The Hanger - Rocket Talk

Greeting All,

Below is a reprint from the Drug Policy Alliance on a very controvercial about freedom of speech and the governments failed drug policy (prohibition) regarding the value and use of cannabis for health and wellness purposes. Please follow this and other valuable topics here on PlanetWebSite.

Please read the DPA Press Release from Daniel Abrahamson, Director of Legal Affairs.

Students are rallying outside the U.S. Supreme Court today as the court hears oral arguments in a case where DPA has been working to protect the freedom of speech in public high schools--including speech critical of current government policies.

DPA is supporting Students for Sensible Drug Policy to organize the pro-free speech rally. The rally will feature two students who had political campaign t-shirts advocating medical marijuana confiscated by school officials, as well as students prevented from starting an SSDP chapter at their public high school because their principal didn’t agree with the group’s anti-drug war message. The students will display a large “Free Speech 4 Students” banner on the steps of the Court.

The banner reflects the details of the case, Morse v. Frederick. A Juneau, Alaska, high school student, Joseph Frederick, was disciplined by his school principal in 2002 for publicly displaying a banner that the school claimed expressed pro-drug sentiments. While off school property at the public Olympic Torch Relay in Juneau, Frederick unfurled a banner in an attempt to get media attention. The banner bore words whose precise meaning remains elusive: "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." Although the banner caused no disruption, the school suspended Frederick from classes for five days for allegedly violating the school's anti-drug / zero-tolerance policy. When the principal informed Frederick of his suspension, Frederick responded by quoting Thomas Jefferson and stating that he was simply exercising his constitutional right to free speech. The principal, in turn, doubled Frederick’s suspension to 10 days. Frederick sued the school for unlawful censorship, and was represented by ACLU of Alaska.

The implications of the case are serious, as a negative decision could threaten to silence a broad body of student speech.

Four years ago DPA filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in support of free speech when the case was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit sided with DPA’s position in support of the student’s right to engage in drug-related speech free from school punishment. When the Supreme Court decided to review the decision of the Ninth Circuit, DPA filed a second amicus brief with the Supreme Court.

DPA's brief observes that history and First Amendment precedent rebel against the assertion that school authorities may stop public high school students from speaking on the government-disfavored side of debate. The brief argues, "Students have been active participants in urgent national debates over war and civil rights, as they are in the discussion of drug policy reform, and, given their distinct perspective on many of the most important issues, society has a strong interest in hearing from them."

We will keep you updated on the outcome of this critical case.

Sincerely,

Daniel Abrahamson
Director of Legal Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance

To learn more about this case visit this link: Supreme Court Could Silence Student Political Speech in “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” Case

Rocket Johnson reporting for Freedom!
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NOAA 2006-R484
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ben Sherman
9/29/06
NOAA News Releases 2006
NOAA Home Page
NOAA Public Affairs
NOAA TEAM ASSESSES MARINE DEBRIS IMPACTS IN GULF REGION

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration and Office of Coast Survey, working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies, are assisting with Gulf of Mexico recovery efforts by performing hydrographic surveys and risk assessments of underwater debris left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The mapping aspect of the project will aid in the risk assessment and prioritization of the removal of debris to restore safe navigation and re-establish commercial fishing in the regions.

The survey work will include sounding measurements to determine the depth of the debris, as well as the use of side scan sonar — a towed device capable of scanning over 600 feet of seafloor side to side — to provide imagery of the seafloor and marine debris. NOAA's Office of Coast Survey will utilize the survey data to update nautical charts in the region, providing mariners with more accurate and up-to-date navigational information.

“In addition to the surveys and mapping, the team will work with the public to facilitate the development of debris risk assessment criteria,” said Holly Bamford, director, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program. “This public information program is designed to ensure that all parties are aware of NOAA’s activities and to ensure that we address the needs and concerns of the public.”

After the 2005 hurricane season, the coastal zones of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and the near shore environment, were littered with debris hazardous to safe navigation, commercial fishing, recreational boating, and other normal activities. Storm surge, retreating flood-waters, and wrecked and lost recreational and commercial vessels were major sources of the debris.

The Office of Response and Restoration is leading the public information program effort, which also includes the development of an integrated project Web site that includes GIS interface to serve as a conduit between survey data from the field and those with a stake in the results of the surveys. The site also will
include a marine debris risk assessment job evaluation aid for use by parties tasked to remove submerged debris in the future. Collaboration with local stakeholders and state agencies will be essential as NOAA works to determine their data needs through a series of workshops and develops methods of disseminating these data in a useful and effective manner.

To assist in the coordination efforts, the NOAA Gulf of Mexico Marine Debris Project team recently opened a field coordination office in New Orleans’ Hale Boggs Federal Complex to work with stakeholders in the region for at least one year.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program works with other NOAA offices, as well as other federal, state and local agencies, and private sector partners to support national, state, local, and international efforts to protect and conserve our nation’s natural resources and coastal waterways from marine debris.

In 2007 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, celebrates 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the
Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

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Rocket Johnson Reporting
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