Cannabis Freedom

Possession of a plant can not only cost you your right to vote, it can also disqualify you from public service.

Commercial Appeal - Felony arrest ends Pearson's bid for Bartlett post - The Shelby County Election Commission ruled that Steve Pearson III, who filed to face Young in the Nov. 4 election, did not qualify for the race. While there were questions about Pearson's residency, a guilty plea to a felony charge of possession of 46 pounds of marijuana in 1989 was enough for the commission to disqualify Pearson, 57, from the election.

This is how they silence their political dissenters. I watched AKA Tommy Chong last night that anecdotes how they railroad non-violent pot offenders through the system, cage them, and strip them of their rights. Pot-prohibition violators are political prisoners. It's time to end this war on the American people and restore the rights of its casualties.

Hot 107.1 which in the past I have regarded to be the best hip-hop station in the Dirty South, has censored the political message of Young Jeezy's new single, Crazy World. The lyric in question is toward the end of the first verse and repeated again in the second.

They want that young shit, That dumb shit,
That where ya from shit,
That ride around ya' hood all day, wit ya gun shit,
All I got to my name, is 2 bricks and one felony,
You going back to jail,
That's what my conscience keep on telling me,
I really ain't buying all that bullshit they selling me,
When the government throwing more curves than the letter C,
I said the letter C, I guess that's for correctional,
They tryin' to box me in, sit me still like a vegetable,
Goddamn another trap, I think Bush is tryin punish us,
Send a little message out to each and everyone of us,
Real G shit, well that's really unheard of,
When you get more time for sellin' dope than murder.
In this crazy world.

Along with the FCC-banned language, censors have removed the word "dope" from the emphasized line, thereby removing the political message from the song. For some young black men, for taking only economic opportunity they will ever have, the government will lock them in a cage. It is senseless that a man would be locked away for possessing and selling a plant, marijuana, that has never harmed or killed anyone.

I understand that due to the family audience broadcasters want to remove lyrics that glamorize drug use, but this time they've gone overboard. The song in no way reflects the glamorous life of a drug dealer. In cries out about the injustice faced by young black men in America. Empirical evidence from multiple studies shows that the drug war unfairly targets blacks and Hispanics. Cannabis is used by a higher percentage of whites than any ethnic minority group.

Flynn Broadcasting is owned by perpetual Republican candidate, inventor, and doctor, Memphian George Flynn. His son Shea Flinn sits on the City Council. I call on the Flinn family to ensure that the political messages of rappers heard on Hot 107.1 not be silenced. Don't reduce their message to a minstrel show for your own profit.

Below is the full, unedited version while it's still up on Youtube. Probably not safe for work if you're watching this from the air-conditioned comfort of your cubicle. People that really work for a living are probably OK.