Gary Johnson is the 2016 Libertarian candidate for president. Johnson was the party's 2012 standard-bearer. William Weld won the nomination for vice president. They were chosen at the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando over the Memorial Day weekend.

Both men served two terms as state governors, Johnson in New Mexico and Weld in Massachusetts.

"This is the highest-profile ticket in the Libertarian Party's history," said Nicholas Sarwark, Libertarian Party Chair. “And it comes at a time when Americans yearn for a credible alternative to Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.”

"We already have over 411,000 registered Libertarian voters,” said Sarwark. “And now we’ve nominated Gov. Gary Johnson as our presidential candidate for 2016. Together, he and the other Libertarian candidates will propel the rapid growth of the LP all across America and give disenfranchised voters a real choice for less government and more freedom.”

Gov. Johnson is a successful businessman and a crusader for fiscal responsibility, free enterprise, and individual liberties. As governor, he vetoed over 750 bills, perhaps more than all other 49 governors combined. He cut taxes 14 times while maintaining New Mexico as one of only four states in the country with a balanced budget. He was the first governor to call for ending marijuana prohibition.

The Libertarian Party National Convention opens next week, May 27, in Orlando.  The convention will select the party’s nominees for president and vice president of the United States. The party is expecting more than 900 delegates. 

Presidential nominations will begin at about 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. A presidential debate will be held that evening at 8 p.m. The election for the presidential nomination is expected to occur on Sunday morning, May 29. The vice presidential election is expected to take place shortly thereafter on Sunday.

Here is the list of North Carolina delegates: Pam Adams, Timothy Cole, Jacquelyn Cole, Craig DuTremble, Joy Elliott, Bobby Yates Emory, Sean Haugh, Brad Hessel, James Hines, David D. Hoesly, Susan Hogarth, Tom Hohman, Lonnie Holcomb, Barbara Howe, Tom Howe, Phil Jacobson, Amy Lamont, David Lamont, Brian Lewis, Rachel Mills, Erik P Raudsep, Chris Spruyt, Benjamin Struck, and J.J. Summerell.

There are still a few delegate slots available. North Carolina is allocated 28 delegates, plus the same number of alternates. If you're interested contact Barbara Howe at [email protected]. Remember, this is a big commitment in time and money. You have to pay your own way.

Read more about the Libertarian Party presidential nomination process here.

The major business of the LPNC 2016 State Convention focused on approving a revised platform. The platform committee worked for two years upon the recommendation of the 2014 platform committee to conduct a comprehensive review of the document.

“The committee worked hard to accomplish this, adding some planks to be current with North Carolina issues, dropping or combining others, and adopting a uniform language structure between planks,” said Susan Hogarth, committee co-chair. “This new structure is lean, sticking to the essential issue for each plank, which will allow candidates to expand from the basics with their own policy proposals.”

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.