17 Year old kids reads paper on legalization at school, and lights a joint halfway..

[whiterabbit9]

Hey, I read this, dunno if it's posted, it sure left an impression

17 Year old makes speech about Marijuana then lights up a joint. Balls, big Balls

The teachers wanted persuasive.
And they got it.

At the end of his speech Tuesday urging legalization of marijuana, a 17-year-old Peninsula High School student pulled out a joint, lit it and smoked away. Then he ate the remains.

For that he got a quick escort to the school office and then a ride to Remann Hall juvenile jail.

The stunt was celebrated among some of the teen’s peers but was frowned on to say the least by law enforcement officers and district administrators.

“We believe in freedom of speech and encourage it, but illegal activities are absolutely not going to be tolerated in our district,” schools Superintendent Terry Bouck said.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said, “If people want that law changed, they need to go about it the right way.”

He did admit, though, that the student’s action will prompt discussion.

“It sure will probably bring a lot of attention to the issue,” Troyer said.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/765250.html

Ian Barry says he wasn't trying to be a martyr when he lit a marijuana joint this week at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, nor was he trying to pull a stunt.

Simply put, the 17-year-old junior wanted to drive home the message of his persuasive essay: Marijuana doesn't deserve its negative stigma and should be legalized. [Read full essay below.]

On Friday, Barry told The News Tribune that he knew what the consequences would be for his bold tactics, but he was willing to accept them.

After his speech Tuesday, he was arrested and sent to Remann Hall juvenile detention center in Tacoma. He was ousted from school on an emergency expulsion.

He says he fully accepts his punishment. He faces misdemeanor charges of unlawful drug possession after police found the container that he carried the joint in and that contained marijuana residue. He also understands this will go on his record.

"I see myself as someone who holds himself to a high moral value," Barry said via cell phone. "I stand up for what I believe in."

News of his speech and arrest spread quickly, as local and national media outlets picked up his story.

But more importantly, he said, his story has created a dialogue about whether marijuana should be legalized.

"As Sir Isaac Newton said, 'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,' " Barry said. "I don't think there would have been another way I could have gotten this reaction."
Advertisement

Here is Barry's account of what happened:

About a month ago, he and the rest of the students in Peninsula's Rhetoric Revels group were asked to produce a persuasive speech. The group meets monthly to celebrate student work in English classes.

He said a classmate suggested that he present a speech on legalizing marijuana. He said he has smoked pot since he was 12, and the topic made sense because it was something in which he believed.

Barry, who has a 3.7 grade-point average, stressed that he took the assignment seriously. In fact, what was supposed to be a two-page paper turned into 15 pages.

But to prove his point and get the attention of all students, Barry decided to take the now-famous puffs.

On Tuesday, about 150 students gathered in Peninsula High's auditorium. They had heard about his plans and wanted to see it for themselves.

When it was his turn to speak, Barry said he walked on stage and read the first seven pages.

Then, before he turned to the eighth page, he pulled out the joint that was hidden in his dreadlocks. He said he lit up, took a toke, then read the rest of his speech, occasionally stopping to take a puff.

"There was a huge cheer when I lit up," he recalled.

Among the topics covered in his speech: marijuana's medicinal benefits and its undeserved reputation of being harmful. It lasted about 12 minutes.

When he was done, Barry walked backstage, took a few more hits, then ate the little bit that remained of the joint.

One of his friends went to check on him backstage, then the two sat back down in the audience. A school administrator walked to Barry, escorted him out and eventually to the principal's office.

Barry said a police officer showed up, put him in handcuffs and drove him to Remann Hall.

He was booked, fingerprinted and photographed before being released to his father about an hour later.

In the days since his speech, he's been both defended and condemned in dozens of online comments on the story on The News Tribune's Web site.

Barry said he's been encouraged by some of the comments, but it's fine if people disagree with his stance. He just hopes people realize that he was simply trying to get his message across and wasn't afraid of his punishment.

His future is in flux. He will meet with Peninsula administrators to determine whether he should be allowed to finish classes.

He's also looking beyond high school at college. Barry is considering a career in English or politics.

He said he's going to take the SAT test today. His first college of choice: "California, probably Humboldt" State University, he said.

- Article from The Seattle Times

 

[McSnappler]

SERIOUS balls.

 

[whiterabbit9]

yeah eh, he was later released to dad

canada is going with mandatory minimums,
but their talking about legalization on cnn

there was a poll made, over 80% of people agreed that the war on drugs was a failure

 

[Miss Blunted]

Wow....that's shocking

 

[ArcticBlast]

balls, yes. brains? ehhhh, not so much

ArcticBlast

 

[stc9357]

I had already read the article I thought he had great big ole nuts of steel for trying to display civil disobedience but if he's planning on going to college anytime soon not so good.

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

balls, yes. brains? ehhhh, not so much

ArcticBlast

fuck brains, balls and heart baby

this muthafucking 17 year old is my new hero for the time being

one love indeed!

all kids laughing and celebrating, the ten percenters all afraid.

peace

 

[Molson]

Bet he'll look back in 10 years and regret it. Makes for a good story, but bad strat. Prints now on record? Is that worth it? Gonna probably take an extra year to finish up high school if they don't let him finish classes where he's at. Which isn't a big deal.. but still...

Bone head move if ya ask me...

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

in ten years this guy is not going to regret it, rather, he would regret having been afraid do you regret growing? you might as well, since it is a risk and your clean record may get stained

 

[Anti]

He's 17. It was a joint. Not a pound of hash.

He did a good job of provoking debate and getting himself talked about on the news.
He'll be just fine. And have some notoriety among his peers in college. Might even be able to parlay it into an MTV reality series or some kind of sponsorship from Frito Lay.

 

[K-pax]

That kid has got some balls, I give it to him. Although that can screw up his future.

 

[WaTerR]

not only do this kid have balls he could be the a younger version of someone like martin luther king . . cept fighting for different rights

 

[SativaDreams]

Bet he'll look back in 10 years and regret it. Makes for a good story, but bad strat. Prints now on record? Is that worth it? Gonna probably take an extra year to finish up high school if they don't let him finish classes where he's at. Which isn't a big deal.. but still...

Bone head move if ya ask me...

because it's people like you who fear doing something like this. news article says hes going to take his SAT now so he couldn't be in too much academic trouble. it's in washington where there is medicinal marijuana.

I just wish he got rid of the container so that they wouldnt have ANY evidence it was marijuana. then he'd be scott free OTHER than the suspension for smoking anything on school grounds prolly.

its people like this kid we need to break the ice of ignorant fugks in the american society out of their fear of marijuana because they were told in high school that its a gateway drug that will lead you to snort coke off hookers ass.

THANK YOU DUDE IF YOU EVER READ THIS. YOUR ACTIONS REPRESENT A MOVEMENT GREATER THAN YOUR OWN SELF. even the trouble you may go through will only STRENGTHEN the movement. talk about a wholly commendable sacrifice on his part. bless him

 

[Peanut Butter]

Props to the kid. If anyone in that auditorium thought mj was harmful, there should have been a mad rush on the stage to stop him from using it....instead hes punished after the fact, for something that hurt absolutely no one.

I must be the only one who thinks this could be beneficial to the kid getting somewhere. Talk about something to distinguish yourself out from the crowd.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Yeah.....lets hope he makes a career in politics.....we could do with a few more politicians that are willing to stand up to stupid laws such as those pertaining to cannabis.....

 

[catman]

There is a lot of good things that come out of the ADD ridden youngins who have no respect for authority if the rules don't make sense. I gave a speech in high school about legalization before I even smoked it once. My family never knew about this and I find out years later one of my brothers did too, haha. What if the entire student population lit up? You think the media would go nuts with that.

 

[devilgoob]

Since he knew the media would be on it, his point was to inform people that over-reaction by the media and people is why it is illegal.

The kid is smart and brave, but above all he was doing it to free the pot, really he was.

 

[HairlessCaveApe]

He did EXACTLY like MLK said. Good kid. Id be proud if he was my son.

 

[Papulz]

i applaud this move wholeheartedly.
something the world is lacking these days..

 

[Mr. Tony]

I wonder what kind of wheelbarrow this kid uses to carry his balls in!