Gold9472
06-27-2007, 06:48 PM
Republican senator's hazy past revealed by former classmate
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Republican_senators_hazy_past_0627.html
Nick Juliano
Published: Wednesday June 27, 2007
Angered by the senator's stance on marijuana laws, an old classmate of Norm Coleman reminded the Minnesota Republican of his college days smoking joints in a dorm room, Roll Call reports.
Norm Kent, Coleman's classmate at Hofstra University in New York, sent Coleman a letter reminiscing about their hazy times during college, such as when Coleman smoked pot while standing on the roof of a campus building during a protest.
"Welcome to the crowd of those who have become a likeness of which they despised," Kent wrote in the letter posted at celebstoner.com. "Welcome to the mindless myriad of legislators who gather in cocktail lounges to manhandle their martinis while passing laws against drunk driving."
Kent, who is a board member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, was upset after receiving a form letter from Coleman noting his opposition to marijuana legalization. Coleman said it can have "serious adverse health affects (sic) on individuals."
"Years ago, in a lifetime far away, you did not oppose the legalization of marijuana," Kent says in the letter, reminding Coleman when "you, me ... and a wealth of other students smoked dope."
He goes on to remind Coleman that their friends who smoked pot all went on to successful careers, and he wants Coleman to speak against the government's efforts to demonize drug users.
"How about standing up and saying: 'I, Norm Coleman, smoked pot in 1969.' That 'I am not a gang member, a drug addict or a criminal,'" Kent asks.
Coleman's office could not immediately be reached for comment. But a Coleman spokesman apparently did not deny the senator's former drug use, telling Roll Call, "This advocacy group's desperate attempt to drum up publicity for their cause is anything but normal or acceptable."
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Republican_senators_hazy_past_0627.html
Nick Juliano
Published: Wednesday June 27, 2007
Angered by the senator's stance on marijuana laws, an old classmate of Norm Coleman reminded the Minnesota Republican of his college days smoking joints in a dorm room, Roll Call reports.
Norm Kent, Coleman's classmate at Hofstra University in New York, sent Coleman a letter reminiscing about their hazy times during college, such as when Coleman smoked pot while standing on the roof of a campus building during a protest.
"Welcome to the crowd of those who have become a likeness of which they despised," Kent wrote in the letter posted at celebstoner.com. "Welcome to the mindless myriad of legislators who gather in cocktail lounges to manhandle their martinis while passing laws against drunk driving."
Kent, who is a board member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, was upset after receiving a form letter from Coleman noting his opposition to marijuana legalization. Coleman said it can have "serious adverse health affects (sic) on individuals."
"Years ago, in a lifetime far away, you did not oppose the legalization of marijuana," Kent says in the letter, reminding Coleman when "you, me ... and a wealth of other students smoked dope."
He goes on to remind Coleman that their friends who smoked pot all went on to successful careers, and he wants Coleman to speak against the government's efforts to demonize drug users.
"How about standing up and saying: 'I, Norm Coleman, smoked pot in 1969.' That 'I am not a gang member, a drug addict or a criminal,'" Kent asks.
Coleman's office could not immediately be reached for comment. But a Coleman spokesman apparently did not deny the senator's former drug use, telling Roll Call, "This advocacy group's desperate attempt to drum up publicity for their cause is anything but normal or acceptable."