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Monday afternoon in Hamilton's Veterans Park, Don DeZarn lit up a joint to protest the nation's drug laws; he also wants to represent New Jersey's 14th district in the state Senate.
DeZarn pulled the joint, which he said was marijuana, out of his sock after speaking to reporters for 15 minutes on his views on drug laws, property taxes, school choice and open government.
He was aware of the illegality; in the press release announcing the bit of civil disobedience, he said "Yes, I will be firing one up in public. Hopefully you will be able to run a story on Tuesday titled 'State Senate candidate arrested at press conference.'"
No police officers showed up, but DeZarn spoke about his views on the drug, which he thinks should be legalized and regulated in the same way that alcohol and cigarettes are.
"Who is this for? This is for all of my brothers and sisters who are being held prisoners of war by our government as a result of our war on drugs," he said after taking his second hit.
DeZarn is running on the Libertarian Party ticket against Democratic Sen. Linda Greenstein and Republican Former Sen. Peter Inverso. Greenstein has held the seat since 2010. He said he came to his views on marijuana after seeing the way the government handled drug enforcement spending.
"It's just something that I see as a tremendous waste of taxpayer money," he said. "It's complete insanity that we spend that type of money when there are far worse things out there. ... There isn't really a good reason for it to be illegal in my mind."
He said he thought the state government could save as much as $200 million that it spends now on enforcement of the state's marijuana laws, and receive as much as $100 million more from taxes and regulation.
"I hope it would be used for a good cause but I don't trust the government," he said.
He also acknowledged that his bid is a shot in the dark; he likely will not be included in most debates or news coverage of the race, or get much attention at the ballot box in November.
"The best I can do is be the loudest voice possible," he said. "Just the campaign itself is a long shot...Even if my two opponents were indicted in a federal corruption probe a week before the election I'm still not sure I'd win."
DeZarn isn't a one issue candidate; he also criticized the current state of political affairs for annual increases in property taxes and budgets "that you need to be a certified accountant to read." He gave the example of his own property taxes, which have gone up 180 percent in the last seven years.
"The property taxes have been what everybody hits me with," he said.
At the end of the impromptu press conference, he took a few hits of the joint before asking the reporters a question.
"Do you need much more guys? because I'm a lightweight," he said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trentonian.com
Author: Michael Macagnone
Contact: New Jersey News - NJ News | The Trentonian
Website: Doobie Don: state Senate candidate lights up in park - The Trentonian
DeZarn pulled the joint, which he said was marijuana, out of his sock after speaking to reporters for 15 minutes on his views on drug laws, property taxes, school choice and open government.
He was aware of the illegality; in the press release announcing the bit of civil disobedience, he said "Yes, I will be firing one up in public. Hopefully you will be able to run a story on Tuesday titled 'State Senate candidate arrested at press conference.'"
No police officers showed up, but DeZarn spoke about his views on the drug, which he thinks should be legalized and regulated in the same way that alcohol and cigarettes are.
"Who is this for? This is for all of my brothers and sisters who are being held prisoners of war by our government as a result of our war on drugs," he said after taking his second hit.
DeZarn is running on the Libertarian Party ticket against Democratic Sen. Linda Greenstein and Republican Former Sen. Peter Inverso. Greenstein has held the seat since 2010. He said he came to his views on marijuana after seeing the way the government handled drug enforcement spending.
"It's just something that I see as a tremendous waste of taxpayer money," he said. "It's complete insanity that we spend that type of money when there are far worse things out there. ... There isn't really a good reason for it to be illegal in my mind."
He said he thought the state government could save as much as $200 million that it spends now on enforcement of the state's marijuana laws, and receive as much as $100 million more from taxes and regulation.
"I hope it would be used for a good cause but I don't trust the government," he said.
He also acknowledged that his bid is a shot in the dark; he likely will not be included in most debates or news coverage of the race, or get much attention at the ballot box in November.
"The best I can do is be the loudest voice possible," he said. "Just the campaign itself is a long shot...Even if my two opponents were indicted in a federal corruption probe a week before the election I'm still not sure I'd win."
DeZarn isn't a one issue candidate; he also criticized the current state of political affairs for annual increases in property taxes and budgets "that you need to be a certified accountant to read." He gave the example of his own property taxes, which have gone up 180 percent in the last seven years.
"The property taxes have been what everybody hits me with," he said.
At the end of the impromptu press conference, he took a few hits of the joint before asking the reporters a question.
"Do you need much more guys? because I'm a lightweight," he said.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: trentonian.com
Author: Michael Macagnone
Contact: New Jersey News - NJ News | The Trentonian
Website: Doobie Don: state Senate candidate lights up in park - The Trentonian
