Saturday, June 14th, will mark the 3rd anniversary of the death of Peter McWilliams, best-selling author and crusader for medical marijuana. When I remember his death, I am always taken by a series of emotional reactions. First sadness... a feeling of personal loss. My loss is that I never met Peter, nor will I ever have another chance.

Soon after, my sadness turns invariably to anger and hate for those who deprived Peter of the life he loved more than most of us are able... and who deprived the world of experiencing more of him. My angry outrage feels so proper, and so justified, that it's very strong. 

A truly rare human, filled with love, and dedicated to reducing the suffering of others, was methodically and cruelly crushed by the monstrous, unfeeling, uncaring, minions of our dictatorial federal government. Someone far away issued a command, for political reasons, and the commands filtered downward, impersonally...  a series of by-the-book, thoughtless actions that then proceeded to snuff out a wondrous light in the darkness.

Then, my anger turns to shame, as I recall that Peter never felt anger for those who destroyed his life and then murdered him. He would be disappointed at my anger. He excused their ignorance, he pardoned their lack of understanding, and he wrote to try to correct that.

Peter McWilliams was a casualty of the War on Drugs; one of the thousands of sick people persecuted for using marijuana as life-enabling medicine. Every step of his persecution was vicious and cruel, designed to make an example of him. The fact that everything Peter did was legal in his home state of California didn't stop federal agents, prosecutors, and judges from doing everything they could to smash his life. His trial was "rigged" in the same way that Ed Rosenthal's trial recently was.

Peter's death should have raised a cry throughout our nation... a cry to end this mad War on Drugs. His  story did get considerable attention, such as from William F. Buckley,  from 20/20 just 5 days before he died, from the Libertarian Party, and much more, but in our world of information overload, his story soon disappeared from the view of most people.

A great deal of information about Peter is still  available online, including the site with over 4,000 comments by people who will not forget one man.

On July 4th, 1998, less than 2 years before his death, McWilliams addressed the national convention of the Libertarian Party. It was a delightful speech, full of hope, humor, and information. At that time, Proposition 215 had already legalized medical marujuana in California, but Peter was under attack by federal agents. Despite that, his speech hopefully anticipates that the hideous War on Drugs would soon be gone, or at LEAST that medical marijuana would soon be legalized. It's possible that Peter's appearance, covered by C-Span, may have enraged the Drug Czar and brought the final federal wrath down upon him.

Peter's speech is still available, on audio or video. 

California and eight other states have chosen to recognize and allow the medical use of marijuana... most of them via ballot initiative, the vote of the people.

That our federal government should, by the use of force, choose to overrule whole state populations, turning our Constitution upside down, is an outrage regardless of one's attitude about drugs. It violates almost every principle on which our nation was founded, not the least of which are states' rights and justice based on truth.

The Libertarian Party of California is asking us to remember Peter by purchasing his book "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do" during the week of June 8th through the 14th, to bring it again to best-seller status. It's available for only $9.95 here.

This book is centered on a single idea:

"You should be allowed to do whatever you want with your own person and property, as long as you don't physically harm the person or property of a nonconsenting other."

"More than 750,000 people are in jail right now because of something they did, something that did not physically harm the person or property of another. In addition, more than 3,000,000 people are on parole or probation for consensual crimes. Further, more than 4,000,000 people are arrested each year for doing something that hurts no one but, potentially, themselves."

I'll be doing buying several copies to give away, and I encourage you to do the same. It's not a sacrifice; the book will allow you to experience and enjoy Peter, and it's likely to give you a new outlook on at least a few "consensual crimes". It's easy, humorous reading about subjects that are neither easy or humorous. If you already have a copy, buy another to give to someone you care about.

If you simply CANNOT purchase the book, then take advantage of the fact that Peter made ALL of his books available free online.

I don't do drugs myself. This issue is about human rights, and justice, and the use of FORCE (and fraud) against people who are harming nobody. Libertarians have, for decades, been united against the persecution of victimless "crimes", and the War on Drugs epitomizes such destructive insanity.

Battles ARE being won, like the turnaround result in the Ed Rosenthal case, but the agression continues too. Sick Americans are seeking refuge in Canada... hundreds of thousands of Americans are in prison for crimes that millions of other Americans just haven't been caught doing yet, while violent criminals are released early to make room for more non-violent offenders.

Force never produces good results... the War on Drugs is a complete failure, but it's also so destructive, in so many ways, that it is a national disgrace.