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FL CAN Archived News


FL CAN OPENS SHOP AND MINDS IN MELBOURNE

On Saturday September 8th, 2001 FL CAN will open a storefront in downtown Melbourne, FL. The Offices in the 700 block of East. New Haven Ave will serve as the Headquaters for Florida Cannabis Action Network. The Grand Opening will feature a block Party with Speakers, Bands, and FUN. See the Happenings page for more info.

Florida Cannabis Action Network Presents The Our Voice Street Festival and Grand Opening of FL CAN'S Community Action Center and The Hemp Museum 700 block of East. New Haven Ave in Downtown Melbourne

FL CAN Claims Another Jaxksonville Hempfest Victory

On March 8th, 2001 The US District Court issued a partial summary and declaratory judgment in favor of FL CAN declaring some of the Jacksonville festival permitting ordinances unconstitutional.

The full text of the ruling can be found here.

FL CAN Meets with US Rep. Corrine Brown

 On Tuesday February 20th Scott Bledsoe and Kevin Aplin met with U.S. Representative Corrine Brown in Jacksonville regarding FL Election abuses, relating to Floridians for Medical Rights's problems collecting signatures for a medical marijuana initiative at polling locations. Corrine invited us to testify before a Congressional task force regarding election abuses to be held in Jacksonville, Congressional Outreach Coordinator Sharon Laird will notify us when the hearings will take place. We also discussed Rep Barney Frank's medical marijuana bill and other Drug War reforms being offered by other members of the Black Caucus. Corrine said she understood the problems and mentioned the Prison Industrial Complex. She said she would certainly support reform bills if they got to a vote, but was unsure (although did not rule out) whether she would be prepared to take flak from constituents in her district by cosponsoring legislation introduced by colleagues from more progressive districts, if there was no realistic chance for a hearing. We presented Rep Brown with a copies of Shattered Lives and Marijuana Myths/Facts as well as copies Floridians for Medical Rights Lawsuits against the Jacksonville Supervisor of Elections. All in all a very positive meeting.

FL CAN in US Supreme Court?

The City of Gainesville has chosen to appeal our victory in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to the Highest court in the land, The US Supreme Court. We should know if the Court will choose to hear the case by Summer 2001. Stay tuned.......

FL CAN Kicks Off "Save Our Families Campaign"

Florida CAN has identified an often overlooked aspect of collateral drug war damage, and that is the destruction of families caused by the war on drugs. For one Florida woman, Judy Scherer that took on a horrifying and dangerous due process violation and the forfeiture of her entire family. Scherer, a single mother of 5 managed to work her way off of welfare and to provide for her family the best way she could. In her wake she left a bitter husband who capitalized on her medicinal use of marijuana to have the state seize her children. Judy was called at work by the Department of Children and Family Services, who ordered her to take a drug test or else. Fearing the worst, Scherer took the test and tested positive for THC. Her children were taken from school very shortly after. FL CAN has provided Ms. Scherer with legal counsel and plan to help her sue the DCFS over due process violations and disregard for their own regulations and policies. For more information:

See SaveOurFamilies.com for in-depth information on this new campaign.
Click Here to see the press release.
Click Here to see the Daytona Beach News Journal's Coverage of this new campaign.
Click Here to see the Orlando Sentinel's Coverage of this new campaign.

Florida CAN Victorious in 11th Circuit Ruling

Florida Cannabis Action Network won a victory with a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on October 25, 2000. After five years of extensive and oftentimes confusing litigation over the 1995 Gainesville Hempfest, the Street Closing and Sound Ordinances were found to be facially unconstitutional."We made law in 3 states", said FL CAN President Kevin Aplin on Thursday. "From now on cities in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, will have to go to court to deny us a festival permit, or a street closing permit, or a sound permit. No longer will they be allowed to arbitrarily sit on or deny a permit, if they don't go to court they cannot stop our events."

This is a huge victory for Florida Can and Free Speech in America!
The 11th Circuit ruling can be read in its entirety Here.

Florida CAN Vice President Arrested Again

Florida Can Vice President, Scott Bledsoe was arrested on October 24th outside of a GW Bush for President Campaign rally. While attempting to use a PA system to address rally attendees about GW Bush policy towards drug users and addicts, Secret Service agents advised Mr Bledsoe that he was in a secured area and would have to leave. Although Bledsoe claims he was on a public property entirely separate from that of the rally, he was still ordered to leave. After keeping JSO detectives and the Secret Service at bay for almost an hour, a final threat of arrest was made and Bledsoe relented and was going to leave. While dismantling and moving the PA, Mr Bledsoe, continued using the bullhorn to advise citizens of the heinous violation of his free speech rights. After Bledsoe was told by Det Larry Johns of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office that he would be arrested if he moved too slowly, Bledsoe was placed in handcuffs and booked into the Duval county Jail. He was charged with Opposing a Police Officer and Breach of Peace. He was released 6 hours later on a notice to appear for the charges.

In March 2001 these charges were dropped by the State Attorney.

The Times Union Article is Here.
Scott Bledsoe's Detailed Account of what Happened and a video of the arrest is Here.

***UPDATE***
On November 16th, 2000 The state's Attorney agreed to drop the charges stemming from this arrest, the arrest at ALL TELL Stadium Dec. 2nd, 1999, and the arrest of Dec. 26th 1999, in Exchange for a no contest plea of Reckless Driving, for which Bledsoe was penalized $125 in Court Costs and forced to attend a Victim Impact meeting for DUI Offenders. The judge withheld adjudication on the reckless driving charge. VICTORY! Now time to go file some civil lawsuits. Stay Tuned.....

Florida CAN Files Amicus Brief Before Supreme Court

Pictured above is:
Gary Edinger, Esq., CAN Legal Counsel;
Scott Bledsoe, FL CAN Vice President;
and Kevin Aplin, FL CAN President

The Florida Cannabis Action Network filed an Amicus Brief before the US Supreme Court in August, 2000 in support of on behalf of City News and Novelty, an adult bookstore in WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN who is in the midst of a First Amendment Battle to distribute Erotic Adult Materials to Adults in that city.

Although Florida Cannabis Action Network has no direct affiliation with this company nor with the distribution of adult literature, it is important that the court, if City News loses, separates the ideal of pure political speech from that of commercial speech in this case.
The Brief can be viewed Here.

FL CAN Legal Support Network Successful in Leon County

The Florida Cannabis Action Network is pleased to announce that charges of possession against Journeyer Ray Kreiger have been dropped. Many of you will recall that after the arrival of the Journey for Justice in Tallahassee, patient Ray Krieger was hit by a car during an epileptic seizure. Ambulance drivers and police identified Ray at the scene of the accident and transported him to Tallahassee Community Hospital. Officer Knight took it upon himself later that evening to make a search of Ray's possessions in order to "identify " him. It was during this search by Officer Knight that the marijuana was found. Ray is a resident of Ohio and has participated in all three of the Journey's for Justice. The accident, which broke both Ray's legs in multiple places, took place after a candlelight vigil at the Women's Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee. Ray was removed from the hospital the following afternoon by Tallahassee Police and taken to the Leon County Jail. Florida law allows police to either arrest or issue a citation when dealing with misdemeanor amounts of cannabis. The officers who transported Ray to the county jail were under direct orders to incarcerate him. While in custody, Officer Mitchum told FL CAN volunteers that Ray was "not fit to be here" referring to the County Jail. Ray was released at his arraignment and was forced to travel back to Ohio by plane, due to his condition. Once back in Ohio, Ray has continued to undergo treatment for his injuries and is still forced to wear a metal halo that is attached to his leg with screws. The Florida Cannabis Action Network's Legal Support Staff took up the cause. FL CAN President, Kevin Aplin, contacted private attorney Mary Kane and solicited her help. Kevin Aplin was able to provide documents to the court appointed public defender proving that the search of Ray's possessions was unnecessary and unwarranted, thus illegal. The prosecutor dropped the possession charges just two days before a hearing was scheduled to suppress the search in which the marijuana was found. Further litigation from this case is expected later this year. This is another in a series of victories for the Legal Support Network and the citizens of Florida this year.

FL CAN Vice President: High Times Freedom Fighter

Cannabis Action Network Vice President Scott Bledsoe has been selected as the High Times Freedom Fighter for July 2000.
See the Hightimes Article Here.

Exclusive: Six Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers Suspended After Destructive Drug Raid

Officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Drug Abatement and Resource Team, destroyed a house while issuing a search warrant for drugs in one of the poorest sections of Jacksonville in January which caused the house to be condemned.

Synopsis of Complaint
Sergeant D. S. Boymer alleges that the three accused officers used inappropriate techniques while searching a residence. She further alleges that, due to these techniques, the residence was condemned by Code Enforcement.

Read the Full 33 page complaint, investigation, and results from the internal affairs unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Here.

FL CAN Sues the City of Jacksonville for Hempfest

On May 25th, 2000 Florida Cannabis Action Network President, Kevin Aplin; Vice President, Scott Bledsoe; and Medical Marijuana Patient Joe Tacl filed suit in US District Court Middle District of Florida seeking a permanent injunction against the enforcement of the unconstitutional city ordinances that would seek to stop the 3rd Annual Jacksonville Hempfest from taking place." It is time that citizens are allowed to freely exercise and use their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly", said Jodi James FL CAN Executive Director.

***UPDATE***

On March 8th, 2001 The US District Court issued a partial summary and declaratory judgment in favor of FL CAN declaring some of the festival permitting ordinances unconstitutional.
The full text of the ruling can be found Here.

On June 13th, 2000 the US District Court Denied a preliminary injunction to the Hempfest, Judge Harvey Schlesinger said that he could not be sure whether the Hempfest actually was a festival under the current city ordinances. The fest went on as scheduled without a permit with no interference from the city.

The Full Text of the Order can be found Here.
The Full text of the complaint filed in Federal Court can be found Here.
The Times Union Article can be found Here.
Cannabis Culture's Article on the fest is Here.


Beyond Science Episode Awarded Emmy

An Episode of Beyond Science which was all about Florida Medical Marijuana patients produced by the University of South Florida has won an Emmy Award. FL CAN President Kevin Aplin was instrumental in this episode becoming a reality.
See this Letter of appreciation we received from WUSF 16 Television.

FL CAN Vice President Arrested

On Thursday December 2nd, 1999 FL CAN Vice President Scott Bledsoe was arrested while petitioning outside ALL Tell Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.

For more details click Here.

Gainesville Backs Down at 11th Hour

Just Minutes before filing suit in Federal Court, FL CAN received permits for the Hempfest and associated road closures in Gainesville for the November 6th event. On Thursday, October 14th, 1999. FL CAN attorneys were ready to file suit at 3:00pm in US District Court in Gainesville, because of the street closing policies adopted by city manager Wayne Bowers. In 1995, Florida Cannabis Action Network won a preliminary injunction striking down the city's ordinances and policies regarding special events and street closings. Some issues in that case are still being disputed by the city in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Although FL CAN applauds the decision by city officials to save the taxpayers thousands of dollars in legal fees, we are still disappointed that it took the immediate threat of litigation to force the city to comply with previous court rulings. We are also concerned that the policy, which differs greatly from the actual ordinance on the issue would prevent a less experienced and unrepresented organization from exercising their free speech rights.
To see the Gainesville Sun Article on this topic, click Here.

Hempsters Stop Shell
Members of Cannabis Freedom Coalition
(Melbourne, FL) and Florida Cannabis Action Network teamed up to make one big headache for a Melbourne Shell Gas station on the 23rd of September, 1999. Carrying signs reading "HEMP FOR FUEL OR GOTO SHELL" with the S crossed out, members successfully prevented all but 3 cars and one
motorcycle from buying gas for 2 hours during rush hour along US1. Several Motorists left after we explained the need to not buy gas from Shell
because of the racist and environmentally unfriendly stance.
See the article From Florida Today here.

FL CAN Petitioners Threatened with Arrest and Violence again at the Polls

As you may read below, FL CAN organizers settled a lawsuit from last November, when they were removed from the polls under threat of arrest and violence, On April 13th, 1999, FL CAN organizers were once again removed from the polls under much worse threats from Pastor Gene Youngblood of the First Southern Baptist Church in Jacksonville, who threatened to go get a baseball bat. The police refused to assist and protect the rights of petitioners instead threatening arrest in direct defiance of the order from Jacksonville Sheriff, Nat Glover. Three Polls in total have been removed from the rolls as a direct result of these threats. FL CAN filed a federal Lawsuit in US District Court, Middle District of Florida, on Wednesday May 5th, 1999 (CASE #99-434-CIV-J-20a) against the Jacksonville Sheriff and Supervisor of Elections. In the Photo,Organizer Scott Bledsoe is seen recording Officer Windham's remarks.

Read the Original Complaint filed with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, FDLE, and the Supervisor of Elections Here.
Read the Times Union Article about the Conflict Here.
Read the Times Union Article about the conflicts during the run off elections in May Here.
Read the Orlando Sentinel Article Here.

*********UPDATE***********
As a result of the Cooperation of the new supervisor of elections John Stafford, and the adequate conditions which the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office has decided to ensure petitioning rights we will be settling this case. The terms of settlement will appear here shortly.

Survey of the Marijuana Situation in the Miami Field Division

Florida Cannabis Action Network has obtained this booklet distributed only to Law Enforcement Officials in Florida through a Freedom of Information Request. DEA in Miami refused to send us a copy or even instruct us on how to obtain it. Since it is a very hard to get document, we bring it to you on the net. It is an exact reproduction of the booklet minus 2 graphics on the front cover and 2 of the charts inside (committed for space reasons). Note that it has a full page copy of our Petition Initiative on Page 19.
Click Here to see it Now!

Cannabis Action Network Organizers to Settle Federal Case Against JSO and Sup. Of Elections

As the Sheriff and Supervisor of Elections in Jacksonville Agreed to our terms we will be settling our Civil Rights Lawsuit against them in Mid-February. Scott Bledsoe and Floridians For Medical Rights had sued for violations of our First Amendment Rights to collect petitions when Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers removed volunteers under threat of arrest from a polling location on November 3rd and from a public sidewalk on December 8th. The Supervisor of Elections has agreed to provide us and all of its poll workers with a signed statement saying the solicitors and petitioners will NOT be interfered with at the polls. And the Sheriff has agreed to distribute a signed letter to his deputies, advising that we will not be removed, harassed or interfered with in public areas. And goes on to name some of the specific areas we insisted on. As a result, the sheriff and his deputies will no longer be allowed to use intimidation and threats to stop us from collecting petitions for the Florida Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative. If they do it will be very damaging economically.

If you are interested you may read the full text of the lawsuit Here.
And the Florida Times Union Article is Here.
See the Jacksonville Sheriff Office Memorandum which was issued as a result of this settlement Here.