by Nic Haag

We've been told for nearly a century nothing good ever comes from cannabis. It leads to sloth-like behavior in some, ‘the munchies’ in others. It even induces homicidal mania in a few, if the movie ‘Reefer Madness’ is to be believed. 

Let’s talk about the first one, sloth-like behavior. While that may be a negative for a normal person, downers or substances that slow one’s motor functions are the prescribed treatment for anxiety and attention deficit disorder.

The common prescriptions for these ailments are Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin – all powerful narcotics which have side-effects like physical dependence and memory loss. But cannabis can treat these same ailments with little to no side effects at all, possessing no risk what so ever of physical dependence.

The pizza delivery man who ran for U.S. Senate in 2014 and drew a gathering of followers with his personal “bar stool chat” YouTube videos is back. 

Sean Haugh is again the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate. He has already released three videos, with several more on the way. The first,“Opening Statement,” was released April 20. It covers the basic themes he'll address in the campaign.

The Libertarian Party has joined the growing list of organizations calling for the repeal of House Bill 2.

"The state has no authority to determine gender," the unanimous resolution states. HB 2 also “unduly intrudes state authority into local decision-making and unreasonably limits the ability of the citizens ... to govern themselves.”

In addition, the bill reduces individual rights because it “bans citizens from using state courts to remedy discrimination”

Nic Haag, Libertarian candidate for NC Senate 44, introduced the resolution. It was endorsed by General Assembly candidates Brad Hessel, NC Senate 15, Brian Irving, NC House 36, and Rob Rose, NC 37.

The convention was held in Raleigh last weekend.

The convention also passed a resolution calling for the repeal of the ban on counting write-in votes. The state does not count the votes for persons who haven't gathered enough petition signatures.

This “amounts to the legislature picking and choosing which votes to count, sometimes yielding suspicious results like unanimous vote tallies in our statewide elections,” the resolutions says.

Six candidates for the Libertarian presidential nomination participated in a forum Saturday. They included former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, the party's 2012 standard-bearer.

In other business, the convention elected at-large members to the state executive committee and adopted a revised platform. It also selected delegates to the Libertarian National Convention and nominated presidential electors.

Read the resolutions here.

Several Libertarian presidential candidates, including the party's 2012 standard-bearer Gary Johnson, plan to participate in a candidate forum April 23 at 2 p.m. during the 2016 Libertarian Party State Convention. 

Confirmed attendees are Gary Johnson, Kevin McCormick, Darryl Perry, Derrick Reid, Shawana Sterling, and Keenan Dunham. William Coley, a candidate for the LP vice presidential nomination, will also take part. 

The convention is being held at the Holiday Inn Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. More information on the candidates is here.