Chris Wright (activist)

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Chris Wright
Chris Wright at the Minnesota State Capitol on April 20 2017.jpg
Wright in 2017
Born
Thomas Christopher Wright

(1957-10-14) October 14, 1957 (age 67)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Businessman, politician
Known forCannabis rights activism
Political party Legal Marijuana Now
Other political
affiliations		 Grassroots
Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party [1] [2]
Website www.votewright.org

Thomas Christopher Wright (born October 14, 1957) is an American businessman, cannabis rights and free speech activist, and frequent candidate for public office. Wright, who co-founded the Grassroots Party in 1986, owns a computer repair shop in Bloomington, Minnesota. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Activism

Chris Wright organized the Minnesota Tea Party, a cannabis rights rally held on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol every September from 1987 to 2013. [8]

A political rally and music festival called Grassroots Gathering, organized by Wright in 1992, which was to be held on a private campground near Ogilvie, Minnesota, was cancelled by authorities citing incidents reported at the Weedstock festival in Wisconsin the previous year. [9] [10]

Wright was arrested in 1996 for growing 41 cannabis plants at his home in Minneapolis. He appealed the conviction and lost. Wright argued that under Art. XIII, Sec. 7 of the Minnesota Constitution any person may sell the products of the farm or garden occupied by him without obtaining a license. The Minnesota Court of Appeals reasoned that product labeling, and other restrictions established previously, granted police authority to ban cannabis. [11] [12] [13] [14]

Wright ran for U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 1988 as a Grassroots candidate. In 1998, Wright was endorsed by the Grassroots Party for Governor of Minnesota. He got 1,727 votes. In the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial election, Wright got 7,516 votes as a Grassroots candidate. In 2014, Wright got 31,259 votes for governor as a Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis candidate. [15] [16] [17] [18]

Wright was nominated by petition to run for Governor of Minnesota in 2018 as a Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party candidate.

In 2022, Wright resigned as chair of G–LC, a post he held for years, to seek Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party nomination for governor. [19] [20] Wright was eliminated in the primary, receiving 48% of the party's vote.

In addition to legalizing drugs, Wright promotes using hydrogen as fuel. [4] [11] [21]

Political candidacy

A founding member of the Grassroots Party in 1986, Chris Wright ran as their candidate, between 1988 and 2010, three times. In 2014, Wright and Oliver Steinberg formed the Minnesota Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party, and Wright has also run as their candidate several times, including:

Notes

  1. ↑ Dickson, Janiese (May 10, 2017). "Politicians and citizens implore Minnesotans to legalize marijuana at 4/20 rally". City College News.
  2. ↑ Golden, Erin (June 16, 2018). "Legal pot advocates join Minnesota races for state, federal offices". Star Tribune . Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ Gilyard, Burl (July 5, 1995). "Doobie Brothers: Grassroots Party members grapple with their budding political clout". Twin Cities Reader.
  4. 1 2 Davis, Don (October 4, 2010). "Dayton, Emmer, Horner not only Minnesota governor candidates on ballot". Grand Forks Herald . For 25 years, Wright has fought to loosen the state's marijuana laws. Wright also promotes using hydrogen as a fuel.
  5. ↑ Condon, Patrick (June 21, 2014). "Pot activists light up Minnesota ballot". Star Tribune .
  6. ↑ Mosedale, Mike (October 3, 2014). "A crowded field of pot advocates". Politics in Minnesota Capitol Report. In gubernatorial bid, the Grassroots Party's Chris Wright is no longer such a lonely voice. Chris Wright is the gubernatorial candidate of the Grassroots Party, the pro-marijuana legalization party he helped to found in 1986.
  7. ↑ Scheck, Tom (October 21, 2014). "Sharp focus, few votes for Cannabis, Libertarian governor hopefuls". Minnesota Public Radio .
  8. ↑ Donovan, Lisa (August 31, 2000). "Grassroots Party Having Quarrel with City Officials: Security Requests Holding Up Permits For Sept. 16 Rally". St. Paul Pioneer Press . With or without the blessings of the St. Paul police, the Grassroots Party says it is prepared to hold a block party and march Sept. 16 in the name of legalizing marijuana. So far, event organizer and party chairman Chris Wright said he has been unable to get the proper city permits for the "14th Annual Minnesota Tea Party" because he has refused to comply with police requests to hire as many as five off-duty officers.
  9. ↑ Doyle, Pat (May 16, 1992). "Judge blocks large Grassroots fest near Ogilvie". Star Tribune . Wright is running as a member of the Grassroots Party against Democratic U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo. Wright said the festival is intended to raise money for party candidates, and he accused authorities of blocking it to prevent speeches favoring legalization of marijuana. Slattengren said the Minnesota event was intended primarily as a rock concert, not a political rally. The flier makes no explicit reference to politics. The judge described the scheduled gathering as a sequel to Weedstock and a similar Wisconsin festival called Hempstock, held on Labor Day.
  10. ↑ Associated Press (May 17, 1992). "Judge nixes music festival near Ogilvie". St. Paul Pioneer Press . Fearing a repeat of Weedstock '91, a judge has nixed plans for a Memorial Day weekend festival that promised live music by the Incredible Smoking Bongs. Kanabec County District Court Judge Linn Slattengren issued an injunction Friday blocking the festival, saying that organizers failed to obtain a county permit and that the expected gathering of more than 1,000 people posed a safety hazard.
  11. 1 2 Dickson, Janiese (May 10, 2017). "Politicians and citizens implore Minnesotans to legalize marijuana at 420 rally". City College News. Chris Wright, who announced his candidacy for governor at the rally, dissented from the popular support of these bills, saying that they don't comply with Article 13, Section 7, of Minnesota's constitution. Wright's reasons are that passing a constitutional amendment would make it difficult to challenge in court and cheat Minnesota farmers of revenue. Article 13, Section 7, states, "any person may sell or peddle the products of the farm or garden occupied and cultivated by him without obtaining a license therefor."
  12. ↑ "State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Thomas Christopher Wright, Appellant, C4-98-179". File No. 96075200: Minnesota Court of Appeals. December 22, 1998. Archived from the original on December 21, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ↑ Associated Press (December 23, 1998). "Right to peddle produce doesn't include pot, court rules". Star Tribune . The judges noted that the state Supreme Court has previously upheld Minnesota's marijuana laws as a valid exercise of the state's police powers.
  14. ↑ Associated Press (December 23, 1998). "Court upholds state's marijuana laws". St. Paul Pioneer Press .
  15. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State (November 1998). "Minnesota Election Results 1998, pp. 30–172" (PDF). Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
  16. ↑ "2010 MN Governor Election Results". Minnesota Secretary of State . November 2, 2010.
  17. ↑ Pugmire, Tim (September 11, 2014). "Minnesota's candidates for governor divided on marijuana laws". Minnesota Public Radio .
  18. ↑ "2014 MN Governor Election Results". Minnesota Secretary of State . November 4, 2014.
  19. ↑ Callaghan, Peter (May 9, 2022). "Legalize Cannabis Party to police 'bogus' candidates". MinnPost .
  20. ↑ Bierschbach, Briana (May 12, 2022). "Pro-pot party ponders payback: New name proposed to turn tables on GOP over alleged '20 spoiler tactics". Star Tribune . "I figure the more the merrier", said Chris Wright, who's running for governor under the Legal Marijuana Now Party banner.
  21. ↑ Featherly, Kevin (June 14, 2018). "Bar Buzz: Pro-pot AG candidate's got high hopes". Minnesota Lawyer.

References

Further reading

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