John Trudell

"I think that if the political and social movement groups and organizations that operate in this country today had the same kind of energetic commitment that the medical marijuana people have, many things could change in this country." John Trudell

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

In early December, Artist-Activist John Trudell spoke at the 2009 Oregon NORML Medical Cannabis Awards Dinner in Portland, Oregon. In the last few years, Trudell has spoken at several Hemp and Cannabis events around the Portland Area, and has quickly become an inspirational voice for the legalization and advancement of the Cannabis plant.

Trudell's words to the Cannabis Awards audience centered around the ideas of non-cooperation, creative intelligence, and the power of energy, clarity and coherency in today's global reality. He expressed thoughtful insight on the topics of sustainability, grass roots organization and the Cannabis plant as earth medicine.

"We must go beyond the arrogance of human rights. We must go beyond the ignorance of civil rights. We must step into the reality of natural rights because all of the natural world has a right to existence and we are only a small part of it. There can be no trade-off." John Trudell

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

The following video slideshow is a compilation of animated photographs taken at the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation's Medicinal Gardens in October 2009. The slideshow is accompanied by the soft cadence of the song "Grassfire" by John Trudell and his band Bad Dog.