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Woody Harrelson
Cannabis activist and personal freedom supporter
Woody Harrelson sits on the NORML advisory board, and has consistently lent his celebrity status to the cause of reforming marijuana laws. Recently, he backed the first medical pot grower to have trial.
Woody Harrelson (1961) - American actor and hemp-activist
A lifelong environmental activist, Woody Harelson has proven to be an effective spokesperson for the legalization of hemp. Harrelson has been jailed several times, staging a planting of hemp seeds in support of farmers lobbing for legalization. Harrelson sits on the NORML advisory board with Willy Nelson, Bill Maher, Daniel Stern, Rick Steves, and Robert Altman, among other prominent activists opposed to marijuana prohibition. He has consistently lent his celebrity status to the cause of reforming marijuana laws.
Harrelson Backs Medical Pot Grower in California
The first Californian to fight federal drug charges using the state's new medical marijuana law drew support Thursday from actor Woody Harrelson, who says the judge and prosecutors are unfairly using the case to try to defeat Proposition 215.
B.E. Smith was convicted on felony charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana in May. He faces up to five years in prison at his sentencing next Friday. Smith has said that he grew pot to help sick people. Such a defense could offer the Trinity County resident immunity in a state court because Proposition 215 allows for the growth and consumption of marijuana for medical use.
A Vietnam veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Smith, 52, obtained a doctor's recommendation for marijuana when California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.
``Are we living in a democracy when the federal government and a puppet judge blatantly disregard a law created by the people?'' Harrelson said Thursday.
The judge at Smith's May trial agreed with federal prosecutors arguments to bar defense arguments relating to Proposition 215.
``Under federal law there is no such thing as a caregiver who can grow marijuana,'' prosecutor Nancy L. Simpson, assistant U.S. attorney, said Thursday in an interview. ``Proposition 215 is not a defense to federal statues. The only question for the jury was whether he was cultivating it.''
Smith's attorney, Thomas J. Ballanco, called his attempts to defend Smith under those conditions ``surreal.'' Ballanco and Harrelson spoke during a telephone conference call on the case Thursday. ``All we could do was try to prove that B.E. Smith is truthful and law abiding,'' Ballanco said.
In that effort, Harrelson -- who met Smith at environmental protests over the Headwaters Forest in 1997 -- testified on Smith's behalf. But Harrelson, frustrated at not being able to talk about medical marijuana, clashed with the judge and accused him of ``keeping the truth from the jury.''
At one point, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. warned Harrelson, who gained fame on the ``Cheers'' television show, that he might find himself behind bars if he continued to defy the court.
B.E. Smith was convicted on felony charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana in May. He faces up to five years in prison at his sentencing next Friday. Smith has said that he grew pot to help sick people. Such a defense could offer the Trinity County resident immunity in a state court because Proposition 215 allows for the growth and consumption of marijuana for medical use.
A Vietnam veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Smith, 52, obtained a doctor's recommendation for marijuana when California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.
``Are we living in a democracy when the federal government and a puppet judge blatantly disregard a law created by the people?'' Harrelson said Thursday.
The judge at Smith's May trial agreed with federal prosecutors arguments to bar defense arguments relating to Proposition 215.
``Under federal law there is no such thing as a caregiver who can grow marijuana,'' prosecutor Nancy L. Simpson, assistant U.S. attorney, said Thursday in an interview. ``Proposition 215 is not a defense to federal statues. The only question for the jury was whether he was cultivating it.''
Smith's attorney, Thomas J. Ballanco, called his attempts to defend Smith under those conditions ``surreal.'' Ballanco and Harrelson spoke during a telephone conference call on the case Thursday. ``All we could do was try to prove that B.E. Smith is truthful and law abiding,'' Ballanco said.
In that effort, Harrelson -- who met Smith at environmental protests over the Headwaters Forest in 1997 -- testified on Smith's behalf. But Harrelson, frustrated at not being able to talk about medical marijuana, clashed with the judge and accused him of ``keeping the truth from the jury.''
At one point, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. warned Harrelson, who gained fame on the ``Cheers'' television show, that he might find himself behind bars if he continued to defy the court.
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