Cannabis Congress in Seattle, 4-20-08

A big thank you to Ben Livingston and the rest of the organizers, and to all of the attendees at yesterday's Cannabis Congress at the Downtown Library in Seattle.

Despite a few differences of opinion here and there, we all got to hear some intelligent perspectives on where we are and where we're going with medical marijuana in Washington.

I think the diversity of viewpoints expressed and the variety of methods described are a good thing, and a sign of the health and vitality of this community. The kind of open communication that happened yesterday is good for us all, and will strengthen us in our common purpose. I hate to resort to a cliché, but that which unites us is so much greater than that which divides us.

It is very invigorating to be around a roomful of people who are just as passionate about this issue as myself, and I learned a lot by hearing from Ben Livingston, Steve Sarich, Paul Stanford, Alison Holcomb, Douglas Hiatt, and everyone else who spoke.

I also very much appreciate the chance to speak briefly myself about my treatment as a probationer at the hands of the Washington DOC and Attorney General Rob McKenna. Thanks for the opportunity to sound off.

There are a lot of quality people, a lot of brave and committed and principled people, involved in this community and in this effort, and we aren't going to stop until medical marijuana patients are no longer persecuted for using and growing the medicine that works best for us.