In 1965 I vacationed in Mexico before going to Pensacola, Florida to start Navy Flight School, and was stopped coming back into the USA by the border patrol, who found the small amount of marijuana I had bought for recreation. Although I was a first offender and the pre-sentence report recommended probation, the Texas federal judge gave me a 5-year sentence, six months to serve, and the rest suspended on probation, and a $2,000 fine. He had Timothy Leary in his courtroom the week before and was "tired of the drug culture of Eastern intellectuals."

After moving to Madison in 1971, I started a Volunteers in Probation program for youthful offenders. I worked with the court system to create a bail rating system, still in use today. Then I worked as a community organizer and paralegal trainer for The Center for Public Representation, working to include offenders in the Halfway House Association client base. Legitimizing this type of halfway house made it possible for me to successfully negotiate for providers to get direct purchase of service contracts from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. I volunteered with several community groups, including Noah's Ark, Willy Street Coop, and the Voluntary Action Center.

When I applied for a pardon the FBI did a thorough background check of my life, interviewing many people who knew me socially, professionally and in the community. President Jimmy Carter granted me a full, unconditional pardon. His clemency made a big difference in my life and I will do this for others who demonstrate their past does not control their future.

Later I worked for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, serving as their data security officer for 18 of my 30 years of state service. I was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors and now I am running for Governor. I hope someday to meet Jimmy Carter as the Governor of Wisconsin and shake his hand to thank him for forgiving my mistake and restoring my opportunities.

Our laws regarding marijuana are ridiculous. This harmless recreational herb should be decriminalized, so what happened to me can never happen again.