Dear fellow Americans,

I write this with a heavy heart. I never thought it would come to this. I never wanted an enemy. I was born in Amarillo, TX in 1957 to American citizens. We recited the Lord’s Prayer and The Pledge of Allegiance in grade school. That’s about as American as a person can get, but I’m not sure what the Indians called it before we got here. Other than an intolerance for bullies, I am a live and let live kind of guy. I was told as a child that I lived in a free country and could choose my own happiness as long as that didn’t interfere with the rights of others. That led to conflict in a school system that was more concerned with dress codes than learning. This disregard for liberty during the late 60’s  caused me to question the rhetoric about drugs and I fell in love with marijuana. Marijuana had become my salt for life and It made me feel better in many ways. The Vietnam War ended just after I turned 18 so I still remember what happened at Kent State and Richard Nixon declaring war on people like me. At the time and for decades after I just tried to avoid authorities to continue my use. My wife of 35 years and I successfully raised two sons who follow God and are honest and respectable men. Most of that time I shared the love and pride in America that most Americans feel when the National Anthem is heard. After my children were grown and forging their own way in the world, I had time to question why my government had been at war with me my entire adult life. Most people who have used marijuana for some time would question why it is illegal. My search for the truth led me to believe that what the government said and promoted about marijuana is a lie. I have written several letters to Congress and Presidents asking for relief from marijuana prohibition. All my efforts fell on deaf ears. It seems that government doesn’t care that marijuana prohibition is all based on false information and racial intolerance. They have systematically ignored and discredited factual information that showed marijuana in a favorable light at every turn, and ignored the truth without explanation. Drug interdiction has grown from stop and frisk and the infiltration of narcs into the population, to a condition where police are no longer withheld from war like home invasions and confrontations with the public.

It really doesn’t surprise me though. Since our country was formed as a nation dedicated to the principle that all men are created equal and that our rights come from our creator and not from government, we have had 9 decades of legal slavery, a civil war, 1 1/2 decades of a war over alcohol and 8 decades of a war against hemp and marijuana prosecuted along racial lines, all but wiped out the Indians, aborted more then 50 million babies, and have been at war with almost everyone on the planet. I don’t think Americans are a kind people and I don’t know anyone who still believes we are free. I don’t believe Americans are tolerant enough or brave enough to allow freedom and our government doesn’t seem to be able to function without internal and external enemies.

My point in this letter is this. I still desire no enemy. My feelings are hurt and I may never get over it. I don’t like being ruled with lies and corruption and I want liberty that I will likely never see. But the biggest problem I see is that we all live on the same (planet) space ship and we really need to learn to get along with those that are different and even offensive as long as they are peaceful. Globally people have gotten very good at easily killing millions or billions of people with government sanctioned and mandated armies and doomsday technologies. We all still live on the same rock barely 8000 miles across spinning through space at thousands of miles an hour with no one driving save the Grace of God and with no escape or defense. If marijuana prohibition is our biggest concern, we aren’t going to make it. I don’t consider Americans my enemy, but all my enemies fly the same flag.

Jesus told us to love one another

God Forgive America

Randy Johnson