Film Screening of the Documentary ?Grass?

This viewing will take place on Wednesday, April 26th, from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM, in room 238 of the Lecture Hall. (Lecture Hall is a building in the center of campus, in between Linthicum Hall and Smith Hall.) Free food and beverage will be provided. All Towson University students and faculty are invited to attend. The film is eighty-minutes long and there will be an open discussion following the film.

GRASS is a documentary film made in 1999 by Ron Mann, and narrated by Woody Harrelson. The film takes a historical look at the U.S.?s war on marijuana in the twentieth century. According to IMDb, ?Fuelled by prejudice, hysterical propaganda and political opportunism undeterred by voices of reason on the subject, we follow the story of a costly and futile crusade against a substance with questionable ill effects that has damaged basic civil liberties.?

The Libertarian Party opposes the costly and ineffective prohibition of drugs and alcohol, as such regulation tends to create black markets and drive up violent-crime rates. America would be a safer nation without the insane war on drugs.

In a lecture given by free-market economist Milton Friedman, Ph.D. entitled The Drug War as a Socialist Enterprise, he argues the point by saying, ?Whose interests are served by the drug war? The U.S. government enforces a drug cartel. The major beneficiaries from drug prohibition are the drug lords who can maintain a cartel that they would be unable to maintain without current government policy.?

In the words of former Libertarian candidate for President Harry Browne, ?There are no violent gangs fighting over aspirin territories. There are no violent gangs fighting over whisky territories or computer territories or anything else that?s legal. There are only criminal gangs fighting over territories covering drugs, gambling, prostitution, and other victimless crimes. Making a non-violent activity a crime creates a black market, which attracts criminals and gangs, which turns what was once a relatively harmless activity affecting a small group of people into a widespread epidemic of drug use and gang warfare.?

The College Libertarians of Towson usually meet on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM in room 316 of the University Union, but keep in mind that on April 26th we’ll be meeting in room 238 of Lecture Hall, not room 316 of the University Union.

If you?re interested in joining, or just wish to learn more about Libertarianism, feel free to attend. All are invited!