If you’ve done your homework, you know that all Mexicans are not crazy.  Also for the record, those who are crazy were not made that way by this stuff.  The headline of this blog was a statement uttered on the floor of the Texas Legislature by an elected representative in the early 1900’s.  This was nearly one hundred years ago, before the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed by the federal government.

Here we are in 2010, and the people responsible for making the decisions regarding marijuana are just about as educated on cannabis as the delegates were a hundred years ago.  Just last year, one member of our State Legislature stated on record that she had never heard the term cannabis before and asked about its meaning.

Ignorance is no excuse!  It was an inexcusable act to have prohibited this substance in the first place, on the basis of racism, and it is an inexcusable act not to do something to right that wrong now.  Last year HB 902 died in committee, because the people that we elected to represent us failed to do so.  Perhaps next year you will feel that it is your personal obligation to show up to a public committee hearing to offer your testimony on the subject.  It is.

Of the millions of cannabis consuming Texans out there, only three individuals were present to defend the side of right at the scheduled hearing for HB 902 last year.  The bill would have reduced the penalty of possession of under ONE OUNCE to a Class C Misdemeanor.  Not exactly full on legalization, but definitely a nice small step in the right direction.  However, this bill never got the attention it deserved, it died, and 100,000 more otherwise law abiding Texans will go to jail before September 1, 2011.

The responsibility rested within the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee to allow this bill to be voted on by the House.  They failed us.  Several members of this committee are quite aware of the facts, and have even stated that no matter how many of their constituents wanted this legislation to pass, they would not consider it.  A few of the individuals who hold firm to this belief are as follows:

Debbie Riddle  <———–Does not know definition of cannabis.  Call her office and explain it to her.  (512) 463-0572

Allen Fletcher <—Understands what cannabis is, but holds strong to his law enforcement background (512)  463-0661

Wayne Christian <——Call him & help him decide if he wants to continue to assist ruining lives. (512) 463-0556

Follow this link to find out who represents you.  Call or write to them, and tell them your story.  STOP BEING SHEEP!  This government belongs to us, but it’s working against us.  It’s time to throw the bums out!  It’s time to flood the streets.  See you on May 1st.

Hector X.

The High Times Doobie Awards are returning to Austin this year for their 8th annual award ceremony.  It promises to be another smoking hot party this year right up in the mix of all the SXSW insanity.  This year’s event is being held at Emo’s Outside at 603 Red River.

This year we will the show gets started at HIGH NOON, and runs til 6pm. The show is once again being hosted by High Times Senior Editor Bobby Black.  Making a special appearance is Hip-Hop Icon, B-Real, accepting the highest award, “Lifetime Achievement,” on behalf of Cypress Hill.

Performers this year include:

NEBULA,
KARMA TO BURN,
LOS MARIJUANOS, PROSPECT HILL,
LIONIZE, HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES,
DIXIEWITCH
& AMY JO SAVANNAH.

This year the nominees include:

BEST JAM BAND ARTIST
Phish – Joy
The Black Crowes – Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
Disco Biscuits – Planet Anthem
Monsters of Folk – Self-Titled
Gov’t Mule – By A Thread

BEST REGGAE / SOUL MUSIC ARTIST
Easy Star All-Stars – Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band
Lionize – Space Pope and the Glass Machine
Matisyahu – Light
Tarrus Riley – Contagious
Ocote Soul Sounds – Coconut Rock

BEST HIP-HOP ARTIST
B Real – Smoke N Mirrors
Method & Red – Blackout 2
Kottonmouth Kings – Hidden Stash 420
Asher Roth – Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day

BEST METAL ARTIST
Mastodon – Crack The Skye
DevilDriver – Pray For Villains
Slayer – World Painted Blood
Shadows Fall – Retribution
Cannabis Corpse – The Weeding

BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK ARTIST
Them Crooked Vultures – Self-Titled
Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way to Blue
Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg
Assjack – Self-Titled
Nick Oliveri – Death Acoustic

BEST STONER ROCK ARTIST
Clutch – Strange Cousins from the West
Fu Manchu – Signs of Infinite Power
Priestess – Prior To The Fire
Seventh Void – Self-Titled
House of Broken Promises – Using the Useless

BEST NEW / UNDERGROUND ARTIST
Prospect Hill
DJ Slim
Seventh Void
Lionize
Cycle of Pain

BEST LOCAL BAND
Dixiewitch
Funkotron
Amplified Heat
Iron Age
Ocote Soul Sounds

POT SONG OF THE YEAR
“Do My Work High” – Cycle of Pain featuring Sen Dog
“Choking Gesture” – Hank III & Assjack
“Day ‘N Night” – Kid Cudi
“Must Be the Ganja”  – Eminem
“Blunt Cruisin’” – Asher Roth
“Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers”  – Method & Red

Outgrow Big Bro and Texas NORML will be there spreading the word about the Crusade.  Mark your calendar, and make plans to fight the traffic to join us at this awesome party.  Tickets are $15 at the door, and no advance tickets are being sold.

If we don’t see you there, we hope to see you and all your friends at Wooldridge Square Park on May 1st.

Time is fleeting, and the date for this year’s Texas Cannabis Crusade is quickly approaching.  This event has gained momentum every year, since its inception in 2008.  Last year our march drew over 1,500 participants, making it the largest pro-cannabis reform rally in Texas’ history.  This year will be no exception, with expected participation projected in the thousands.

The question is WHAT CAN YOU DO????

You, as a cannabis consuming, freedom fighting Texan, should be helping us add new participants every day.  Whether you have 10 or 10,000 online friends, you should give them all the opportunity to make it to this event.  If they haven’t heard about the march, there’s no way they’ll be there.  It’s up to you to spread the word of our march far and wide to all who will listen.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or make calls to talk radio shows.  Be sure to mention that you will be in attendance, and encourage others to join you.  No matter where you are in the state, there is a march that you can attend.  You may have to make it a road trip, but it is important that we have folks from rural areas, as well as local Austonians.  If you are in or around Dallas-Fort Worth, visit www.DFWNORML.org for info on the Dallas March.

If you’ve attended this march before, then you know how much fun standing up for your rights can be.  Be sure to return to this year’s march with your own small army of friends.  We have expected participants coming from the Corpus Christi, Waco, Lubbock, Beaumont areas, and everywhere in between.  If you are in need of transportation to this march, please post a comment below with your location and contact info.  We will try to connect you with someone traveling in from your area.

Go forth now and recruit one hundred people to attend.  We currently hold the record for the largest pro cannabis reform rally in Texas History, for the 2009 Texas Cannabis Crusade.  Help us shatter that record this year.  Arm yourselves with facts and go forth!

See you in May!

-Hector X.

(512) 553-0420

Thanks to the overwhelming response from the people of Texas over the last few years, our Third Annual Texas Cannabis Crusade is proving to become the largest yet. Our expected attendance has exceeded the maximum capacity for our previous venue.

We are proud to announce that Outgrow Big Bro and Texas NORML will host the event this year at the historic Wooldridge Square Park. The park is located at 9th and Guadalupe. You can expect the same intensity as in years passed, but our new location is just five blocks from The Capitol.

Currently, we are fine tuning the new route for the march, but it will definitely include a pass by City Hall. The full lineup will be released in the next few weeks. Stay tuned to this site, or call 512-553-0420 for further details. Thank you all for your continued support over the last few years!

We look forward to this year’s march, and our continued ZERO ARREST record!

Sorry for the limited updates over the last several months here on the site.

I am writing today to give a partial lineup release.  Below, in no particular order are a few artists who will be performing at the Third Annual Texas Cannabis Crusade:

Shotgun Hustler

Jet Baker

Champagne with Friends

The Raspas

Click the band name above to check them out online.  More bands and speakers to be announced at a later date.

If you are a cannabis consumer, you should also be an advocate.  Please, join us on this day for fun festivities and freedom.  Bring your friends. Bring good vibes.  Bring a bongo.  Bring a blanket.  Food and drinks will be available at the festival for modest donations to Outgrow Big Bro or Texas NORML.  This is our third year, so we are getting better at this, and our momentum is growing.

Help us keep the ball rolling by spreading news of the Texas Cannabis Crusade far and wide to all that will hear it.  Do you live in a rural area?  Send in a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, informing them of our event in Austin.  This event is held in Austin, but it’s held to benefit all of Texas.  So fill a bus, and meet us at Zilker Park at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 1st, 2010.

PEACE & DANKS!!

Even Texans are beginning to feel the effects of winter approaching.  While the weather may be fair now, it is no time to plant a cannabis seed into the dirt.  I know that you all love filling the flower beds outside your local police stations with seeds, but now is the time to fill a jar with those little bundles of joy.  Outgrow Big Bro knows that a few pot plants found growing outside a courthouse is likely to draw more attention than a group of activists standing outside protesting.  However, what with the bitter months of Winter approaching, don’t sentence your seeds to death.

The Winter months provide us with an off-season from physical seed planting and allows us to plant seeds into the minds of others.  So if you are reading this, remember that if you are a cannabis consumer, you should also be an advocate.  Try to change someone’s mind about cannabis today.  If you can’t manage that, try to motivate the people who say that they support legalization to actually do something about it.  There are a number of things the individual can do to support the overall cause.

• Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper.  Ir better yet, buy ad space in your newspaper, encouraging others to join the movement.

• Call in to talk radio stations, and arm yourself with facts before hand.

• Contact members of your city council to discuss their position of possible city wide initiatives to de-prioritize minor marijuana related offenses.

These are just a few things you can do to get started at your own pace to help the cause, and to begin to win your own personal victories over Big Brother.  There are lots of ways around adversity, you just have to find them.  Join our efforts,  spread our message, and you will begin to discover new ways to Outgrow Big Bro every day.