LOCAL HOPES RUN WILL INFLUENCE CANDIDATES

In the midst of a three-year battle with the local judicial system,
Alexander City resident Loretta Nall announced she was running for
governor of Alabama in 2006.

Nall, a 31-year-old wife and mother and founder of the Alabama
Marijuana Party, appeared at the Alexander City Courthouse Tuesday to
continue the appeals process for a 2004 misdemeanor marijuana
possession conviction. The case, which Nall claims violated her
constitutional rights, helped form the basis for Nall's campaign for
governor in 2006. Nall is seeking nomination from the Libertarian
Party and among the top issues of her campaign are drug policy and
prison reform, she said.

"The drug war has given rise to the current Alabama prison crisis,
which is costing Alabamians millions of dollars a year with only
negative returns in exchange," Nall said. "The other candidates are
not up to addressing these important but controversial issues because
they have built their political careers on meaningless slogans like
'Tough on Drugs' and 'what about the children?,' which in fact do
nothing to deter drug use or protect children. Through my candidacy,
I would love to force the other candidates to address these issues."

Nall was convicted on misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana
and possession of drug paraphernalia after local narcotics
investigators found marijuana seeds, a scale and rolling papers in
her home during a November 2002 raid.

Tallapoosa County District Judge Kim Taylor gave Nall a 30-day
suspended sentence over 12 months and a year of unsupervised
probation in February 2004, which she has appealed. Nall said her
home was searched after she submitted a letter to the Birmingham News
about drug law reform and said her constitutional right to free
speech was violated because of the police raid of her residence.

"Political freedom of speech has gone out the window. Just look at my
case. You voice public dissent about a public policy and then you go
to jail," she said.

Nall said drug policy reform is needed in Alabama because taxpayers
bear the cost of keeping non-violent offenders in already overcrowded
prisons and and policy reform could "save tens of millions in law
enforcement budgets, court costs, prison costs, not to mention the
immeasurable social costs of saddling young people with criminal
records for smoking a little pot."

"We're paying for them to be non-productive citizens. It's not about
the right to get high. It is about how the current war on drugs is
not meeting its stated objectives," she said.

In March 2005, Nall appeared in court to appeal her original
sentence, where she said she was offered a plea bargain of eight
months in prison without the possibility or probation or parole in
exchange for a guilty plea. Nall refused to plea out and demanded a jury trial.

Tuesday, Nall learned her case would be carried over into the next
session and her next court date has yet to be decided.

"If they (the court) are hoping for dismissal and waiver, it's not
going to happen. I'm going to continue to show up and I'm not going
to plea out," she said.

As Nall continues her fight with the legal system, she is also
planning activities for her campaign, including a walk across Alabama
in which she hopes to share her campaign issues.

Nall also plans to address issues such as non-compliance with the
Patriot Act, bringing National Guard soldiers home from Iraq, gun
control laws, legalized gambling, states' rights and a proposed check
box style governing system that she said would "let citizens decide
how their (tax) money is spent."

"I promote an Alabama that is overall way less dependent on the
federal government," she said. "I want Alabama to be more
self-reliant and able to take care of her own without so much
Washington D.C. influence."