FORFEITURE COPS - Flash Fiction by Kay Lee

"Looka there. Why, ya reckon, would old man Gates throw his best boots in the kindlin' pile like that?"

"He's always braggin' how he "marched mor'n 25 hundert miles in dem dere boots. Stood up and talked 'bout it on ever Vet's Day. Showed dem damn boots to everbody."

"Yep, never thought he's let nothin' happin' to dem boots - like they was gold or something'. Nope, never thought I'd see 'em outta arm's throw, but dere they lay."

"And I ain't seen him in what...three, four days."

"Last time I seen him was last Wednesday over at Johnson's buying' polish for these very boots. Said he ordered it special from L.L. Beans' catalogue."

"Looka dere. Dem boots ain't shined at all. Now why,  you reckon, would he be buyin' polish lessen he meant to shine dem boots?"

"Don't know. Never shine mine. Never buy polish neither. Waste of good money ya ask me."

"I'm thinkin' somethin' ain't right."

"I'm with ya, boss. Whadda we do now"

"We keep our eyes open, ears to the ground, nose to the grindstone so to speak."

"You got it, boss."

"Yep, somethin' just don't smell right."

"I thought I saw a marijuana roach in his ashtray in yonder. Hey boss, reckon if Gates don't show up, I could have them dere boots?"


With humor in a humorless situation,

Grandma Kay Lee

WHAT AM I DOING OUTSIDE MY CLOSET? by Kay Lee

My name is Kay Lee but thousands call me Grandma Kay. I'm a minister. I'm also the Wisconsin director for the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis and creator/organizer/director of the Journey for Justice (J4J) and Making The Walls Transparent (MTWT).

Most important, I'm a mother, great and grand, to 20 nice people, five of whom have found marijuana to be essential to their quality of life. I have worked solely in non-profit reform efforts for the past 15  or so years, exchanging my abilities as caregiver, companion, house/pet/child keeper and organizer for room, board and an internet connection.

Some amazing people have hosted me. They taught me new skills and truths regarding the effects of bad laws and policies on good people. With these skills, I created the marijuana patients' project 'Journey for Justice' and the prison project 'Making The Walls Transparent'.

Marijuana actually came into my life as medicine, although I now respect the creative and spiritual aspects of Cannabis. The plant literally saved my life, because I was born to a depressed mother, grew up a depressed child, spent seven adult years allowing 'professionals' to dose me with whatever drug they could prescribe, and became more suicidal all the time.

It wasn't until I was 38 years old, after my eldest son's death, that a young Indian girl gave me Cannabis and immediately and forever, my life changed. No more doom and gloom for this tough old bird. Marijuana allowed me to raise my remaining children. Thus far they've all been able to stay away from the 'injustice' system, which actually goes against statistics.

Three years ago, right after my heart surgery, I was arrested for the first time in my life. A cop lied his way into my daughter's home, smelled my 'medicine' and handcuffed me in front of my 7 year old wide-eyed grandson. Charges were later dropped to a city ticket, but it was an injustice none the less: I don't hurt people intentionally, I don't take their stuff, I help where I can, yet prohibition has reduced me to a common criminal in the eyes of the law.

In my younger years, I did little but bear and raise children. When they began their own lives, I attended college for three years, where I learned that not everyone in politics is doing their job properly. I know now that some laws are unconstitutional, and political choices are negatively affecting citizens, not just of America, but in countries all over the world.

I learned about political manipulation to bolster bad policies such as Prohibition, like propaganda, demonization, division of the people and enforcers who enjoy busting non-violent people far too much to insure justice.

I discovered that Prohibition has a long history of failure and that even during alcohol prohibition, it was not forbidden for medical use. I learned that our current prohibition is based on lies and those who passed the original laws against it were deceivers furthering their own agendas.

I was raised as most of my generation were - Fiercely believing in my country and its leaders. Frequently during my education, I was stunned to tears and over-whelmed by a sense of betrayal.

When I finally brushed off my skirt and stood up to share my new-found knowledge with others, I encountered first hand stories of prohibition's effects: Corrupt enforcers, courtrooms bent not on truth and justice, but on punishment; prisons that try to turn people into animals; destruction of individual lives and entire families by a system originally and specifically designed to protect them.

The old people I talked to were indignant, young people were scared or defiant, mother's and fathers begged me to write to their sons in prison and my education continued.

I discovered that prison sentences for non-violent people are mostly unnecessary and far too long; that prison care is dangerously substandard for human beings; that rehabilitation has been replaced by warehousing; and that as many prisoners are returning to the world shell-shocked from this homemade war on drug users as young men in the military are from foreign wars.

I learned that there are better ways to control the harms of drugs. That is why I am here. To let those who are suffering know they are not alone; to help set our nation on a common-sense path; to make the future gentler for the next generation - and particularly to save those I love from the consequences of terrible policies like Prohibition.

Looking Forward