My Complaint and Request to Mayor Hepner
I Have a Right to Speak to my Peers
To all you, my readers: I think my
right to Freedom of Speech was violated and I won’t take that lying down. There
is a “Gag Rule” in Surrey that prevents me from addressing them as a group on City Property. It
is a form of complete censorship with no
way around it and no appeal process. It is well intended to protect Seniors
from the weevils of the world but the Seniors never requested it and I as a
Senior resent it. I have requested two minor things from the City that cost
nothing to eliminate the problem. Initiate a screening and approval process and
grant let me educate my friends.
To clarify my complaint to Mayor
Hepner: the text of my Seminar has already been posted here and follows this one.
Please read them both and draw your own conclusions.
To: The
City of Surrey February
02, 2015
Attn: Mayor Hepner
TODAY MY FREEDOM OF SPEECH WAS VIOLATED
Dear Mayor Hepner:
I am a Senior citizen, a resident of
Surrey, and I use Medical Marijuana. I am
also a Medical Marijuana Advocate and I have an excellent knowledge of the pros
and cons of its use. I am also aware of the opposition from the government,
including Surrey, which is compounded by the
Canadian Medical Associations refusal to sign applications. Applications are
blockaded. At this point I have no way to renew my license and if I could, all
legal marijuana is way too expensive and out of my reach.
Medical Marijuana in Canada is in a state of total disarray and
in the course of my advocacy I have found a great number of Seniors who have a marijuana
knowledge base from the 1960’s and are totally ignorant of the significant
advances made in understanding how it can help with medical problems. Two weeks
ago I decided to inform my friends at the Seniors Center at the Guildford Recreation Center and educate them to what they have
missed and what the state of Medical Marijuana is today.
I spent the last couple of weeks
preparing a Seminar on Medical Marijuana that is addressed to Senior Citizens.
By and large my generation is like the general public who are not really aware
of the critical state of Medical Marijuana. Unfortunately, they are the most
likely group to need it and the Boomer generation is arriving. They deserve to
be informed.
I spent the past week advertising my
Seminar by visiting the Seniors Room at the Guildford Recreation Center yakking with the members telling
them what I was up to and leaving Notices and Signs and Brochures about it. It
was to take place at 10AM-2PM today Friday the 30TH. From the response I got there was a
lot of interest and I was certain I was going to get a good turnout. I felt
welcomed by a great bunch of very nice people and I was really looking forward
to my day on the Pulpit.
I ran down to the Seniors room,
parked, grabbed my paperwork and went to enter. I was met by two Guildford Rec Center employees who advised that I was
not allowed to deliver my speech. WTF? It wasn’t a nasty confrontation but
apparently the City of Surrey considers Seniors so sensitive,
subjective and fragile that they were protecting them from any harassment or disturbance
of their tranquility. I was informed that no personal, private, or corporate soliciting
or promotion was allowed at any of the Seniors Centers.
I protested that I was soliciting or
promoting nothing, that I was conducting an educational lecture to my peers to
inform them of the current state of knowledge about marijuana, its composition
and effects. I was telling them both its claimed benefit and the claimed risk
of using it. There was nothing promotional just criticism of the system. I was
advised to Complain to City Hall and that is a foregone conclusion.
I think my right to Freedom of
Speech was violated. All I wanted was to inform my friends but I am silenced on
Surrey City Property. Bullshit
As evidence of what they
suppressed I have posted the basic outline of my seminar lecture on my blog.
Where is the crime in telling the
truth about a health choice that is a Seniors right to hear in order to make an
informed decision?
Go figure.
Dear Mayor
Hepner:
As a Senior
I appreciate the concern and protection but I do protest it is arbitrary and
all encompassing. As a Senior I resent the fact that Seniors have not requested
nor approved your protection. There is no way to submit any personal private or
corporate solicitations or promotions to the City to gain approval and a
judgement of the worth of a presentation. If there was you might find that
among all those requests there are some that have content that the seniors will
find entertaining, informative, and worth listening to because it is their
right to know material that is to their benefit. Right now the rule is blanket
censorship of everything on the presumption that it is of no value. Seniors are
barred from hearing what they find of value.
Request #1: Establish a Screening
Process to Determine Worth
I want to
request that the City augment the system to add a screening before any request
for a presentation is denied. If it does not prove acceptable then its denial
should be accompanied by the reasons for refusal. Only then will the submitter
know how to correct, revise and resubmit a corrected copy for approval. You will
need to pay for the service: charge for the consideration to prevent spurious
applications.
If on the
other hand if it is found that the material provides substance and information
worth the Seniors hearing Approve it and assist in its promotion and
preparation.
Request #2: I want Exemption.
Your
consideration of Request #1 is going to take time. To expedite my educational
project I would like you to read what I was going to tell my friends. You can
read it at
I think you
will find it an excellent presentation of information Seniors have a right to
know. If you find it acceptable I would like exemption to the rule as it now
stands and permission to address all the Senior Centers in Surrey on a repeat basis. I need to spread
this knowledge while I am still able to. I have survived 17 years more than I
ever expected and I don’t have time to waste.
I would
very much appreciate a prompt reply and a decision. If my request for an
exemption is refused please advise the reasons in detail and to whom I should
address my appeal.
Thank you
in advance for your consideration.
In
anticipation of your reply
Best
regards
Blaine Barrett
255
10202-149St.
Surrey BC V3R 3Z8
Phn:
604-585-0236
E-mail: thesmeegoanguy@Gmail.com
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Now I wait
for an answer to my request, stay tuned.
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