In our small group (14 in all) who are attending Crush & Roll, there are 4 people who are steadfast in their allegiance to stop all forms of smoking. They are going because "the girls" have decided they will hang out, sip wine and cavort while their husbands are puffing away.  Could such attendees at events like Crush & Roll help reverse the cultural shift which has bastardized lighting up? Maybe. Back to Crush & Roll. What does your entry ticket buy you?

Your $125 ticket gets you approximately 30 cigars, wine tasting, cigar seminars, raffles & access to food vendors.  More than Big Smoke! What's more interesting is the event itself is attracting more couples and women, unlike Big Smoke, where the only women are paid models.  If you are a poker tourney fan, they'll have one for charity Friday night ($50) from 6-11 in Frontier Town in the Pas Robles Fairgrounds.  All proceeds are going to Project Mañana, which is a 501(c)3 non profit humanitarian organization working with impoverished children in the Dominican Republic.  What? Poker for a good cause? Read on.

Most of us have heard of CRA by now, but really, who are they? CRA has grown from a five-city Freedom Tour in August 2008, to a 50-state membership.  This grassroots organization has SEVERAL “wins” under its belt, including one of the most restrictive statewide smoking ban bills ever proposed (Senate Bill 575); which would have virtually outlawed smoking in the entire state of California and astonishingly used the word "prohibition" in the first sentence of the bill.  The use of the word prohibition was interpreted by many as a tighter government control akin to Socialist Marxism.  It would have banned all smoking in the entire state, everywhere. They have also tackled prohibitive state legislation all over the country. 

• Ban on walk-in humidors, self serve cigar displays, and mail-order cigar sales;
• Ban on all flavored cigars, that are enjoyed by legal-age adults;
• Deface ornate, decorative cigar boxes, (often considered an art form) with grotesque images;
• Ban on cigar events where free cigars (samples) could be available to legal-age adults;
• Limits on cigar marketing and advertising;
• Imposition of new ‘user fees' [tax] on cigars, to finance regulations;
• Limits on special release and small-batch cigars, due to mandates that cigar blends be submitted to FDA for pre-approval before release;
• Limits on nicotine levels on cigars to near zero, severely impacting the flavor of cigars;
• Ban on marketing cigar merchandise.

The growth of CRA has peaked just at the right time.  They really have their work cut out for them.  If any of these issues bother you in the slightest, then  for $35 you can join their ranks. You'll not only get free cigars but also receive weekly email update with one-click petition links, allowing you to put your verbal foot in the backside of your local state senator or congressman, letting them know you are steadfast against government control akin to borderline communism.   

So, at Crush & Roll, I get to smoke cigars, drink wine, gamble, feel like I'm committing a sin (playing poker)?  One thing is for sure, there will be no tomato pelting on September 16-17 in Paso Robles at Crush & Roll. Well done! See you there!