FLORIDA
JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE
AKA Fondly as J4J3
A Condensed History by Kay Lee
Starke to Tallahassee
March 24, 2000
6 days - 160 Miles
Lead Patient - Cathy Jordan and Eddie Smith
FL Journeyers
From Florida
Cathy Jordan
Lead Patient
Eddie Smith
Patient
James Dawson
Patient, Original J4J Webmaster
Joe Hart
Patient, Now Deceased
Kay Lee
Illegal Patient/Grandmother
Jodi James
Patient, Co-ordinator
Kevin Aplin
Patient, Coordinator
Dennis "Murli" Watkins
Patient, Doobie Toser
From Texas
Tiffany Landreth
Patient
From North Carolina
Jean Marlowe
Patient, Ex-prisoner
"Tiny"
Patient, Ex-prisoner
From Kentucky
Cher and Brian McCullough
Patients
From Ohio
Ray "Berry" Krieger
Patient, Roach Patrol
Chad
Patient, Photographer, Official Butter Supplier
From Wisconsin
Candice Kluge
With Support from
Ervin Dargon, Photographer
Bob Jordan
Greg Scott
Pete Brady, Cannabis Culture Magazine
Joe and Anne Tacl
Scott Bledsoe
Epitome Cafe
Christopher Mulligan and Abbey Tyrna
It is likely I've forgotten some of the journeyers. If you know of someone who should be on this list, let me know at kayleeusa@frontiernet.net
On this journey, I was simply the trainer for the Florida Cannabis Action Network folks, Jodi James and Kevin Aplin. The focus of this journey was the abysmal policies that filled the Florida prisons. The 'Bushwhackers' as we dubbed ourselves, were heading for Jeb Bush's home town, Tallahassee, because Florida suddenly had it's own drug czar, who urged citizens not to be taken in by patients who said the Cannabis plant gave them a better quality of life. Meanwhile, Florida had accumulated 70,000 inmates in its 128 dangerous prisons, many of whom were non-violent drug users. Kay Lee
Journey for Justice calls attention to
failed drug war policies
Jodi James
March 2000
Three years ago, Grandma Kay Lee, Director of the Journey For Justice, came to Florida at the request of Joan Bello, the person who made the Federal Class Action Lawsuit [about medical marijuana] a reality for over 500 people.
Kay traveled around Florida until she made her home with Joe Hart, a warrior whose singleness of purpose continues to inspire Miss Kay even after his passing.
When her best friend drew his last breath, Miss Kay was sitting on the lawn of Raiford [FSP] Correctional Institute in Starke. Moved to action by the beating death of a stranger, Frank Valdes--a man
sentenced to die--Kay had begun a campaign to end guard violence and make the prison walls transparent.
Kay came into our lives as a comrade, a fellow foot soldier in the war on drugs. Speaking out about medical marijuana, she shared the stories of many of the hundreds of prisoners that she writes to--victims of a system out of control--and a vision was given to us. Miss Kay, in her own way, has been inspiring thousands to journey for justice. Her work, providing crisis support for patients and being a friend to the over 250 prisoners that write her monthly, has created the foundation for the third Journey for Justice.
When this vision was birthed, it was budgeted for 16 patients, 8 caregivers, four organizers, a camera operator to record the journey, and a variety of vehicles decorated with signs to make the 6-day pilgrimage. The issues were the rights of patients to choose their medicine and the rights of prisoners to be treated with human dignity. It has become so much more.
Combining resources and ideas, we now see a caravan of vehicles, a prison built on a flat bed,
carrying a patient in a wheelchair, signs and banners of every organization that cares to send one or join us, and micro radio carrying the message for miles around us. A parade of people of all colors, gathered to celebrate hope and put faces on the victims of this war.
We will march on 13 correctional institutes, spreading hope to prisoners. We will talk to citizens and neighbors as we walk the quiet roads towards Jeb Bush and the Florida State Capitol Building. Together we will see the end of the drug war.
Sixteen patients and a variety of supporters are starting at the prison in Starke at 9:00 am on
March 24, 2000 and will travel by wheelchair 160 miles to the Capitol of Florida. More than thirty people are committed to take this journey. Sixteen patients will say, "I think pot is good for me."
Cathy Jordan, confined to her wheelchair, and Greg Scott, a man living with AIDS, will be met by camera crews provided by Cannabisnews.com to make this historic pilgrimage.
For six days, moving across North Florida, we will proclaim the truth about the drug war to the thousands of people we meet along the route. Traveling through Florida cities, large and small, we are going to make waves.
When we arrive in Tallahassee, we will parade to the Capitol, proclaiming amnesty for
patients and prisoners caught in the drug war. For every mother and every son, we will march. For everyone afraid to speak, we will make our voices heard. Not with a war cry, but a whisper and the sound of four hundred drums echoing like a heart beat.
It may be time for you to get on this wave. Only you can decide. This journey is the biggest thing that many of us have ever dreamed. For every bit of time or energy we put into this, the rewards are tremendous. Please join us in this adventure--for an hour, for a mile, for a day or the week. Meet us in Tallahassee on March 30, 2000.
CANNABIS CULTURE ARTICLE BY PETE BRADY
JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE VIDEOS and OTHER MEDIA
From Ervin Dargon's Journey For Justice Videos on You Tube3rd Journey for Justice - Florida 2000 - Day 1
Cathy Jordon, who has ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease),and Cannabis Action Network lead Medical Marijuana patients on 7 day roadside trek across Florida to see Gov. Jeb Bush. Part 11st Cop Stop on J4J Medical Cannabis; Florida '00, Day 2
With awesome In-Cops-Face video by Merli the Doobie Tosser, the Medical Marijuana patients on the 3rd Journey for Justice have 1st police harrassment on Day 1. Then Day 2 dawns as the Journey rolls into Lake City, triggering another police stop/ networking opportunity at the mall.FLORIDA: FLORIDA JOURNEY FOR JUBILEE JUSTICE
Ohio and Wisconsin Journey Song:. Donated by Jodi Coats "I am a Patriot" (from the CD: Inside the Shaman's Circle). http://www.jug-or-not.com/journey/index.htmlFLORIDA: CNS News Services
CNS had the honor of being on the Florida Journey for Justice in April, 2000,
when medical marijuana patients walked and rode wheelchairs for six days along ...
www.cannabisnewsservice.com/FLORIDA: Journey for Justice Summary
The small band of people traveling as the Journey for Justice had to fight battle
after difficult battle to get their message of change all the way to the ...
www.angelfire.com/fl3/starke/j4j3.htmlFLORIDA: JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE FLORIDA STYLE: SUMMARY
The sickest among us take to the streets to call for justice and reform in the drug war and the prisons.
www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/veryfirst.htmlFLORIDA: Prisoners and Patients Journey for Justice
This is the third Journey for Justice I have lead. (See James Dawson's Freedom Pages for stories) I would like to see groups unite all over Florida (and the ... www.m2.aol.com/saggysue/j4just.htmFLORIDA: Florida's Journey for Justice
Med-pot patients march on prisons to protest pot oppression.
www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1592.htmlFLORIDA: Medical Marijuana Patients Begin 'Journey For Justice' - NORML
The Journey for Justice caravan will travel 3-4 miles per hour and will pause to
... For more information, please contact Kevin Aplin, Journey for Justice ...
www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4115FLORIDA: Journey for Justice reflections
Last month we told you about the Journey for Justice, Medical Marijuana patients
and prison reform advocates traveling by wheelchair and on foot pleading ...
www.afn.org/~iguana/archives/2000_04/20000411.htmlFLORIDA: Journey for Justice calls attention to failed drug war policies
Three years ago, Grandma Kay Lee, Director of the Journey For Justice, came to Florida at the request of Joan Bello, the person who made the Federal Class ...
www.afn.org/~iguana/archives/2000_03/20000306.htmlFLORIDA: CNS Lead Stories March 23 - 30, 2000
Tuesday, March 28 - Sending love to prisoners, the Journey for Justice calls attention to ...The Journey for Justice arrives in Tallahassee in a hard rain. ...
www.cannabisnewsservice.com/leadstories.html
