NEW SINGLE: Capital X Dear Parliament
Dear Parliament produced by Anno Domini was actually written and recorded in 2015/2016. Its focus is on the unjust cannabis laws in Scandinavia, mainly Norway. Truth be told I have dealt with unjust cannabis laws for most of life in the United States. I have witnesses and personally experienced how these unjust laws plainly turn otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals.
For the record I no longer smoke or use cannabis in any form but my opinion has remained unchanged. A large portion of my criminal history includes multiple infractions of cannabis laws. I served time in prison, spent years on parole and probation, was forced into rehabilitation programs all due to breaking cannabis laws. I was labeled an addict and viewed as having a drug problem when the fact of the matter was I was more having a drug law problem.
They can wrap these drug laws and policies anyway they want. They can and will come forth with public opinion which of course has been manipulated with false information. They can site all the scientific evidence they wish. It is difficult to argue science against actual experience. I have smoked cannabis for over a quarter century. I smoked daily for over half of that quarter century. One would think someone with a quarter century of experience of smoking, ingesting and growing cannabis would qualify as an expert. But in the twisted reality of society I am just an ex-felon, a lowlife, a druggy whose opinion is null and void.
As cannabis has become more acceptable throughout the United States and other parts of the world, Norway seems to rather choose to drag its feet. A country that is so advanced in so many areas and ways for whatever reason still references to Reefer Madness (1936) when it comes to cannabis. When Norway brings in experts from say the U.S. to speak on cannabis they for “some reason” always choose someone with bias outdated views and opinions that rather fit their agenda…reason revealed.
“Reefer Madness (originally made as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled as The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness) is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high-school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana—from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, conspiracy to murder, attempted rape, hallucinations, and descent into madness from marijuana addiction. The film was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors.
Originally financed by a church group under the title Tell Your Children, the film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use. It is notable for being one of the few times in Hollywood where the generation gap between the Lost Generation and the Greatest Generation is portrayed. Soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, who re-cut the film for distribution on the exploitation film circuit, exploiting vulgar interest while escaping censorship under the guise of moral guidance, beginning in 1938–1939 through the 1940s and 1950s.
The film was "rediscovered" in the early 1970s and gained new life as an unintentional satire among advocates of cannabis policy reform. Critics have called it one of the worst films ever made”. It’s basically ALL lies.
As alcohol effects individuals differently, so does cannabis use, so to generalize its use, is a fail. Someone with preexisting mental issues that chooses to smoke cannabis will inadvertently be misdiagnosed due to the biased opinions of cannabis use. In my lifetime I have lost more friends and family members to alcohol abuse than all illicit and prescription drugs combined. Cannabis is excluded as there are NO known deaths due to cannabis use. I have never in my lifetime met anyone strung out on cannabis. I have dealt with many addicts and those addicted to alcohol are by far the worst with food addicts at a very close second. Withdrawals from alcohol abuse are deadly if you didn’t know. Cannabis was never a gateway drug. Alcohol however is a more likely candidate of being a gateway drug as once under the influence of alcohol ones better judgement is undermined. I have personally done some crazy things under the influence of alcohol that I didn’t even remember doing the following day. You see where I am coming from.
Dear Parliament came about after I was arrested for cultivating medicinal cannabis. Some will say well you shouldn’t have broken the law to which I would quickly quote Martin Luther King, Jr. “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. It was for medicinal purposes (dealing with Meniere's disease) which was obvious by all the evidence gathered. It was for personal use which was obvious by the amounts confiscated. Bottom line I was hurting no one, not even myself. What I was doing was much less of a risk compared to drunk young adults staggering up and down main street on any given Friday, Saturday or even Sunday nights. I was furious to say the least and my only outlet for my anger and frustration was writing this song.
I didn’t release the song and video that we actually filmed for the track 4 years ago because of the threats. My girl and I were expecting a child at the time and we didn’t want child services involved in our lives. Yes, they fight dirty in Norway dividing families, it is a nightmare really. I did break the law so I took my punishment like a man. They were lenient compared to the U.S. I give them that. But like in the U.S. it isn’t only about serving your time. See they say one pays their debt to society when serving a sentence handed down by the courts. The reality of it is paying your debt to society is worse than trying to pay off credit card debit, or a bank loan. You end up paying only the interest for years, even decades or in the case of breaking the law, a lifetime. I am now ineligible for some jobs as if my past would somehow interfere with me doing a job that I am more than qualified to do. I am also banned from becoming a full citizen (I am only a permanent resident). So I can still be a productive member of society, pay taxes, and all that but I can’t become a full citizen because of an unjust law. It is a debt to society one can never fully pay!
Forget that I believe we should have the freedom to choose what we put into our bodies in the privacy of our own homes without having someone rummage through our excrement to prove us guilty of exercising this freedom. I believe it is wrong to label individuals for the rest of their lives for any reason. We are all human and we all make mistakes. We grow from our mistakes it is how we evolve.
Cannabis becoming legal in states in the U.S. that at one time sent me to prison for simple possession is a bit of justice. I will never get back what was taken from me because of these unjust laws, but knowing others won’t suffer the same hell I did, is indeed a bit of justice. In the case of Norway where they still seem to be years away from doing away with these unjust laws, Dear Parliament is my justice. Using my voice against these unjust laws is my own poetic justice. Will it make a difference? Probably not, but I Don’t Give A F*ck! I said what I said and I meant every single word. In a society where alcohol, prescription drugs, tobacco and unhealthy chemicals in our foods and drinks which cause massive amounts of preventive deaths are easily accessible without any REAL scrutiny, is just hypocritical as cannabis users are being criminalized for exercising FREEDOM. If anything should be outlawed, it should be alcohol and tobacco not cannabis. Do your research people.
I am hoping everyone supports this endeavour by simply playing the song on Spotify or any other platform and sharing the shyte out of it. Portions of the proceeds generated by this single will be donated to NORMAL NORGE. NORMAL NORGE is a non-profit user and interest organization in the field of intoxicants that works for evidence-based regulation of cannabis and combating the stigma of cannabis users in Norway. More and more countries are regulating cannabis. Norway must follow!
Dear Parliament will be available on ALL platforms starting Friday 19, 2021. Or it can be purchased in the SHOP on this site. Thank you in advance.
