A Walk to New Hampshire

KENTUCKIAN WANTS TO PUSH FOR LEGALIZING POT IN 'FREE STATE'

CONCORD, N.H. - The movement to bring thousands of people to New
Hampshire to change it into a "free state" with fewer laws and smaller
government is attracting all sorts, including a 20-year-old Kentucky
man who is walking here in search of a life free from marijuana
prosecution.

Randall Wolfe of Corbin calls himself a dedicated member of the Free
State Project. He drives to his job as a manager trainee at a local
Taco Bell with the project's Web site spray-painted on the hood of his
1997 Dodge Neon. The New Hampshire state motto, "Live Free or Die," is
along the side. He spends his spare time as a Kentucky recruiter for
the project.

Wolfe figures New Hampshire, where project members hope they can grow
in numbers enough to influence legislation and policy, is his best
shot for marijuana legalization. Wolfe began experimenting with the
drug at the age of 10 and smoking regularly at 14. He has been
arrested twice for possession.

The project, the brainchild of a Yale graduate student, chose New
Hampshire as its laboratory in nationwide balloting in October.
Critics in the chosen state have accused the group of wanting to turn
it into a haven for drug abuse, lax gambling laws, legal prostitution
and gun supermarkets.

Project members dispute that depiction, though they don't deny they
want to eliminate "victimless crimes" such as prostitution and
personal drug use.

Members have diverse motives and goals, ranging from promoting
home-schooling and school vouchers to fighting gun laws. The common
thread is that all value independent thinking, project spokesman James
Maynard said.

"We've struggled long and hard for freedom where we were, with mixed
results. Then suddenly we found there were others thinking and acting
for the same goals we were," Maynard said. "Like any wise group, we
have a wide umbrella and allow people of different viewpoints to be
heard and work with us."

Marijuana advocates seem to have an affinity for free-staters. The
project was featured in the May-June edition of "High Times" magazine
and supports NORML, a group working to decriminalize marijuana.

All of which is Wolfe's motivation for walking more than 1,000 miles
to what could be his new home.

To prepare for his journey, he walks about an hour a day and has tried
to cut back on cigarettes.

He plans to leave Corbin on Sunday with the $300 he saved up, a week's
worth of clothes and a new pair of Nikes. Project members are sending
him donations for expenses, he said, and have offered him a place to
stay when he arrives.

In New Hampshire, possession of any amount of marijuana is punishable
by up to one year in jail. Wolfe said he accepts that he might never
live to see marijuana legalized.

"If it takes the rest of my life, it takes the rest of my life," he
said. "If it doesn't help me out, it might help the next
generation."

His exact plan to lobby for marijuana legalization is vague, but he
said he intends to use his time in New Hampshire "voting for the right
people" and looking for guidance from Free State leaders in New Hampshire.

Around 30 families have moved to New Hampshire since October, joining
the 230 project members already living here. Maynard said he expects
300 families to move in this summer.

Wolfe is timing his walk to arrive for next month's Porcupine Festival
in Lancaster. Organizers hope the June 21-27 gathering will be the
project's largest ever.

Wolfe has taken a month's leave from Taco Bell.

"I pretty much told them, if they didn't hear from me in 30 days, I
was either dead or not coming back," he said.