Pot law draws judges' scrutiny

Pot law draws judges' scrutiny
Monday, October 31, 2005
CARLA CROWDER
News staff writer

A circuit judge and a retired judge, both members of Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force on Prison Overcrowding, suggest the state consider reducing marijuana possession to a misdemeanor.

A first offense is a misdemeanor now, but a second is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Current law sends nearly 500 people to prison each year.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Jim Hill and former Lee County Circuit Judge Robert Harper, who retired in January after 18 years on the bench, say they don't advocate decriminalizing the drug. However, they say that, in a state with such limited prison space, community drug treatment makes more sense than making users take scarce prison beds.

"According to the prison commissioner, 80 percent of our folks in jail or prison are illiterate or have a drug problem, and I think we need to start looking at who we want in prison," said Hill, who was a district court judge for 10 years before being elected last year to the 30th Circuit.

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Dear Editor,

In response to ("Pot law draws judges' scrutiny" Oct. 31)

Making personal possession of marijuana a misdemeanor is almost a step in the right direction. Almost, but not quite.

As someone who has worked in drug policy and prison reform in Alabama for the last three years I'd like to make a few suggestions to the Task Force on Prison Overcrowding.

1. Marijuana should be seperated from hard drugs and regulated in a way similar to alcohol and tobacco. There should be no threat of arrest, fines, drug testing or any hardship or any other form of punishment imposed on adults who use marijuana responsibly in the privacy of their own homes.

2. Drug courts and treatment resources should be directed at helping those who are addicted to hard drugs. There exists in Alabama a large group of people willing to pay tax on marijuana. The tax money collected could be used to fund drug courts and treatment for hard drug addicts just as the money collected in tax from the sale of alcohol is used to help fund D.H.R.

3. As for start up funding for drug courts and treatment centers, how about doing what Morgan County recently did on a statewide level?

" Morgan County Commission Chairman John Glasscock said he has identified money needed to start the program.
He said the money will come from the law enforcement fund that the county uses for matching funds for drug task force grants."

What a novel idea!

Respectfully Submitted for publication,
Loretta Nall
Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate 2006
http://www.nallforgovernor.com

Nall for Governor News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Nall for Governor Campaign
Contact Person: Loretta Nall
Telephone Number: 251-650-2271
Email Address: cnall1@charter.net
Web site address: http://www.nallforgovernor.com

Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate, Loretta Nall, To Speak in Mobile

Alexander City, AL, Oct. 31, 2005 — Recently declared Alabama Gubernatorial candidate, Loretta Nall, will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Mobile County Chapter of the Alabama Libertarian Party.

This event will take place at the SATORI Coffee and Tea House located at 5640 Old Shell Road near the intersection of University Boulevard beginning at 6:30 p.m. November 3, 2005.

All interested media and supporters are invited to attend.

Mrs. Nall will be speaking about her campaign for Governor and some of the planks, which make up her platform, including drug policy and prison reform, gun ownership rights, check-box style governing system and ballot access reform.

Mrs. Nall who characterizes herself as the "Common Sense" candidate in the upcoming 2006 election has enjoyed widespread media interest from across Alabama. In one NBC 13 Poll Nall leads with 35% and she recently won a phone-in poll on Good Morning Montgomery by a 3 to 1 margin. She has also appeared on the Kevin Elkins Show, The Don Markwell Show, and the Lee Davis Show where the majority of callers have agreed with her ideas and platform.

Nall, who is best known for her drug policy and prison reform work, was arrested in a November 2002 raid on her home less than a week after her Letter to the Editor of the Birmingham News was published.

The affidavit in support of the warrant to search Nall's home used that letter as probable cause.
The Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force, which conducted the raid on Nall's home, alleges that the raid yielded 0.87 grams of marijuana.

Nall was convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of paraphernalia in February 2004. She maintains her innocence and has an appeal pending.

After her trial in Feb. 2004 Mrs. Nall filed a complaint with the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission alleging misconduct on the part of Judge Kim Taylor after he commented about the facts of her case to the local media. The Judicial Inquiry Commission sided with Mrs. Nall and reprimanded Judge Kim Taylor for his actions.

In March of 2005 Mrs. Nall again appeared in court for her appeal. The prosecution offered her a plea bargain of 8 months in prison without the possibility of probation or parole in exchange for her guilty plea. Mrs. Nall, who had no previous arrest or criminal record, refused to plea out and instead demanded a jury trial. She wrote a scathing article about her court experience, which was published at LewRockwell and one week later she was visited by the F.B.I.

Loretta Nall, 31, wife, mother of two children living in her native Alabama, became involved in drug policy reform in September of 2002, after enduring a terrifying helicopter raid by local, state and federal agents looking for Marijuana.

Since that time Mrs. Nall has founded and organized 35 state chapters of the US Marijuana Party, has hosted the POT-TV.net News for 18 months, interviewing Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinich in regards the drug war in America. Loretta Nall has appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine, lewrockwell.com, and numerous daily newspapers across North America on behalf of her campaign to reduce the destructive effects of prohibition in America. In 2004, she visited war-torn Colombia, South America where she studied the affects of aerial fumigation on the food crops of peasant farmers as carried out under U.S. Plan Colombia. Currently, she is Executive Director of Alabamians for Caring Use a group helping to guide a medical marijuana bill through the Alabama state legislature in concert with the Drug Policy Alliance. Mrs. Nall is also a weekly contributor to the "Cultural Baggage Radio Show".

For more information or to request an interview or show appearance please call the Nall for Governor campaign headquarters at 251-650-2271 or email them at cnall1@charter.net

Nall for Governor Gear!!

Click HERE TO GET YOURS!

All proceeds go to the Loretta Nall for Governor Campaign.
We Thank You For Your Support!

Marijuana Party Head Seeks Governors Office

By Libbi Rogers
The Crimson White
Contributing Writer
October 28, 2005


Loretta Nall is a 31-year-old wife and mother of two. She's an Alabama native with a confessed history of drug use.

And now Nall, president of the U.S. Marijuana Party, wants to be Alabama's governor.

She said she favors prison reform, states' rights, abolition of gun control and a checkbox-style government along with the obvious drug policy reform.

Nall said she decided to run in a conservative state such as Alabama because the state is dying for change.

"Cops are teaching kindergarteners it's alright to pee in a cup on demand," she said.

Six days after writing a letter to The Birmingham News urging Alabamians who wanted drug policy reform to join together to enact change in November 2002, Nall was arrested.

That's when she decided she wanted to have a bigger influence in the state. At first, Nall said her decision to run for governor was kind of a joke.

"It was like, 'Gee, I'll run for governor.' Just a remark, you know?," she said.

Nall, however, officially declared her candidacy in late September.

She said she has high hopes for the upcoming election. "I'm an eternal optimist, and I actually think I'll win," Nall said. "Yes, I know everyone thinks I'm a lunatic."

Nall said college students should be interested in one part of her platform: working to get rid of a provision of the Higher Education Act that blocks federal financial aid for students with prior drug convictions.

"It doesn't make any sense to me to block aid to students with convictions since higher education is proven to help correct those that may be on a path toward a life of crime," Nall said.

Greg Ostendorf, a UA freshman majoring in telecommunication and film, said he thinks it is such issues that make Nall appealing to college students.

"Her running here is going to bring more interest to college-age kids, and that's been lacking in previous elections," Ostendorf said. "Older people, though, that have been voting for longer won't take her seriously."

Nall said she has a decent chance in the state because of the uniqueness of her platform. She said there's a difference between her platform and Gov. Bob Riley's pushes for a "Biblically-inspired tax cut" and former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore's push to display the Ten Commandments in government buildings.

However, Nall said a lot of her platform is actually not that far from the beaten path followed by many Alabama politicians.

"If you pay attention to what I'm saying my platform is actually equally, if not more, conservative than the Republicans," Nall said.

Some UA students said they still have a hard time thinking Nall could pull out a win, however.

Mike Rashid, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said he doubts Nall stands a legitimate chance in Alabama.

"I'd say it's really good for the state to have more diversity in the elections, though," Rashid said.

Katie Thompson, a junior majoring in interior design, said she doesn't think Nall could win, "but anything other than ultra-conservatives running is great."

Christina McDonald, a freshman majoring in elementary education, said she hasn't ever heard of the Marijuana Party before, but said Nall's party didn't really matter to her that much.

"As long as she does what she needs to do for the state of Alabama, then I'm fine with her," McDonald said.

Morgan may start corrections program by end of December

Morgan County officials are moving on plans to create a community corrections program to limit the jail population.

If they stay on course, the program could start by the end of the year.

County Commission Chairman John Glasscock said he has identified money needed to start the program.

He said the money will come from the law enforcement fund that the county uses for matching funds for drug task force grants.

A federal court consent decree ordering officials to build a new jail also instructed them to develop an alternative sentencing plan, such as a corrections program. The jail is ready, but the commission has been slow to adopt the corrections program.

Judges could sentence those convicted of non-violent, minor crimes to the community program rather than jail them. This would reduce the inmate population and the cost to taxpayers.
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Hats off to Morgan County and their willingness to divert drug task force funds away from the drug task forces, who do nothing but fill prisons with non-violent offenders at great expense to the taxpayer, and redirecting those funds to community corrections and treatment. I hope the rest of Alabama will take a page from this book.

Siegelman, Scrushy, two others indicted

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and three others - including former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy - have been indicted on charges of "widespread racketeering conspiracy" that include bribery and extortion in exchange for official acts in the state.

The prosecutors said Siegelman and former chief of staff Paul Hamrick violated racketeering laws during his term from 1999 to 2003. The indictment, in part, alleges Scrushy made disguised payments totaling $500,000 to Siegelman to get appointed to a key state hospital regulatory board.

Former state Transportation Director Gary Mack Roberts also was charged with mail and wire fraud for his alleged role influencing agency actions on behalf of Siegelman.

The announcement was made simultaneously in Montgomery and Washington. Siegelman has called the long-running grand jury probe a political witch hunt by Republican prosecutors trying to derail his current Democratic campaign for a second term. He planned a statement later Wednesday.

The former governor was indicted last year on charges of health care fraud, but the case was later dismissed.

U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon dismissed all charges on Oct. 5, 2004, against Siegelman and Hamrick after federal prosecutors failed to convince the judge that the two conspired to rig bids for Medicaid contracts.

The prosecution moved to dismiss all charges after Clemon rejected the key charge of conspiracy in which the government alleged that Siegelman and Hamrick conspired with Tuscaloosa physician Phillip K. Bobo to funnel $550,000 to the Alabama Fire College.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ACPD's new drug dogs already put to use in first 3 weeks

By Patrick McCreless

Having been in service only three weeks, the Alexander City Police Department's two new drug dogs have already shown their worth.

"These dogs have done tracking situations, been involved in the execution of search warrants and vehicle checks," said Alexander Police Department officer Jerry Whetstone.

"People have been arrested," he said.

Whetstone, who has worked with dogs since 1988, along with officer Greg Pike, are the two in charge of handling and caring for the dogs.

"At one time, I worked four dogs for the county," Whetstone said. "Prior to that I worked with dogs for the Tallapoosa County Sheriff Department."

This will be the first time for Pike to handle a drug dog however.

"This is something I've been trying to do for a long time," Pike said. "It's been a long time coming."

The dogs, whose names are Bady and Carik, both originally came from the Czech Republic. Just barely over a year old, both dogs went through an extensive 12-week training program at a center in North Carolina.

Red Ribbon Week emphasizes drug awareness

Red Ribbon Week emphasizes drug awareness

By Patrick McCreless
The Alexcitty Outlook

Students had a change of pace Monday as area schools kicked off the beginning of Red Ribbon Week.

Throughout the week, schools all over the country will have different events each day designed to help keep children off drugs.

"We feel like it gives them a good introduction to drug awareness," said Marilyn Lewis of the Alexander City Board of Education.

Lewis also said because of this and other programs, she has seen the number of students who have used drugs decrease.

"We had to wear camouflage and there was an assembly at the high school to kick off Red Ribbon Week," said Dadeville's Councill Middle School counselor Melanie Mckinney.

According to Mckinney, students were encouraged to wear camouflage to symbolize "combat against drugs."

Tuesday, students will be allowed to wear baseball caps so they can "put a cap on drugs," Mckinney said.

United We Stand will be the theme for Wednesday as students wear red, white and blue clothing. Also that day, Chris Graebe from MTV's reality show "Road Rules" will speak about drug prevention.

Alexander City schools are having similar programs. Monday's theme was "Shade out drugs day," in which students got to wear sunglasses. Tuesday will be "Team up against drugs day," where all students can wear their favorite sports team's paraphernalia and on Wednesday, students are asked to bring canned foods that will be donated to charity.

Also visiting schools this week in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week is the Alexander City Police K-9 unit, according to officer James Orr. "Our K-9 unit will be there for a demonstration with our drug dogs," Orr said.

"They will demonstrate how the dog does various searches and different exercises."

And if that weren't enough, during the week, students at Jim Pearson Elementary School will get to celebrate the 25 birthday of Mcgruff the crime dog on Wednesday.

Visiting the school, says Lewis, will be Mcgruff, his nephew Scruff as well as other characters.

"They're going to give some safety messages to the kids plus some drug awareness information," Orr said.

Red Ribbon Week began in 1986 in honor of Drug Enforcement Agent Enrique Camarena, who was killed while trying to uncover the identities of key members of a Mexican drug cartel. Angered over his death and the destruction of drug abuse, people from his hometown of Calexico, California began wearing red ribbons. Other organizations soon picked up on the movement and encouraged others to wear ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to fight the use of illegal drugs.

For more information about how to get involved in Red Ribbon Week, visit the National Family Partnership's web site at National Family Partnership's website.

Drug policy not candidate’s only issue

Drug policy not candidate’s only issue
Tuscaloosa News

Dear Editor: In response to “Drugs aren’t Libertarians’ top issue" [letters, Oct. 20], I’d like to invite all of your readers to take the time and investigate the claims made by the media that my campaign for governor is about drug policy reform and nothing else.

Drug policy reform is a sexy, controversial topic that helps to sell lots of newspapers and gets more people to tune in to the 6 o’clock news. I freely admit it is a very important issue to me and thousands of other Alabamians, but it is far from my only issue.

Most of the other issues the writer mentioned are planks in my platform that have not been reported on by the media.

For instance, my other planks include states’ rights, non-compliance with the Patriot and REAL I.D. acts, calling for the Alabama National Guard troops to be returned home, no gun control laws, a check-box style governing system, legal lottery and casino gambling run by private enterprise, initiative and referendum, ballot access reform, privatizing public schools, lifting restrictions on distilleries that produce wood and grain alcohol and encouraging increased production of bio-diesel so that Alabama families might produce their own fuel or start community co-ops for that purpose.

Loretta Nall
Alexander City
October 24. 2005
-----------------------------------------

It seems the Tuscaloosa News is on a roll with responses to the AP article about my candidacy, This is the third LTE they have printed about it in less than a week. Thanks Tuscaloosa News

Linking candidate to drugs is unfair

Linking candidate to drugs is unfair

Don Seibold

October 23. 2005 3:15AM

Dear Editor: In regards to Robert Workman’s letter of Oct. 20, “Drugs aren’t Libertarians’ top issue": I don’t call myself a Libertarian, but I must respond to Mr. Workman, because I believe he has done a disservice to Loretta Nall’s campaign to become our governor.

Either he must be attempting to prevent her from becoming the Libertarian candidate, or else he is simply uninformed about her campaign issues. I have recently looked at her campaign Web site, and heard her twice on local talk radio programs in Montgomery, and she is far from being a one-issue candidate, although it seems media is attempting to make her look that way.

I may not vote for her, but I will say that Loretta Nall impressed me with her knowledge and her ability to more than hold her own when being interviewed.

More impressive to me, is that as part of a project of mine, I have submitted a question by e-mail to, thus far, eight candidates for governor or lieutenant governor, and she was the only one even to be courteous enough to acknowledge receiving it.

My question was: “Will you actively support the proposition of bringing Initiative and Referendum [I&R] to the voters of Alabama, both in your campaign, and afterward?" Loretta Nall replied the same day I sent it to her with a response of “Yes.

---------------------------------------

Thank you Don. I appreciate your efforts.

Write a response!

The following LTE appeared in the The Tuscaloosa News this morning.
My response follows.
I encourage you to please write a response as well.

Drugs aren’t Libertarians’ top issue

Robert Workman
Northport
October 20. 2005 3:15AM

Dear Editor: I find it very disturbing that the only knowledge many people ever receive of the Libertarian Party is its stance on the legalization of drugs. This problem is further compounded its association with candidates who make this issue their campaign’s focal point; for example, we were recently informed that Ms. Loretta Nall, the 31-year-old president of the U.S. Marijuana Party, is seeking the Libertarian nomination for governor of Alabama.

While Ms. Nall is correct that current drug policy is shortsighted, the citizens of Alabama would be much more supportive of a candidate who focuses on restoring all levels of government to their Constitutional limitations rather than harping on drug policy.

The Libertarian Party should focus on eliminating the current system of forced wealth redistribution in which productive citizens are taxed to support nonproductive citizens; the party needs to campaign on eliminating the unconstitutional restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms for law abiding citizens; it needs to work on eliminating the unconstitutional restrictions on political speech codified in the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act; it should work to ensure that citizens have true freedom of religion rather than the current state of two sides pushing equal extremes. In short, the Libertarian Party needs to offer a free-market alternative to the socialism and socialism-lite given as choices by the Democrats and Republicans (respectively), and once the American people see that real freedom can and does work, then we can talk about drug policy.
----------------------------------------------
Dear Editor, Tuscaloosa News

In response to "Drugs aren't Libertarians' top issue", I'd like to invite all of your readers to take the time and investigate the claims made by the media that my campaign for Governor is about drug policy reform and nothing else.

Drug policy reform is a sexy, controversial topic that helps to sell lots of newspapers and get's more people to tune in to the 6 o'clock news. I freely admit it is a very important issue to me and thousands of other Alabama families, but it is far from my only issue.

Most of the other issues the writer mentioned are planks in my platform that have not been reported on by the media.

For instance, my other planks include States Rights, Non-Compliance with the Patroiot Act and REAL I.D., calling for the Alabama National Guard troops to be returned home, no gun control laws, check-box style governing system, legal lottery and casino gambling run by private enterprise, Initiative and Referendum, Ballot Access reform, privatizing public schools and lifitng restrictions on distilleries that produce wood and grain alcohol and encouraging increased production of bio-diesel so that Alabama families might produce their own fuel or start community co-op's for that purpose.

In Liberty,
Loretta Nall
Nall for Governor 2006
Nall for Governor

Nall and Libertarians in Joint Venture

Zac over at Alabama Elections has a nice piece up about my candidacy.

Actually, Zac has some of the most insightful commentary that any media has thus far dared to express.

Thanks Zac!

WSFA NBC Montgomery

Monday 10/17/05
WSFA TV films Loretta on WACV talk radio show
Mpeg

John Tyson for A.G.?

Well folks things continue to get curiouser and curiouser down here in Bamaland.

Mobile District Attorney, John Tyson, (who is notorious for seriously throwing the book at people and then proceeding to beat them about their head and shoulders with it,) has decided that 25,000 people in prison under his prosecution is plenty, Thank You, and he has had a change of heart and now wants to "prevent" crime (which is not his job, mind you).
When you look a it there is little incentive for him to "prevent" crime. Less crime means less work and money for him.

To prevent crime he intends to drug our troubled youth with prescription chemical lobotomy drugs.

He is basically moving his support from the nanny/police state to the theraputic state, which is no better in any way.

Don't buy into it Alabama.


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. announced Monday night that he will run for attorney general next year on a platform that seeks to prevent crime rather than just prosecuting it.

Speaking to the Montgomery County Democratic Party, Tyson said he had planned to have a formal campaign announcement shortly after Labor Day, but Hurricane Katrina wrecked those plans.

"You might as well consider this an announcement," he said.

Tyson, 53, is the first Democrat to announce plans to run for the seat held by Republican Troy King, who was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley in March 2004 and plans to seek a full term next year.

As a district attorney for 11 years, Tyson and his staff have been responsible for more than 25,000 felony convictions, but he said he has learned there is more to stopping crime than just prosecuting cases.

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Radio Appearance Today

This morning from 10-11 a.m. I will be a guest on 1170 AM talk radio in Montgomery. I believe it is the Don Markwell show. You can find out more HERE

If you are in the broadcasting area please tune in and call in if the notion strikes you.

Is "Out-Jesus" In?

Yesterday my article from the AP hit in the Alabama press. The Birmingham News ,among many other papers, picked it up.

Today, the B'ham News ran an Opinion piece using the phrase "out-Jesus" which, to my knowledge, was first printed in the AP article of yesterday.

The author of this article claims he got it from a friend and maybe he did. Just seems weird that it is printed in the same paper the day after I said it.

Either way, I am glad to see it being used by the largest newspaper in Alabama. Tis' a good line.

Marijuana Advocate Joins Race for Governor

Loretta Nall, 31, is president of the U.S. Marijuana Party.
-- Rob Carr

By Phillip Rawls
The Associated Press
Montgomery Advertiser

Loretta Nall, a 31-year-old mother of two, is running for governor of Alabama when she's not busy with her other duties: writing for Cannabis Culture magazine and serving as president of the U.S. Marijuana Party.

Nall says she doesn't want to be seen as the marijuana candidate for governor.

"I want to be seen as a common country girl doing something anybody could do if they chose to," she said.

Nall's days as a common country girl ended in 2002 when officers raided the trailer she shares with her husband and two children just outside Alexander City. Officers found rolling papers, a scale, and a small amount of marijuana -- .87 grams -- but it was enough to net Nall misdemeanor convictions for possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. She got a 30-day suspended sentence, but she is appealing her case.

The raid and the legal process turned Nall into an advocate for changing drug policy. She got hired by Marc Emery, the recently jailed publisher of Cannabis Culture, and she formed the U.S. Marijuana Party, which has active chapters in seven states.

Now she's seeking the Libertarian Party's nomination for governor because the party already has a structure in Alabama and because they agree on a major issue: They want marijuana legalized.

Nall said she still uses marijuana occasionally for pain relief. She used to smoke for recreational reasons, but stopped after her arrest.

"Now there's no enjoyment in it if you think the cops are going to come," she said.

If Nall had her way, marijuana would be a regulated product like tobacco and alcohol.

Nall already is conducting a vigorous Internet campaign, but running for governor as a Libertarian is not easy. Third parties have to collect more than 40,000 signatures from Alabama voters to get listed on the ballot statewide.

Nall calls the number "a monstrous obstacle" designed by Democratic and Republican state officials to keep out competition, but she plans a walk across the state to help the party collect the needed number.

Mike Rster, state administrator of the Libertarian Party, is not optimistic about his party getting on the general election ballot for Nov. 7, 2006.

"It's virtually an impossible task. I don't see any of the third parties being able to do it," he said.

Nall said she isn't dismayed by the task. She figures collecting the signatures will allow her to meet thousands of voters and help her campaign.

"I've got this gut feeling that come November of next year, I stand a very good chance of being governor with the Republicans trying to out-Jesus each other and the Democrats trying to out-socialist each other," she said.

If Nall comes across Republican incumbent Bob Riley on the campaign trail, he won't be a stranger. She grew up in his hometown of Ashland. "I went to school with Gov. Riley's kids," she said.

Nall and Riley may share the same hometown, but their platforms are very different.

Nall says Alabama's prisons are jam-packed because the state's drug policy is shortsighted. She says many of the people in prison for property crimes were stealing and robbing to support addictions to hard drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Prison doesn't address their drug problems, but good drug treatment programs would. And over time, Alabama could reduce the $305 million appropriation for prisons, she said.

She envisions programs similar to methadone treatment centers, where addicts could get drugs in a controlled setting and go through counseling to wean them off the drugs.

If Alabama did that, expensive drug task forces would no longer be needed, she said.

Nall also advocates school vouchers and privatizing most of the public education system.

And she says taxpayers ought to be able to choose which programs they want their tax dollars to fund. On their annual tax return, "they could say, 'Yes I want my money to go to education, and no, I don't want it to go to prisons,'" she said.

What would happen if taxpayers put more tax money into a program than was needed or didn't fund one the governor and Legislature thought was important?

"I don't have an answer for that," she said.

Nall is an atheist, but she said that if elected, she wouldn't try to impose her views on others.

"I'm not anti-religious. It's freedom of or freedom from. I've chosen freedom from, and you're free to choose of," she said.

The campaign for governor will take Nall away from her children -- 13-year-old Alexander and 8-year-old Isabelle -- but she said they are excited about their mother's quest for the governor's mansion.

"My daughter is like, 'Do we get to move into the mansion?' We live in a trailer, so the big mansion idea is exciting to my kids," she said.

Illiterate Media in Alabama? Nah...I don't believe it

I came across the following in the Clanton Advertiser this morning and thought I would share it, as well as my response, with you.

I don't expect all Alabama media to be supportive. I only request to those that are unsupportive to at least have their facts straight. My campaign for Governor is as much about marijuana as the Boston Tea Party was about tea.


Opinion
Clanton Advertiser

Say informed in election bids , pick up a Clanton Advertiser

Loretta Nall, a 31-year-old mother of two, is running for governor of Alabama when she's not busy with her other duties: writing for Cannabis Culture magazine and serving as president of the U.S. Marijuana Party.

Now she's seeking the Libertarian Party's nomination for governor because the party already has a structure in Alabama and because they agree on a major issue: They want marijuana legalized.

When election time rolls around, you get people like Nall - those with very little political savvy - who throw their hats into the ring hoping to go down in the history books with at least a few votes.

Election time is an even more important reason for you - the readers of The Clanton Advertiser - to continue to pick up your papers each day and stay informed of what's going on in our county.

Things can get hectic and a little crazy during an election and good, reliable information is your best bet to electing a qualified and responsible official. If you're not informed, you'll never know what you're getting into
--------------------------------------------------------

Dear Editor,

In response to ("Say informed in election bids, pick up a Clanton Advertiser" Fri. Oct 14,2005)

The first word in your headline should have been "Stay" not "Say". How can people trust you to tell the truth if you can't spell a simple four-letter word? Goodness, even a politically "un-savvy" stoner like me can spell it.

Secondly, if you only inform your readers of one plank in my platform for Governor then how can you say you are keeping people "informed" while managing to keep a straight face?

You make it seem like the idea to regulate and control marijuana in the state of Alabama so as to keep it out of the hands of kids and solve the prison crisis is unheard of. I guess you haven't been paying attention to the "Special Task Force on Prison Overcrowding" and their recommendations. I suppose the Judge on that panel is politically un-savvy as well, no?

The Libertarian Party and I agree on almost all issues. It is the biased media that picks up on one issue and tries to mislead voters. If you had bothered to look at my platform you would see that it is actually more conservative than either of the Republican's in the race have yet to offer.

If I were a regular reader of The Clanton Advertiser I would be upset that you think your readers so dumb that they don't know how to check out the facts for themselves. But, I tend to stay away from newspapers that instruct their readers to spy on their neighbors in the grocery store and report them if they buy too many boxes of matches. That's a little too anti-American and anti-Alabama for me. In fact, it is reminiscent of Hitler's Nazi Germany or George Orwell's 1984.

In the future, if you must use my good name to move your puppy-training paper at least get the facts straight. Biased media is not credible media.

Respectfully Submitted,

In Liberty,
Loretta Nall

Feature: Loretta Nall Enters Alabama Governor's Race 10/14/05

Feature: Loretta Nall Enters Alabama Governor's Race 10/14/05
DRCNet

In 2002, after being buzzed by a dope-hunting helicopter and harassed by a pack of narcotics officers hungry for a bust, Alabama housewife Loretta Nall wrote a letter to her local paper criticizing the marijuana laws. That got Nall a visit by the local drug squad and an arrest for possession of 87/100 of a gram of pot. And that helped turn Nall into a drug reform dynamo, as a reporter for Marc Emery's Vancouver-based Pot-TV and as founder of the US Marijuana Party. Late last month, Nall took aim at her home state capital, announcing that she is running for governor of Alabama in 2006.

While Nall continues to support marijuana legalization, she is not running under the US Marijuana Party banner, but as an independent with an eye on picking up the state Libertarian Party nomination. And while "drug policy and prison reform" is a primary campaign plank, it is certainly not the only one. In fact, Nall is staking out some uniquely Alabama political territory with a platform that mixes the weed with anti-Washington sentiment, Second Amendment rights, libertarian social ideas, and an anti-Iraq war position. Her platform, published on her web site is fairly succinct:

* States Rights - Washington DC OUT of Alabama!
* Drug Policy and Prison Reform
* Non-Compliance with the REAL ID and Patriot Act in Alabama
* Alabama Out of Iraq -- Bring Alabama National Guard Soldiers Home
* No Gun Control -- Gun control laws only affect law abiding citizens and do nothing to stop violent criminals from obtaining guns.
* Check Box style governing system. (I believe the citizens of Alabama should have more control on how their tax money is spent. As Governor, I would strive to implement a program where we would list every state program for which tax money is collected from the citizens, provide description of each and place a yes or no box beside each. This would then be distributed to citizens to let them decide how their money is spent.)
* Gambling - Make both casino and lottery gambling legal but not state run.
* Initiative and Referendum for Alabama Voters
* Ballot Access Reform
* Guaranteed Quality Education Act. (All children will be provided with a credit to attend any school of the parents' choice within 10 miles of their home.)

"There is a strong tradition of states' rights here in Alabama," said Nall. "We resent government intrusion into our daily lives. We don't want the government telling us we can't produce biodiesel. We don't want the government doing sneak and peak searches under the Patriot Act. That kind of shit is anti-Alabama. If I am elected, Alabama will not comply with the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act. We don't want our National Guard getting killed in Iraq."



Loretta Nall

Mentioning states' rights in Alabama, conjuring as it does the image of George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door to block black people from going to college, raises the obvious question: How do you expect to win any black votes? Perhaps the issue is not so black and white, Nall responded.

"There's a lot of black people in Alabama who understand states' rights is not just about George Wallace," she said. "They understand that the federal government is not their friend." And Nall does have some ties with black Alabama, having co-organized a march for prison reform with Montgomery radio personality Roberta Franklin, who went on to organize this year's national Journey for Justice to Washington. "I am known in the black community," she said. "I've been doing the morning radio show with Roberta for awhile, I've been working with black ministers in Montgomery, as well as folks down in Dothan, and I'm getting black people calling in volunteering to work on campaign literature distribution and ballot petitions."

Yes, ballot petitions. Alabama has one of the toughest ballot access laws in the nation, especially for independents and third parties. Democratic and Republican candidates for state office need the signatures of only 500 voters to gain ballot access, but independents need to garner 41,000 signatures just to get on the ballot. To keep that ballot access, independents or third parties must then win at least 20% of the votes in the next general election, or else its back to minor party purgatory.

With her campaign effort already gearing up and the three-month signature-gathering window not opening until early next year, Nall said she anticipated being able to pass that hurdle. "I am very confident I can the necessary signatures," she said.

In the meantime, Nall is looking forward to being part of the colorful cast of Alabama characters vying for the governorship. Former Democratic contender Don Siegelman, who was barely defeated by sitting Gov. Bob Riley, is being challenged by Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, while Riley is facing a fundamentalist insurgency led by former Alabama Supreme Court Judge Roy Moore, who was kicked off the bench after refusing to obey a federal court order to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from his courthouse.

"With Roy Moore in the race, that gives me the chance to be the sane one," laughed Nall. "The Republicans will be busy trying to out-Jesus each other and the Democrats will be trying to out-socialist each other, and while they're dicking around with each other, I'll be talking to the voters. I'm conservative, but not religious, and my base understands that. And unlike Roy Moore, my platform is radical, but sane."

And if early press attention is any indicator, Nall will be noticed. "I've gotten good coverage so far. My local paper, the Alexander City Outlook, didn't run my press releases, but they did finally show up last week and I got an excellent article out of that," she said. "The Montgomery Advertiser has been good, and I did an interview yesterday with the Auburn Plainsman. And I also did an interview with the Associated Press, which will run in various papers across the state on Sunday. I've also been doing radio shows."

While Internet polls are notoriously unreliable, often demonstrating nothing more than the ability to engineer an email campaign, Nall can still enjoy a solid victory in the first such poll matching her against the four other contenders. In that poll, conducted by NBC-13, Nall led with 31%, followed by Baxley at 22% and Riley at 20%, with Moore and Siegelman both trailing with 14%.

Nall's low budget campaign will feature a walking tour of the state. The idea has historical resonance in the South, where Lawton Chiles won the governorship in Florida after a similar months-long stroll. In Alabama in the 1980s, a politician named Fob James rode a bus complete with goats and chickens across the state. He was later known as Gov. Fob James

Riley Lifting Nall's Platform Planks

By M.J. Ellington
The Decatur Daily, AL


Riley to attend final prison task force meeting
The Montgomery Advertiser


Riley: Rehabilitation, sentencing reforms needed in corrections
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
SAMIRA JAFARI
Associated Press

Panel suggests prison reforms
By John Davis
Montgomery Advertiser

October 14, 2005

Gov. Bob Riley is planning to throw his weight behind what will likely be a 10-bill package of sentencing and prison reforms to fight overcrowding in a corrections system that is operating at double its designed capacity.

Whether the bills will go into the legislative mix during January's regular session or sooner in a special session remains to be seen.

"Ultimately, you can't lock up everyone for every offense and keep them locked up for the rest of their life," Riley told his 11-member Task Force on Prison Overcrowding during a meeting with the group Thursday.

The task force's draft report includes a sentencing reform bill that has failed twice in the Legislature, passing the House both times only to get bogged down in the Senate.

The bill calls for voluntary sentencing standards for 26 felonies. Historically, the list of felonies covers 87 percent of convictions in Alabama.

According to the task force report, the law change would help alleviate "unwarranted sentencing disparity" in the courts.

The task force plans to issue its final recommendations to Riley in two weeks. The governor asked the panel to include recommendations regarding Alabama's victim notification law, which is slowing down the parole process.

Members of the task force offered some of their own ideas.

"I really feel that the habitual offender law ought to be reduced for nonviolent offenses," said Bob Harper, a retired Lee County circuit court judge. "I've seen it applied too many times in a way I think is unfair."

Birmingham resident Diana Summerford agreed.

Her son is serving a life sentence even though he was never convicted of a violent crime.

Summerford, who has asked that her son's name not be published, wants the task force sentencing recommendations to be retroactive -- something that is not likely to happen.

"I don't think (the task force) went deep enough because there's so many that are caught up in the system," Summerford said after the meeting. Her son is one of many drug addicts serving long sentences courtesy of Alabama's three-strikes law, which throws the book at felons on their fourth felony conviction.

The task force also is recommending that drug treatment and education play larger roles in the corrections system, though at least one member wants to radically change the sentencing laws for people caught with marijuana.

"I'd like to see it reduced to a misdemeanor regardless of how much you've had," said Jim Hill Jr., a St. Clair County circuit judge, referring to people with personal-use amounts of marijuana.

Other recommendations from the task force include creating centers to deal with probation and parole violators without sending them back to prison and forming programs to help inmates transition into the free world before being released.

Also, the task force would like to see a statewide network of community corrections programs that will give judges sentencing options beyond state prisons.
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Gee, Bob, what a novel idea reforming the prisons is. If I recall correctly it was what you promised to do in the last campaign for Governor and what you have failed to do repeatedly since taking office despite the many commissions you have assembled to give you the answers. You remnd me of the little boy who cried "Wolf" and we all know what eventually happened to him.

Don't fall for it Alabama.

Get to know your 2006 candidates

Get to know your 2006 candidates

By Matt Dischinger
Assistant State & Local Editor
The Auburn Plainsman

October 13, 2005

It’s October 2005, and the gubernatorial race is already heating up. Several candidates have declared eligibility, and there could be more to come.

So far, there have been five major candidates announced for the 2006 election.

The two Republican candidates are incumbent Gov. Bob Riley and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

The Democrats running include Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley and former Gov. Don Siegelman. Loretta Nall, who is seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party of Alabama, has also announced her candidacy.

With two viable candidates in each major party, there could be two tight primaries in July 2006.

The Republican primary will pit the religious side of the GOP against the pro-business conservatives.

READ MORE

Governor really living the life of Riley, ride-wise

Unlike some governors, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has kept using a large state-provided sports utility vehicle since gas prices rose to the $3 per gallon range. On Tuesday, for an appearance in Birmingham, Riley arrived in a black Chevrolet Tahoe.

In the past, he has also used a black Ford Expedition. The vehicles are equipped with special emergency and communications equipment.

Riley's communications director, Jeff Emerson, declined to discuss the specific brands the governor uses, citing security reasons, but said the Republican governor traditionally travels in a large SUV.

"The choice of vehicles used by Governor Riley and previous Alabama governors is strictly based on security considerations. However, use of a more fuel efficient vehicle that does not compromise security is something Governor Riley will examine and review," Emerson said.
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There are a number of stories out today talking about which Governors have switched to more fuel efficient vehicles. Riley, as you can see, isn't one of them. The fuel prices Alabamians are facing is one of the main reasons I decided to walk across Alabama for my campaign.

As to what I will do about the cost of fuel if elected....I plan to promote bio-diesel and lift restrictions on distilleries so that people who wish to make their own fuel will be able to do so. That is how NASCAR got started and that is a fine Southern tradition and a proud part of our heritage. It's one of the many ways Alabama has sought in the past to be independent and free from federal regulations that choke the life out of free market capitalism.

Christians and the Drug War

Over the course of the last week I have received around 500 emails with 499 of them being very positive and supportive. Some of those even came from people who have never smoked pot and disagree with my views on the drug war.

Like this one for instance

Mrs. Nall, I've got to say that I admire your determination and candidness. More politicians should speak their minds without worrying about what effect it will have on public opinion polls.
While you and I may not see eye to eye on the marijuana issue, I can't help but agree that there is a major problem within our prison system. They're overcrowded, understaffed and underfunded. There's not enough emphasis on rehabilitation and treatment......My best to you, Mrs. Nall. You haven't got my vote for the election, but I wish you luck.

Then today I got one from a lady who heard me on the radio on Friday in Montgomery who supports the drug war and claims to be a recovered addict. She has requested that I drop out of the race which is kind of funny in a really sad way.

Apparently she is now hooked on Jesus instead of drugs and I don't think it has helped her mental state all that much. She thinks it is perfectly ok for Roy Moore to be in the race but my candidacy somehow tarnishes the squeaky clean reputation of Alabama politics.

So, I'd like to pose this question to my fellow Alabamians who are reading this and may be religious.

What Would Jesus Do About the Drug War?
Would Jesus lock people up in cages and the ostracize them from society?
or
Would Jesus seek to minimize harms associated with drug use and heal the person suffering from addiction?

Week In Review

Prohibition Politics in Alabama

Hello fans and supporters out there in cyber-land. Thanks for stopping by today.

It has been an extremely lively and fun filled week on the campaign trail here in Alabama. I announced formally on September 29 that I am running for Governor and oddly enough two of the most conservative media outlets in Alabama were the first ones to carry the news release.

On Tuesday I appeared in court in Tallapoosa County to continue the appeals phase in my misdemeanor marijuana possession case. The case was delayed again until the next session of the grand jury which will likely be sometime in early 2006.

The local newspaper, which did not run my release, did show up at the courthouse for an interview. I am very happy to report that they did a bang up job getting the facts straight and I got top billing on the front page. The article and my photo appeared right next to a photo of my DC Congressman Mike Rogers, whom I have lobbied many times and have been lied to by many times. I'm sure ol' Mike about had a coronary when he saw who he was sharing the front page with.

NBC 13 News out of Birmingham included me in an online poll on their website which asked the question;

"If the election were held today who would you vote for?"

And guess what?
It appears people would vote for me.
I have beaten Governor Bob Riley, Roy "I have a direct line to Gawd Almighty" Moore (who was photographed autographing bibles this week), former Governor Don Siegelman (who this week told a newspaper that the prosecutors in his fraud case can kiss his ass) and Democratic hopeful and current Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley.

Now, online polls aren't scientific as we all know, but I dare say I may have found that 40+% of the Alabama population who is eligible to vote but chooses not to in any given election.

On Friday, I was a guest on Montgomery's top rated talk radio show First Call with Kevin Elkins to discuss my campaign and my vision for Alabama.

Most callers were in agreement with me, others were not, and at the end Republican Dick Brewbaker who is a high ranking member of the Alabama Legislature even took time out of his busy day to call in and try to counter my claims of damage done by drug prohibition.
He said it isn't an issue that strikes close to home nor one that concerns the average Alabamian.

I reminded him that Alabama has around 30,000 prisoners in a prison system built for 12,000, many for non-violent drug offenses, and I would dare say that makes it an issue that strikes close to home.
OUCH!
How could he have forgotten that seeing as how he is on the house judiciary committee and all?
You can listen to that show HERE

It has been a very busy and productive week for me and I am sure it will get busier and more productive as time goes on.
If you are happy with my work in the past seven days please consider MAKING A CONTRIBUTION so that I may continue to be a serious monkeywrench in this race.

Yours in Liberty,
Loretta Nall

Riley Announces Re-Election Bid

The Associated Press
Gov. Bob Riley kicked off his re-election campaign Saturday with talk of a stronger economy, a trimmer state government, and a religious faith that he said he doesn't use for political purposes.

Riley's announcement sets up a Republican primary June 6 against ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore, who announced his plans to run for governor on Monday.
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No real surprise there as we have expected Riley to run again.

Ex-inmates may go back without help

Ex-inmates may go back without help

By John Davis
Montgomery Advertiser

Joanne Wright left the state women's prison in Wetumpka on March 13 with all of $10 to her name.

She went to live with her mother because she didn't have anywhere else to go. Now, Wright, who served two years on drug charges, is working to put her life back together. It isn't easy.

State prisoners released after serving out their time get $10 and a bus ticket back to the county where they were convicted.

"I don't know any place you can live on 10 bucks," said Kenneth Brothers, head of New Beginnings Foundation Inc., a nonprofit group that works to help former inmates adjust to life outside of prison.

On Friday, Brothers and more than 100 prison ministers and activists gathered at First Baptist Church on South Perry Street to find ways to keep released inmates from returning to prison.

"We've got to get them moving," said John Jacobs, a Department of Corrections deputy commissioner. "We've got to get (former inmates) stimulated."

In Alabama, 58 percent of the 27,000-plus state inmates have served time before. Brothers says the challenges of the free world are too much to handle for convicts without help.

"A hungry man is going to steal because you've got to survive," Brothers said. "In Alabama ... you do not have to rent to an ex-felon."

Quincey Beckwith, 36, is renting a house after serving seven years in state prison for manslaughter. She says her family's support has been crucial to her success since leaving prison.

"I don't go clubbing," she said. "I don't go to parties. I select my friends wisely."

Brother would like to see the majority of the thousands of inmates released in Alabama each year never return to prison.

If this happened, it would largely alleviate the crowding problem at DOC, which now has twice the number of inmates it was designed for.

But to do that, he says, released convicts need a place to stay, a job and community support.

"I was real fortunate to get a job with a person who kind of knows where I've been," said Wright, 34, of her job as manager at a small restaurant in Dothan.

Wright and Beckwith both got help from their families and nonprofit, Montgomery-based Aide to Inmate Mothers.

"Housing is one of their biggest problems," said Larnetta Moncrief, Aide to Inmate Mothers assistant director. "Some of them don't have any family support.

According to Moncrief, it is often nonviolent criminals such a drug addicts who can't seem to stay out of prison because they fall back into addiction after free-world disappointments.

"(When inmates get out) they really feel in their heart they're not going to return," she said.

The Kevin Elkins Show

BUMP & UPDATE

Listen as Loretta battles prohibitionist ignorance and Republican Rep. Dick Brewbaker on drug policy in Alabama.

Classic Alabama Politics!

(note) The audio is a little whiney.

Also, while it may seem like I am shouting people down the reality is that we moved so fast in between callers that if I didn't speak over them from time to time then I would never have gotten to counter their non-sense.

These prohibitionist buffoons have had the floor for many years unchallenged by anyone and when I have the chance to counter them I will not pass it up even if that means I come off looking a little like O'Reilly.


On Friday, October 7, 2005, from 8-9 a.m. CST I will be a guest on The Kevin Elkins Show in Montgomery, Alabama.

Please TUNE IN LIVE and call in with the numbers provided on the website.

A Long Walk to Freedom

Dear Supporters, Reformers, True American Patriots and Friends,

First, I want to thank each and every one of you who came to my aid a few months ago after the U.S. D.E.A. persuaded Canadian authorities to arrest my close friend and employer Marc Emery.

Marc Emery's arrest was political as D.E.A. administrator Karen Tandy pointed out. Their main intent was to stop the drug policy reform movement from engaging in lawful political activity by removing one of our largest financial funders and thereby (whether planned or not) almost stopping me from launching my campaign for Governor of Alabama by making sure I had no income.

Marc's arrest threw many families into financial crisis, which is another part of what the U.S. Government wanted. They detest self-sufficiency and independence in all forms and strive to make each and every one of us completely dependent upon them. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina we have all been witness to what happens when people are dependent on the federal government for the basic necessities of life.

One story that confirms this claim is that of a young, black male who commandeered a school bus in New Orleans, loaded it with women and young children and drove it to the Astrodome in Houston, TX. For taking matters into his own hands and possibly saving the lives of 20+ people he was branded a RENEGADE and prosecutors are considering charging him with stealing the bus.

With your generous contributions to my family we have made it through the last two months without gov'ment assistance or resorting other undesirable but acceptable means for survival. I was even able to keep prior commitments in Washington D.C., Seattle, WA, Missoula, Montana and Birmingham, AL.

From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for helping me show the D.E.A. that the drug policy reform movement is SOLID in the U.S. and that we are a family who will come to the aid of our fellow reformers when called upon to do so. It is a lesson they needed to learn.
I hope that you feel I have earned your contributions and put them to good use.

Now, I have to humble myself once more and ask for your assistance. This time it is for something a little different but with the potential for far greater impact.

Since late 2002 I have worked closely with the Libertarian Party of Alabama on a variety of issues ranging from ballot access reform to medical marijuana. They have seen my dedication and unshakable commitment to changing the drug laws in Alabama, which are some of the harshest in the nation, my fearless tenacity and (let's be honest here) my DOWNRIGHT LOVE of challenging high-level government officials and they have developed both respect for me and confidence in me.

In February of 2005 I was given the tentative nomination to run for Governor of Alabama on the Libertarian Party ticket in the 2006 election.

On September 29, 2005 I formally announced my candidacy. The announcement was promptly picked up by the two most conservative media outlets in the state and has continued to pop up in various places around Alabama and across the U.S.

On October 4, 2005 I appeared in Tallapoosa County Circuit Court to continue the appeals process in my case. And on October 5, 2005 my hometown newspaper The Alexander City Outlook published an article on my case and my run for Governor of Alabama. Also on October 4, NBC 13 one of the largest news stations in Alabama included me in an online poll for Governor. I was added one day after the poll went up on their website and I have done very well for someone who had to overcome a 24 hour delay.

Now it is time to start this campaign in earnest.

Originally, I had planned to campaign like every other candidate in Alabama by burning up fuel driving all over the state to meetings and events. However, I have decided that is not the way to go.

I have decided instead to embark on a walk across this great and beautiful state.
Walking across the great state of Alabama shows hard work, patience, perseverance and commitment to my great home state and its people.

I will meet people in towns and cities, arrange speaking engagements and radio interviews, and speak to any and all about the crucial issues of drug policy and prison reform, States Rights, the need to refuse to comply with the Patriot ACT and REAL ID, the need for ballot access reform and initiative and referendum for the citizens of Alabama who have almost ZERO power in their government and the need to pull Alabama National Guard troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Walking will make me directly accessible to the voters of this state. It will give me the opportunity to introduce the concept of bio-diesel, which can be produced right here in Alabama, thereby bringing new industry, jobs and freedom from Washington D.C.'s oil addiction which has been paid for with the lives of young Alabamians.

Walking will show me as someone willing to sacrifice during hard times which is not something Alabamians are accustomed to seeing their elected officials do.

Walking will allow me to further thwart the D.E.A.'s ILLEGAL ATTEMPT to silence my political dissent. They have not yet taken my feet. They may likely try at some point, but we shall cross that bridge (on foot) if or when we come to it.

It will send the message to my fellow Alabamians and, hopefully to my fellow Americans, that there is always a way to fight back and that the time to do so IS NOW!

Walking will get my message of drug policy and prison reform out to many more people than the traditional ways alone. These are controversial topics that pique people's curiosity. Generally, folks will offer an opinion on either or both when asked and being able to engage in dialogue with a gubernatorial candidate, whether you agree or disagree with their stance leaves an impression. My platform and ideas will be a topic of conversation around the dinner table, which has always been and remains the best way to spread information in Alabama. None of the other candidates will be talking about the issues or offering the solutions to them that I will be and I believe that is an advantage all by itself.

I want to move on to why I believe that now is a very pivotal and critical time to seek elected office in Alabama.

Let's start with the other potential candidates.

Incumbent Republican Governor Bob Riley is best known and will likely be best remembered for his "biblically inspired" $1.2 billion tax increase proposal. Perhaps we'll also remember Gov. Riley for his complete unwillingness to ease prison overcrowding in Alabama, which is some of the worst in the nation.

I hear the Republican Party in Alabama is not too happy with Governor Riley these days which brings us to our next possible opponent Ten Commandments Judge Roy Moore.
Roy Moore, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court ,is best known for turning the Ten Commandments into a 2 1/2 ton graven image and (illegally and under the cover of darkness) placing it in the State Judicial Building so his misguided followers could worship it, thereby disobeying, in highest fashion, The Second Commandment as well as the FIRST AMENDMENT. I guess maybe he never bothered to read either, which makes me wonder why he and so many others think he is qualified to lead a state.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, he has a lot of support in Alabama. Likely enough to get him the Republican nomination in next June's primary. Moore formally announced his candidacy on October 3, 2005.

Let's move on to the potential Democratic Party challengers.

Before Governor Riley took office we had Governor Don Siegelman. The 2002 election was so close that Gov. Siegelman demanded a recount. He lost in the recount but has recently announced that he will seek re-election again in 2006.

In that same 2002 election Democrat Lucy Baxley was elected Lieutenant Governor of Alabama.
Her career in the public sector has included positions in city government, the offices of Probate Judge and District Attorney in the Houston County Courthouse before spending six years in state government in the offices of the Attorney General and the Department of Transportation.

And then, of course, there is me and I am neither Republican nor Democrat.

Since I am not religious (but fully respect others right to be as religious as they like so long as they don't try and mix it with my politics) I won't have to waste my time trying to out-Jesus the Republicans and, since I am not a Democrat, I won't have to waste my time trying to figure out how to create more government programs with other people's money which will leave me plenty of time to talk about the real problems we face in Alabama.

Ideally, I would like to see Roy Moore and Don Siegelman as my opponents because we all three have criminal records and they won't be able to play that particular card against me.

With the Roy Moore candidacy in the upcoming election the national and international media will undoubtedly have a field day at the expense of the Good Citizens of Alabama. Why just today Former Gov. Siegelman said "Kiss My Ass" while Roy Moore was photographed autographing bibles! Without my voice of reason in this election Alabamians will once again likely be portrayed as ignorant, racist, bible-thumping, inbred, toothless, snake-handling, tobacco-chewing, beer-swilling rednecks. I'm right sick of that image myself and changing it is almost as important to me as running in this election.

As you can see, the 2006 Alabama election is shaping up to be a real doosie and, this being Alabama, anything can happen.

I intend to be there when it does.

I intend to be there to properly represent the hard-working, regular citizens who sacrifice way more than they should have to in order to get by.

I intend to be there to speak for those who have had their voice silenced behind prison walls.

I intend to be there for the little guy who is afraid to exercise his right to speak out against injustice for fear of losing everything that is dear to him.

I intend to be there to tell the Federal Government to go straight to hell and that Alabama can and will take care of her own.

I intend to be there.

In this election I win even if I don't actually win office. These imperative issues and their possible solutions will at least be in the spotlight and Alabamians will be exposed to new information about what the drug war really is, how it was designed to fail and the immeasurable destruction it has wreaked on our society. Once they know the truth about the drug war I firmly believe that my fellow Alabamians will do their part to stop it in this state.

You are likely wondering by now what the rest of my platform is.

Originally, when I became involved in drug policy reform and politics, I focused on a single issue.
Any of you that have been involved in the political arena know that one-issue candidates never get very far.
I want to go far and I have expanded my platform to include other issues that are important to my fellow Alabamians and to me.

* Drug Policy and Prison Reform - Possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use will be legal under state law for adults age 18 and over. Sales will be through state licensed outlets much like those that now sell liquor. Taxes collected from the sale will go to fund treatment on demand for hard drug addicts and for a rational, realistic, scientific-based program like Safety 1st that teaches Alabama's youth why they should avoid drugs but also how to safely avoid danger should they decide to ignore our advice.
As adults and parents it is our job to help our youth make the proper decisions and to keep them safe. Abstinence only policies are unrealistic and amount to nothing more than burying ones head in the sand while our kids die or get hauled off into the black, gaping maw of the American gulag.

All non-violent drug offenders will be granted amnesty and their records will be expunged. I will also be granting amnesty to inmates convicted of other "victimless crimes" such as prostitution.

Any voluntary exchange between two consenting adult that doesn't involve fraud has no business clogging up our courts and prisons. Making all taxpayers foot the bill for the imprisonment of a person who has not wronged all of us punishes all taxpayers.

* Refusal to comply with the Patriot ACT and REAL I.D. - Someone has to have the courage to stand up to the Federal Government and I volunteer for that position.

* No gun control laws - No criminal walks into a gun store to get his or her gun. Therefore the only citizens gun control laws affect are law abiding ones who have to wait 15 days. The US Constitution and the Alabama Constitution give us the right to bear arms in defense of the state and ourselves. Nowhere in Constitution does it state that citizens can only possess certain kinds of guns. If it did we private citizens would surely have been regulated to BB guns while the government and dangerous criminals would have all the good ones and that would effectively nullify the 2nd Amendment.

*States Rights. Washington D.C. OUT of Alabama - A lot of folks shudder when I say those words. Granted they invoke negative images in the eyes of many in Alabama and around the world. But, States Rights are some of the most important rights we have to prevent Federal government intrusion into our lives. Alabamians historically resent being told by the gov'ment how to act and what to do. Apparently a lot of Alabamians have forgotten that and I intend to remind them.

*Check Box Governing System - This will consist of listing all of the state programs that taxpayer money funds, placing a Yes and No box beside each item and allowing the taxpayer to decide whether or not they would like their money spent on said program.

*Alabama Out of Iraq - I will call for the Alabama National Guard troops home and loudly and vocally support the pullout of all remaining U.S. troops from the Middle East. The Iraq War is illegal, for profit and has succeeded only in making America less safe than ever before. The State Militia or National Guard if you prefer was never intended to fight on foreign soil but to protect the state from invasion.

*Choices in Education - Public schools across America are run by the federal government. Boy Howdy was that ever a bad idea! I travel all across this country and talk to high school kids who tell me that the police should make them pee in a cup and have a vicious man-eating dog sniff their private parts and property more often than they already do in order to keep drugs out of school.

Let's face it. Our children are indoctrinated and brainwashed from the moment they set foot in a public school. 33% of them think the First Amendment gives us too much freedom.
I find that most alarming and will not tolerate statist indoctrination in Alabama's Public School System.

Parents must have more choices in how their children are educated.

*Ballot Access Reform - Alabama has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country. Third party and Independent candidates are required to get 41,000 registered voter signatures before their name is placed on the ballot. Republicans and Democrats are only required to gather 500. This effectively stifles new people with new ideas from ever reaching the voters and firmly secures a two-party system for the Republicans and Democrats who are deathly afraid of people like me. I believe that anyone who has the courage to stand publicly for what they believe in, that has the courage to place themselves under the microscope of public scrutiny should have unrestricted ballot access.

*Ballot Initiative and Referendum - In Alabama the Legislature is in complete control. In order to get a new law passed one must find someone to draft the proposal and find someone to introduce it to the Legislature. The Legislature then votes. If the legislature votes no then the process must be started all over again. If the legislature votes yes then the bill is passed on to the Senate to go through the same process. If the Senate votes no the process starts all over again. If the Senate votes yes then the bill is passed on to the Governor who has the power to veto it.
Alabama citizens need ballot initiative and referendum in order to wrest control back from the legislature who are nothing more than a bunch of highly paid lobbyists who care nothing for the citizens they supposedly represent.


Now, back to the walk across Alabama.
I need the following in order to get started on this walk and make this campaign a success.

1. A sturdy, durable, weatherproof backpack. I would prefer this be made from hemp and be capable of carrying a laptop.

2. A tent for nights when I am not near a hotel or do not have an Alabama family to take me in for the evening. I hope to spend most of my nights in the homes of my fellow Alabamians.

3. Money - Aside from regular campaign expenses I will need a high-pitched dog whistle (I am deathly afraid of large dogs and Alabamians are rather fond of them but not real big on fences and leashes) a stun-gun and pepper spray on the offhand chance I run into bad business along the highways. I will be walking alone until others decide to join me.

I need money for a pair of really good walking shoes, for food and water, campaign and drug policy reform literature to distribute, yard signs, money to pay signature gatherers, for upkeep on the website and probably a thousand other things I have not thought of because I have never endeavored to do this before.

4. Products from hemp-based businesses to sell along the way. If you have a business that deals in hemp clothing, body care items, paper or other hemp-based products please consider donating some to my campaign so that I can use them to raise money and be self-supporting to the best of my ability.

This is a grass roots campaign and I have tried to make it as inexpensive as possible by planning to walk instead of drive, by planning to stay with Alabama families instead of in expensive hotels and by doing the things that make the media focus on me out of interest in what I am doing as opposed to purchasing expensive campaign advertising.

I need the help of ALL DRUG POLICY REFORMERS in the U.S. to make this a success.

With the national and international spotlight focused on the Alabama election this is OUR OPPORTUNITY AS REFORMERS to show the Federal Government that we are an ORGANIZED POLITICAL MACHINE and that from here on out we will be A BIG PART OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND WE WILL RUN CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE AND WE WILL BE HEARD!!

I need the help of ALL AMERICANS who believe that the drug war is wrong, that prisons need reform, that American citizens should be able to speak freely against laws they disagree with without fear of retaliation from police and the government.

I need the help of ALL AMERICANS who believe that the war in Iraq is illegal and that our troops should be brought home.

I need the help of ALL AMERICANS who believe the federal government is out of touch with the people of this great country and they are leading us straight to proverbial hell.

I need the help of ALL AMERICANS who believe in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights as they are written.

I need the help of ALL AMERICANS who understand what it truly means to be a patriot.

If you are an AMERICAN PLEASE help me in this historic undertaking by making a contribution to my campaign. Please visit the Nall for Governor site and click on the "Contributions" link on the left.
It is a secure page.

You can also make a contribution by clicking HERE.

If you would rather mail your contribution please make checks and money orders payable to Nall for Governor and mail it to:

Nall for Governor Campaign
4633 Pearson Chapel Rd
Alexander City, AL 35010

I have stepped up to the plate to speak for those of us who desire change in our government.

I have stepped up to the plate to take on Goliath for those of us who are too small, poor, weak or otherwise unable to do so for ourselves.

I have stepped up to the plate to challenge unconstitutional laws that make our society more dangerous and less free.

I have been to jail for stepping up to the plate.

I have been and am still embroiled in a legal battle for stepping up to the plate.

I have been harassed by the F.B.I., the D.E.A., the National Guard, local police and U.S. Customs for stepping up to the plate.

I have had government-sanctioned kidnappers try and steal my precious children for stepping up to the plate.

And now, having firmly established myself as someone who will not be intimidated or silenced, I am once again stepping up to the plate in the grandest fashion by running for Governor of Alabama.

I am calling on My Fellow Americans and Drug Policy Reformers to step up to the plate now. Together we will firmly establish our territory in the American Political Landscape.

Here's to Freedom!

Yours in Liberty,
Loretta Nall
Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate 2006
Nall For Governor

Siegelman says "Kiss My Ass "

Thursday, October 06, 2005
MIKE CASON
Birmingham News

Former Gov. Don Siegelman said Wednesday that he thinks it is growing more likely he will be indicted by a federal grand jury in Montgomery, a move he said would be purely an effort to scuttle his efforts to reclaim the state's top office.

In his interview with the Tuscaloosa News, Siegelman said he would not let the investigation derail his campaign and punctuated his remarks with a message to the prosecutors involved: "They can kiss my a-, and you can quote me on that, too."

He also said polling data indicate that voters' perceptions of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's response to Hurricane Katrina could hurt his opponent in the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley.

Siegelman said Blanco's performance created doubts with some voters about having a woman in charge of the National Guard.
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Roy Moore Autographs Bibles

Meanwhile, Roy Moore is suffering from such a powerful religious delusion that he has apparently mistaken himself for "The Lord God Almighty" and was recently photographed autographing bibles along the Road to Damascus...I mean Montgomery.
Wonder what Jesus thinks about them apples?
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, right, smiles after signing a Bible for Andrew Colby, 23, after Moore announced Monday in Gadsden that he is running for governor. Rob Carr, Montgomery Advertiser


Ahhh there is nothing quite as entertaining as Alabama politics at their finest.

It appears Don Siegelman has adopted my potty-mouth and he is also extoling the virtues of having Roy Moore as an opponent.

I swear Siegelman and Moore have been paying close attention to everything I say and do.

I have stated all along that the best possible scenario would be for me to square off against Siegelman and Moore in the election because we all three have criminal records and next to those two I will come off looking like the sane one hands down.

The next 13 months will be an absolute riot!

Local hopes run will influence candidates

Local hopes run will influence candidates

By Amy Redd
The Alexcity Outlook

In the midst of a three-year battle with the local judicial system, Alexander City resident Loretta Nall announced she was running for governor of Alabama in 2006.

Nall, a 31-year-old wife and mother and founder of the Alabama Marijuana Party, appeared at the Alexander City Courthouse Tuesday to continue the appeals process for a 2004 misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction. The case, which Nall claims violated her constitutional rights, helped form the basis for Nall's campaign for governor in 2006. Nall is seeking nomination from the Libertarian Party and among the top issues of her campaign are drug policy and prison reform, she said.

"The drug war has given rise to the current Alabama prison crisis, which is costing Alabamians millions of dollars a year with only negative returns in exchange," Nall said. "The other candidates are not up to addressing these important but controversial issues because they have built their political careers on meaningless slogans like 'Tough on Drugs' and 'what about the children?,' which in fact do nothing to deter drug use or protect children. Through my candidacy, I would love to force the other candidates to address these issues."

Nall was convicted on misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after local narcotics investigators found marijuana seeds, a scale and rolling papers in her home during a November 2002 raid.

Tallapoosa County District Judge Kim Taylor gave Nall a 30-day suspended sentence over 12 months and a year of unsupervised probation in February 2004, which she has appealed. Nall said her home was searched after she submitted a letter to the Birmingham News about drug law reform and said her constitutional right to free speech was violated because of the police raid of her residence.

"Political freedom of speech has gone out the window. Just look at my case. You voice public dissent about a public policy and then you go to jail," she said.

Nall said drug policy reform is needed in Alabama because taxpayers bear the cost of keeping non-violent offenders in already overcrowded prisons and and policy reform could "save tens of millions in law enforcement budgets, court costs, prison costs, not to mention the immeasurable social costs of saddling young people with criminal records for smoking a little pot."

"We're paying for them to be non-productive citizens. It's not about the right to get high. It is about how the current war on drugs is not meeting its stated objectives," she said.

In March 2005, Nall appeared in court to appeal her original sentence, where she said she was offered a plea bargain of eight months in prison without the possibility or probation or parole in exchange for a guilty plea. Nall refused to plea out and demanded a jury trial.

Tuesday, Nall learned her case would be carried over into the next session and her next court date has yet to be decided.

"If they (the court) are hoping for dismissal and waiver, it's not going to happen. I'm going to continue to show up and I'm not going to plea out," she said.

As Nall continues her fight with the legal system, she is also planning activities for her campaign, including a walk across Alabama in which she hopes to share her campaign issues.

Nall also plans to address issues such as non-compliance with the Patriot Act, bringing National Guard soldiers home from Iraq, gun control laws, legalized gambling, states' rights and a proposed check box style governing system that she said would "let citizens decide how their (tax) money is spent."

"I promote an Alabama that is overall way less dependent on the federal government," she said. "I want Alabama to be more self-reliant and able to take care of her own without so much Washington D.C. influence."
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The Outlook gave me top billing on the front page. It is the perfect storm. The man in the middle is my congressional Rep. Mike Rogers whom I have lobbied many times and write on average twice a week. He went back on his word on the medical marijuana vote in Congress this year and voted NO. I think I'll autograph a copy of The Outlook and send it to him.

On the opposite side of the page is a story about the local Mexican eatery being denied a liquor license because of alleged drug dealing on the premises.

I very much appreciate the Outlook doing such a bang up job on this article!!