and bring disrespect to
governments and police.
These laws were born of lies,and are continued to protect private interests
at far to great a cost to be sustainable.Please help stop the stigmatization
and oppression of millions of good Canadian people who deserve the freedoms
fought for by our forefathers.
Drug abuse is an issue for educators and medical professionals,NOT THE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM!!

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Public SERVENTS- not moral authorities

I am currently working on banners for the global Marijuana march THIS SATURDAY.
It is very important to come out and march in protest against the prohibition of cannabis. Not to mention how much fun it is to march down the middle of city streets imbibing in the sacred herb.


letter of the day;

People who"use" drugs are not dopes, people who "ABuse" drugs are dopes.We all use a myriad of "drugs" and as adults it's up to us to find out what works for us, the majority of illegal drugs are not ABused but are used (in many cases cannabis is a safer choice than alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceutical drugs). Drug ABuse carries it's own consequences that need to be dealt with through education not force or incarceration.Prohibition increases use and especially ABuse,inflates the cost of drugs,and leaves the supply in the hands of greedy and unethical "gangs"which puts us all but mostly our youth at risk.It is also the "greed" of police,court and prison employees who pay their mortgages with our tax dollars as well as the suppliers of the "good" drugs that propagate this "war on (some) drugs".Our officials should talk with L.E.A.P. (law enforcement against prohibition [ leap.cc] ) and find out why thousands of their peers say we should legalize all drugs.Drug prohibition is an affront to our civil liberties. Our "public servants" should not be our "moral authorities".


Neil Magnuson,
Vancouver B.C.
freedomtour.ca
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Education not incarceration

bladerunner how the hell do you even abuse marijuana in the first place? because so many people use it and so many use it on a daily basis. how could someone possibly abuse the drug in the first place because i really don't get how you could abuse something just by using it.

also the fact that marijuana isnt a drug that you can hurt yourself or others by using it.

Some people do find high doses of potent cannabis problematic, however the letter is referring to the abuse of drugs in general, not specifically cannabis.
I do think that sometimes some people use too much cannabis at times and sometimes some people use cannabis at the wrong time for them or the wrong strain to accomplish their desired state of mind ( like trying to use a sativa strain as a sleep aid perhaps)

During the Beron (VICS) trial the court heard expert witnesses testify to some of the problems associated with cannabis use and all of them were about problems to do with high dosages, like smoking too much "shwagg" can lead to bronchitis or novices using budder can become disoriented ( I've seen people do the funky chicken and come close to banging their heads and injuring themselves.)

Truth is that anything can be "harmful" in some instances, everything has an ld-50 rating (lethal dose 50%) and the point is that no substance should be prohibited because that only increase the demand and guarantees a black market void of the type of "regulations" that can help to protect people. Like warnings, age and advertising restrictions, taxation, etc.
But all adults deserve the right to posses poisons unless they harm others. ( gasoline, pesticides, rat poison, white sugar etc.)

I do agree that, as far as drugs go, cannabis is one of the most difficult substances to harm yourself with.

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Drug prohibition is a protection racket. It's not about protecting people just corporatists.

One more sleep before the march!
Let's make this the march that finally does the trick and ends the ridiculous prohibition on one of natures best plants.
This is everyone's issue because it's really about FREEDOM and right vs wrong.

Also make sure and check out the herb museums upcoming art auction.


Today's letter;

: Who are the forces behind prohibition?
Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2007

There are so many "forces" that do not want "prohibition" to end that your question is a strange one. Start with the sellers of fossil fuels,hemp is probably the best source for ethanol fuel.
The Rockefeller (standard oil) funded the temperance movement that led to alcohol prohibition to keep cars from being fuelled by bio-fuels(as Henry ford had intended).
Thirteen years later once they had "monopolized" commercial fuel sales,they funded and manipulated the end of alcohol prohibition(probably because of alcohol from the Illegal stills being used to fuel vehicles).
They then turned their attention to eliminating Hemp from the planet.

Then there's "big pharma".From 1842-1900 cannabis was the second most prescribed medicine,It was in dozens of bottled formulations and used for a myriad of conditions.It is one of the most effective and safe natural(read uncontrollable)remedies in existence.(probably due to it being one of the main staple food sources of our ancestors) They stand to loose big if people are "allowed" to grow there own medicines.

The world banksters are making huge profits "laundering" illegal drug money (estimated to be 400-600 billion u.s.) The wood based paper monopolies don't want to compete with hemp.
Its hard to fathom the amount of paper products this planet consumes. Hemp is far superior for everything from toilet paper to cardboard. Anything made from hydro-carbons (fossil fuels) can be made from carbohydrates (plants).

These corporate giants have exploited loopholes and sometimes used other less ethical ways of "influencing" our public servants over the last hundred or so years. Now we find ourselves with legal "lobbyists"(spin doctored term meaning briber or extortionist)and politicians in "power" running protection rackets with our money "serving and protecting" "product suppliers" who helped them in getting "power" and will take care of them afterwards with high paying "consulting contracts" and other sweet deals.

There are also the suppliers of the illegal drugs who like the status-quo. The pot smoking peace loving hippies of the sixties convinced the establishment(run by war profiteers)that cannabis use resulted in dangerous thinking.
There is a huge bureaucracy of people in this cops courts and cages system who pay they're mortgages on the backs of drug criminals.
There are millions of corporate employees and union members who want to keep they're jobs. These are not all "bad people",they are able to justify there actions because its convenient for them to by into the lies and fear campaigns put out in the corporately owned media,(one of the reasons they keep telling the lies)

"They" are also very good at keeping dumasses entertained, distracted, confused, overwhelmed, broke, drunk,drugged and scared.
These corporations do have within them departments tasked with furthering they're agendas and they will "Target" and "mess with" people or groups who stand against them and they have ruined lives and done much damage in the process.
Drug prohibition warriors "target" and "mess with" anti-prohibition crusaders every chance they get and there are many victims in they're wake. If you are making a difference then you are probably on someones list, the more of a threat you are is equal to the danger you are in.

There perhaps is some level of security in being a high profile or sympathetic "activist" as they also fear martyrs to some degree(still they have ways of interfering). For me upon understanding these things I came to the obvious question "to act or not to act"?

I sleep much better trying to make a difference for the generations to come. Knowing the truth can do that to a person.
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freedom is worth the struggle

Here's a quote from one of the cops involved in the Quebec compassion club raids;

"But police say pot was sold to almost anyone who showed up. "People were selling drugs," said Antonio Iannantuoni, of Montreal police. "These operations weren't tailored to sick people. "


This is bothersome to me in several ways,
- Apparently police can distinguish "sick" (sic) people from healthy people. This is wrong.

-It's wrong that a free adult should EVER have to prove to anybody that they have a medical condition. Your free to consult with a doctor, if you choose, but then that doctor is not to ever divulge that you have health issues or what they are to ANYONE.

-Therefore it's also wrong that a person should have to tell the courts about a health condition that would justify using cannabis. Definitely a violation of personal privacy rights.

-That cannabis is used by sick people with compromised immune systems etc., speaks volumes with respect to it NOT being a substance that causes harm or damage even to sick people let alone healthy people.

-Also cannabis is a very effective substance for healthy people to use as preventative medicine for a variety of malady's.
-most people use it as a stress reliever,
-for anxiety,
-for depression
-or to help with insomnia.
All of which, if untreated can lead to severe health issues and cannabis is not only effective, but has few side effects and very low toxicity when compared with currently available treatments.

If these laws were designed to try and protect the public from harm, they not only fail to do so but instead are violations against free people and cause much more harm to many more people than the drugs abuse... by far.

WE are NOT SUBJECTS, they are not our rulers, they are public SERVANTS. Laws which violate our Natural rights to freedom and privacy ARE NOT VALID and in fact are crimes against freedom and rights.

They have lived by lies, its time they and their lies were exposed and dealt with.What needs to be exposed is that prohibition benefits several groups (as well as the corporatists) who are in positions of trust and thus in a direct conflict of interests.
The cops, the courts, the corrections people, corporate watchdogs and corrupt politicians, all find themselves in need of maintaining and justifying prohibition to both protect their reputations and to protect their source(s) of income.

It could be called a conspiracy, it is certainly criminal abuse of power, wilful blindness and criminal negligence.
I've called them criminally derelict in their duty to regulate substances in reasoned ways that protect the public as best they can (still respecting human rights and freedoms) while MAKING SURE a black market cannot be a viable alternative.

Perhaps L.E.A.P. could work together with some of our legal experts to bring charges against some of the people involved. Prohibition ruins lives, creates criminally violent black markets, flushes billions of tax dollars(citizens money) down the toilet while greatly profiting those involved.
The only difference between this and other crimes is that the perpetrators are the people entrusted with the enforcement of laws that are supposed to protect the people being harmed and there seems to be nowhere to turn.

If not L.E.A.P then maybe a mass class action lawsuit brought by all who have been harmed by their attempted cultural genocide.

Neil


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Freredom from bullying is a natural right.

I am pleased to announce that the Freedomtour will be happening this year although it will be an abbreviated version of 5 weeks instead of 5 months, it will be going from coast to coast.

I will be joining the Desert sun studio crew as we go from Victoria to Halifax during the month of September for the filming of a sequel to their 2006 film, "TRIP-the B.C.bud chronicles", as well as a new film about addiction called "Go system".
The sequel to "trip" will be called "Still trippin-the Canadian bud chronicles"

You can check out the websites here;
http://stilltrippinmovie.com/
http://gosystemmovie.com/

There are still some sponsorship ad spaces left for those who would like to use this opportunity to promote their companies or groups while supporting this project.

As we travel in the Desert Sun r.v, we will be looking to interview activists and professionals as well as growers, distributors and Canadian consumers of cannabis, the most beneficial, and yet, most maligned and lied about substances on the planet.

Neil Magnuson
freedomtour.ca
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The attempt to prohibit cannabis is a crime against nature.

I'm pretty stoked about hitting the road again and reconnecting with my friends across Canada as well as making some new ones.
I will be posting our proposed itinerary soon but we will be visiting all of the Freedomtour stops along the way.
It's allot of ground to cover in 5 weeks (Victoria to Halifax) so that our time will have to be managed efficiently. I will be in touch with people in each area well in advance to set up interviews etc. If you wish to be included drop me a line and let me know.

Neil
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Freedom is a natural right