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| "Reimer acquitted of driving while impaired by marijuana" For an account of my trial for impaired driving (while smoking marijuana) and a brief summary of my legal career, see the Canadian Lawyer Magazine article by bill rogers. | |||
| "I smoke marijuana constantly." For another excellent article by Kelly Egan of the Ottawa Citizen, click HERE. | |||
| "Activist doesn't get out of joint" For an account of how I became the first person on earth to smoke a LEGAL joint in jail, see the article by John Steinbachs of the Ottawa Sun. | |||
| Well-known social justice activist releasing CD this weekend
Rick Reimer's songs focus on political and social justice issues that concern him, including decriminalization of weed | |||
News Editor Killaloe -- A former Pembroke lawyer, who retired in the fall of 2000 because of a debilitating disease and now lives near Wilno, has accomplished a long-time goal of producing his own musical CD. Rick Reimer, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and is best known as a social justice activist, will officially release the CD, Killaloe Rastaman on Saturday night (Dec. 27) at a party at the Killaloe Lions Hall. Mr. Reimer, a strong supporter of Killaloe's Homegrown radio station CHCR, will be donating $5 from the sale of every CD to the station, which is run by volunteers. The CD sells for $12. "Ultimately I don't know how many there will be (sold)," Mr. Reimer said. "I'm hoping a lot of people will listen to it, not for the money, I mean that's not very important to me. What's important to me is getting the message out, getting the word out." Following the release of the CD, he hopes sales will continue through word of mouth, sending copies to public and university radio stations for airing and through the Internet. He began writing peace and social activist songs three years ago, when he was forced to give up his legal career. "My retirement was very abrupt," he said. "It was a funny thing because of the kind of disease I had. It wasn't abrupt the way it would be if, for example, you had a car accident. It was something I knew was coming." As a member of a busy law firm in Pembroke, Mr. Reimer knew he had to look after his clients' files before he retired, admitting he never worked as hard as he did during this period. The Toronto-born Mr. Reimer has always had an interest in and love for music, but didn't have the time to pursue those musical interests when studying law at university or afterwards when he began practicing law in Petawawa in 1977. It was only after he retired from practice, because of his declining health, that he was able to focus his attention on playing musical instruments and writing songs. Political and social justice issues are very big concerns for Mr. Reimer, who is also widely known for his use of marijuana for medical purposes and so the songs on the CD focus on such issues as respect for all, the decriminalization of marijuana, the Americans involvement in Iraq and so on. The Killaloe Rastaman is one of the 14 songs on the CD. It is sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies. It tells the story of Bob who left the city because it was getting hard to feed his family and because the neighbours told him growing ganja to supplement his income was illegal. "He loaded up his seeds and he moved to Killaloe. Hills, that is, swimming holes, shooting stars." And then goes on to tell how his plants are found and eradicated by the police. The music on the CD will be far more reaching than the lyrics in many of the songs. The messages portrayed in several of them will appeal to people whose beliefs are similar to those of Mr. Reimer's or to those who make up the free spirit culture. "If the politicians won't look after the people, the artists must, and music shall be their voice," explains Mr. Reimer in a brief statement on the jacket of the CD. "While my bemusement at the state of our world widens, the beauty and diversity of life continues to astound me." In expressing his gratitude to those who have inspired and encouraged him to create the music on the CD, to the faithful listeners of CHCR, and others, he also expresses thanks "for the consciousness of my friends and community and for the ganja plant that was put upon this earth for the good of us all". The CD opens with the song Respect, a song about loving your fellowman for who he is, not whether he is old, or looking run down. Respect - makes the world go 'round Respect - don't put others down Respect - a necessity R-E-S-P-E-C-T Respect - and you can't be fooled Respect - it's the golden rule Respect - pure simplicity R-E-S-P-E-C-T The CD was produced along with Errol Francis, known locally as the man who built the tire house near Killaloe. Mr. Reimer, who plays both the acoustic guitar and viola, is the lead vocalist for all the songs with background vocals from Mr. Francis, Sigrid Geddes, and Alain Connu. Musicians include Mr. Francis, Schroeder Nordholt, Grant Fraser, Doug Hempstead, Deedee Sanderson, Ken Lillico, and Bryan Tyrrell. Mr. Reimer described Mr. Francis as an absolute musical genius. "Adding the instrumentation, which Erroll is fabulous at, really turns it into a symphony instead of a sing-song," he said. Admitting he is biased, Mr. Reimer is extremely proud of Killaloe Rastaman. He is also proud of the involvement of community musicians in its production. "To be able to do all of this locally was so wonderful," he said. "To be able to do all of this with Errol and local musicians was just fabulous." What's the big problem? What's the big fuss? What in God's name you trying to do to us? Busting down doors when there's kids inside Shooting people and dogs, I hope your satisfi ed. What's the problem? What's the big fuss? We're just people smoking herb and there's a lot of us. Leave us alone, and I promise for true We're going to do the very same for you. - refrain Saturday night's release party is for people of all ages and Mr. Reimer said children are welcome. He said it will be a non-smoking event and even he is prepared to go outside to smoke his pot although technically he can legally smoke marijuana anywhere that one can legally smoke a cigarette. Mr. Reimer smokes between 12 and 15 joints a day and has built up a tolerance to the weed. "Smoking marijuana doesn't impair my ability to drive a car, to write a song or to run a radio show or whatever," he said. "It perhaps alters my mood but it doesn't alter my faculties." Mr. Reimer said his use of marijuana helps to control nausea, one of the commons symptoms of MS. Since the disease also causes fatigue, smoking pot invigorates him as it acts as a stimulant. "It improves my quality of life," he said. Mr. Reimer hopes the CD will stimulate discussions on issues he has raised on his songs and at the same time entertain its listeners. "I love music," he said. "To my mind the greatest possible thing is learning while you are being entertained at the same time." Mr. Reimer said he would never have been able to produce the CD if he had still been practicing law. And although he was quite successful as a member of the legal profession, he said writing and producing the CD is a much bigger accomplishment for him than anything he may have accomplished as a lawyer. A voracious reader of newspapers and listener of radio (he has no use for TV and encourages people to blow them up), Mr. Reimer says his songs are not offensive or angry in tone. "They are tongue in cheek, sardonic, sarcastic, but they are not in any way profane or even angry sounding." Chorus Who do you think you're fooling, George? You say you're gonna set the world free? Who do you think you're fooling, George? You sure ain't fooling me. Who do you think you're fooling, George? The muck-amucks at NBC? Who do you think you're fooling, George? You sure ain't fooling me. The message conveyed in the song reflects Mr. Reimer's feelings towards the USA and its involvement in Iraq. "Political, social and justice issues concern me a lot," Mr. Reimer said. Throughout the war in Iraq and the time leading up to it, Mr. Reimer said he would sit at home, devouring the news and listening to radio about the conflict, working himself into a froth. "I was just getting madder and madder about the hypocrisy going on," he said. "If you read the lyrics to Who Do You Think Your Fooling, George, it becomes very apparent." The marijuana plant symbol is used extensively on the CD jacket as are photos of Mr. Reimer smoking joints in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill and elsewhere. There are also photos of a marijuana plantation and a potted plant, and an aerial photo of 130 naked people lying on the ground at a peace festival outside Killaloe last summer forming the peace symbol. The inside back cover of the CD features a logo designed by Mr. Reimer several years ago to promote the decriminalization of the weed. It shows a marijuana leaf in the centre with the words DECRIMINALIZE - WHAT'S THE BIG FUSS? around it. Mr. Reimer believes marijuana should be decriminalized. "We no more need laws about marijuana than we need laws about asparagus. If you want to grow asparagus, you grow it. You get it from your friend (garden) or you go to Loblaws. We don't need laws about it." Eganville Leader, December 23, 2003 |
