Hello all you freedom fighting seed planting folks!

You are probably here looking for the newest update on the Cannabis Crusade. It’s less than two weeks away now.

So here is the game plan:

10 AM — Wake -n- Bake Breakfast with live music from Champagne with Friends and protest sign making

HIGH NOON – We are escorted by Austin’s finest through downtown to The Capitol Building

1:00(ish) — Chief Greenbud

1:30 — Bruce Fox
1:45 — Champa
2:40 — Barry Cooper

BACK TO WOOLDRIDGE SQUARE PARK

3:15 — Radio Valley
4:00 — Ouachita
4:45 — Flatcar Rattlers
5:30 — One Step Program
6:30 — Ashes of Babylon
7:45 — Shotgun Hustler
9:00 — Sun Salutation

10:00 PM — OUT!!! Unless you are sleeping in the park, we’re out at 10. Join us for the afterparty. [Location TBD]

This is roughly a 10,000 ft view of our day’s events. Lots of our activities, etc are left out from this schedule. We are still hosting the MacGuyver-Style Bong Making Competition. Please, no mentions of water pipes. Of course our schedule is subject to change without notice, and has been designed for flexibility. The important thing is to make sure that your schedule is clear that day. Make sure you have taken off work. Make sure you have informed all of your friends where you will be on May 1st, and encourage them to join you.

We expect several thousand participants this year. Remember, this is no longer a “pot-head issue.” Responsible cannabis reform affects all of us in Texas. We all stand to gain a certain degree of independence, once the war on some flowers is ended in Texas. So do yourself and your fellow Texans a favor by attending this march. If you believe in personal freedom, then you are encourage to attend this march.

FLOOD THE STREETS!!!!

This passed Winter seems to have been the longest and coldest in recent memory, but alas; it’s over. All the cannabis seeds you have been saving are ready to find their home in the dirt. The only thing you have to decide is which dirt in which to deposit these little packages of joy.

In the 1974 George Carlin album, Toledo Window Box, the iconic comedian suggests with a footnote in the album art that listeners should plant their seeds near the March Equinox. This seed planting web logger had not yet been planted when this album was released, however having found it buried in a stack of dusty vinyl early in youth, I took the advice.

Mr. Carlin never suggested that listeners take to the streets of metropolitan America on their seed planting endeavors. However, the laws in 1974 were on the verge of becoming rational, in regards to cannabis prohibition. Everyone seemed to think it would be just a few short years before the God-given herb was back into the hands of the people. Who would have thought that 36 years later, Americans would still be subject to spending decades behind bars for these felonious inhalations.

Perhaps if he had the foresight that we would still be in this situation, he may have taken to encouraging listeners to put the seeds in public view. This was not a movement that seemed necessary then. It is now. The time is nigh. The freezing weather is behind us, in The South, and the climate is perfect in Texas for a seed to germinate and develop into a beautiful plant.

But where should you plant your seeds?! If you aren’t sure, give it some thought. There are tons of perfect locations in public, where a seed would have the opportunity to develop into a full grown statement. After all, a ten inch pot plant growing outside a court house is likely to draw more attention that a group of activists standing outside protesting.

To give you a little inspiration, I will explain to you the route of our march in May. We’ve got one month, one week, one day and one hour left until the largest pro-cannabis rally in Texas history! Wouldn’t it make a wonderful photo shoot to find the world’s most resourceful plant spangled through the planters of downtown Austin as thousands of cannabis consumers take to the streets?

Regardless of current man law, there is an inalienable right extended to every man and woman born on Earth to plant a seed into it. Only when we all begin to exercise that right will we begin to Outgrow Big Bro.

Our march begins at 9th and Guadalupe and will proceed toward Cesar Chavez. We will then cross City Hall over to Congress Avenue, and then head back up Congress to our State Capitol. The route is roughly 1.5 miles from start to finish. So, if you have been storing up your seeds all Winter, like we have, make a day of it. Remember that there are people out there who would try and stop us from exercising our inalienable rights as Earth dwellers. Just try and be discreet, when you go seed planting, and remember to bring your camera to The Third Annual Texas Cannabis Crusade!

For decades, you’ve heard negative propaganda regarding cannabis and its adverse side effects. They’ve ranged all across the spectrum, from causing “white women to seek sexual relations with negroes,” to causing insanity, to killing brain cells. The educated population now knows these things to be untrue, however there are some ACTUAL side effects of cannabis use.

Cannabis causes an increase in appetite. Referred to as “The Munchies” for the better part of the last century, the user often has a craving for food after consuming cannabis. We all know this, but is it really that bad of a side effect? You can decide to eat unhealthy foods, but is that really cannabis’ fault? The cannabis didn’t make you grab the potato chips instead of the grapes, when you were at the grocery store. Did it?

Cannabis consumption can also cause blood vessels in the eye to slightly expand, causing red eyes. There have been scientific breakthroughs that allow the user to alleviate the red eye side effect. Products like Visine and Clear Eyes only cost a few dollars a bottle and are available at your nearest convenience store. However, this side effect has no negative physical consequence to the user, save for being identified as “high” by an authority figure. If there were no longer a consequence associated with being identified as high, would Visine sales drop???

Cannabis use is often, but not always, associated with paranoia. Some cannabis users have reported the fear of angry men breaking down their door and caging them. However, this seems to be a symptom nearly exclusive to states that have no compassionate laws on the books yet regarding cannabis. It’s safe to say that we’re paranoid because one of us is locked in a cage every 37 seconds, and if the threat of jail were eliminated, we’d likely be a lot less paranoid.

If you sit at home on May 1st, you will be doing yourself, and your fellow Texans a disservice. See you there at 10:00 AM!

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!!