Brown, Jeff - August 20, 1996

Jeff Brown Coptic Farm Creighton Hall White Horses St. Thomas Jamaica August 20, 1996 Dear Carl Hope all is well. I haven't heard from you for a long time. I recently heard about a recent 8th Circuit decision pertaining to a group of Rastas having the right to a freedom of religion defense in regards to possession of some marijuana they were growing. I assume that you published part of the decision in the Iowa NORML newsletter. The last newsletter I have from you is the fall of 1995. Please send me your latest newsletter containing the said decision if possible. I recently returned from a trip to Florida. While there I read some articles in Hemp Magazine out of Texas. The articles were implying that the DEA was overstepping its authority when they opposed farmers in Colorado trying to get the right to grow hemp for commercial purposes. The DEA also goes public declaring that marijuana is not a medicine & even had an agent at a protest against a radio station in Massachusetts that was playing marijuana songs. The article was saying that the DEA is paid to enforce the law not make it. Do you think that a class action lawsuit against the DEA on behalf of the sick & dying, the farmers who want to grow hemp commercially, the environmentalists who know hemp is good for the environment, those who would use marijuana as a spiritual sacrament, etc., is feasible? Looking forward to hearing from you on this matter.

Jeff