Parole Board To Platshorn: 'You Cannot Travel To Promote The Legalization Of Marijuana'

By Steve Elliott
Wednesday, July 25, 2012


rakontur
Robert Platshorn spreads the truth about cannabis through The Silver Tour. Now the federal government has moved to silence him

You'd think that Robert Platshorn, the former 1970s marijuana smuggler who became, after almost 30 years in the federal pen, the longest-serving cannabis prisoner in United States history, had already paid his debt to society.

Platshorn, author of Black Tuna Diaries and whose story is told in the documentary Square Grouper, now promotes the legalization of medical marijuana, aiming his message at senior citizens with The Silver Tour.

And there's the rub. Platshorn's new parole officer, Scott Kirsche, on Wednesday afternoon phoned the Black Tuna and gave him notice that the recently granted permission to travel to Chicago to address the American Bar Association has been rescinded on orders of his superiors, Reginald Michael and Frank Smith.

"I am ordered by my superiors to inform you that your permission to travel to Chicago is rescinded and you cannot travel to promote the legalization of marijuana without the permission of the U.S. Parole Commission in Washington D.C.," Kirsche told Platshorn on the phone Wednesday afternoon. "You must request their permission directly.

Parole regulations state that a parole officer can grant travel permission on his own; only foreign travel requires permission from D.C., Platshorn told Toke of the Town on Wednesday.

So what we're looking at here, folks, is a big crush of Robert Platshorn's First Amendment rights to freely speak in favor of the legalization of medical marijuana.


Platshorn's original permission to travel to Chicago


tokeofthetown

Call To Action: Stop The Feds From Silencing Robert Platshorn

By Steve Elliott
Friday, July 27, 2012


The Silver Tour
Robert Platshorn spreads the truth about cannabis through The Silver Tour. Now the federal government has moved to silence him

Here's What You Can Do To Fight Back Against The Feds Who Would Trample On Robert Platshorn's Rights For Spreading The Truth About Marijuana

It's time to push back and expose the bureaucrats that are now moving behind the scenes to silence cannabis activists like The Silver Tour's Robert Platshorn all over the country. They are acting as a secret army, in anticipation of the upcoming spate of pro cannabis ballot initiatives. There are serious First Amendment rights at stake, not to mention their intent to kill the tremendous public momentum for ending cannabis prohibition.

"We must shine a light on these bureaucrats and expose their actions," Platshorn told Toke of the Town Friday morning from his home in Florida. "There is nothing that frightens them more than jerking them out of the shadows that hides them from public scrutiny while they do their dirty work."

"The first time I noticed something odd was the announcement in The Modesto Bee that Bryan [Epis] was given an extremely odd sentence reduction -- if he agreed not to speak in public to promote legalization," Platshorn told us. (Oddly, the link to the newspaper story -- from just two days ago -- is now dead.)

"Although we had strong claims, I understand and concur in Bryan's decision to accept the government's offer ... in order to get back to his family as soon as possible," Epis' attorney, John Balazs, said Monday. "At the same time, it seems un-American for the government to insist ... that Bryan give up his First Amendment right to advocate for the reform of our country's marijuana laws."


The Silver Tour

Platshorn thought this just a bizarre incident, until his parole officer, Scott Kirsche phoned and rescinded Platshorn's permission to travel to Chicago to speak at the national meeting of The American Bar Association, with this chilling caveat:

"I am ordered by my superiors [Reginald Michael and Frank Smith] to inform you that your permission to travel to Chicago is rescinded and you cannot travel to promote the legalization of marijuana without the permission of the U.S. Parole Commission in Washington D.C. You must request their permission directly."

"Last night, I began getting messages indicating that activists in several key states with ballot initiatives were being pressured to modify their messages or curb their public activities," Platshorn told Toke of the Town. "No one could pinpoint the original source of these pressures."

As for the forced cancellation of his appearance at the A.B.A. convention, Platshorn told us, "I can't begin to quantify the loss to the movement, The Silver Tour, to our TV show, Should Grandma Smoke Pot? and the financial lose of much-needed book sales that buy my groceries.

"I had planned a really powerful presentation that I believe would have raised millions of dollars for Grandma and a tremendous upswell of support from the nearly 400,000 influential members of that organization," Platshorn said.

What can be done?


Here is a good start.


"This man has remained in the shadows, but exerts tremendous power over thousands of people like me," Platshorn said. "The man who is ultimately in charge of my fate in this matter and all other parole matters, is Isaac Fulwood Jr., the Commissioner of the U.S. Parole Commission in D.C.



Call to Action: Thousands, Not Dozens Are Needed


In order of effectiveness, phone calls, letters and emails are needed to Fulwood with copies to the press expressing outrage at the actions of his subordinates trampling on Robert Platshorn's First Amendment rights and denying Platshorn the opportunity to address the A.B.A. and speak at legitimate political rallies to promote sensible changes to our draconian cannabis laws.

Correspondence to the U.S. Parole Commission may be sent to:

U.S. Parole Commission
90 K Street, N.E., Third Floor
Washington, D.C. 20530


By Email

USPC FOIA: USPC.FOIA@usdoj.gov

Media Contact: USPC.media@usdoj.gov


By Phone

(202) 346-7000




USPC Officials: See the Directory of Department Officials


If you can't reach Fulwood at The U.S. Parole Commission after several tries, try him at the University of the District of Columbia. Presently, Commissioner Fulwood is an Adjunct Professor at the University, where he teaches Law Enforcement subjects, Community Policing, and Ethics in Law Enforcement.

"Please get the word out and take action," Platshorn said. "More than the fate of one activist is riding on this. Dozens of letters or calls will only be annoying. Hundreds of calls will get his attention and thousands of calls and letters will bring change."


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