U. MISSOURI MARIJUANA ADVOCATES HIT CAPITOL

(U-WIRE) COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A steady drizzle didn't dampen the spirits
of the people who gathered on the steps of the state Capitol for a
rally on Saturday. More than 150 people met to show their support for
industrial hemp and medicinal and recreational marijuana use. The
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws sponsored the
event. Students from the University of Missouri NORML chapter
attended the rally to draw attention to their cause.

"If we want action, then we have to prove there is a constituency,"
MU NORML President Jeremy Hudson said. "Many politicians think it
would hurt their political career if they openly show support for
marijuana."

The rally featured several speakers, including Hudson, along with
live music. Many said they believe the rain kept some people from
attending the rally.

"The rally was a little bit disappointing," MU sophomore Marcy
Spudich said. "I don't know if the rain kept people away or if people
wouldn't have shown up anyway. The idea was to be there and be seen
and heard, and we were."

MU students said they attended the rally for different reasons.
Spudich said she attended the rally to show support for individual
freedoms.

"I am concerned about the effects prohibition is having on society,"
Spudich said. "Individuals should have sovereignty over their own
bodies."

MU senior Amber Langston said she came to the rally because she
supports industrializing hemp.

"I believe that a lot of the laws regarding the plant cannabis are
wrong," Langston said. "The public has been misinformed by the
government for many years."

The rally also aimed to make state lawmakers aware of NORML's
position. A bill sponsored by Sen. Harry Wiggins, D-Kansas City,
would allow a person who has suffered distress as a result of someone
else's illegal drug use to seek compensation.

Hudson said the bill was unwarranted and extreme.

"This bill is absolute lunacy from a justice perspective," he said.
"It is a totally new dimension for a law."

The Missouri House and Senate are also considering bills to deny
workers' unemployment and workers' compensation for employees who
test positive for drugs in urine tests.

Sen. John Loudon, R-St. Louis, is sponsoring a bill that would allow
employers to hold benefits of workers terminated for testing positive
for drugs. The employers would have to post a drug-free workplace
policy beforehand to withhold benefits.

"It will add a whole lot more validity to drug-free workplace
policy," Loudon said. "Employers shouldn't have to pay if their
employees broke the rules."

Hudson said the use of urine tests to deny benefits should be unconstitutional.

"Americans need to be woken up to the fact that their own bodies are
being used to testify against them," Hudson. "Even urine should be
able to take the fifth."

Some members of the Missouri General Assembly are in favor of
exploring the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes and
the reinstitution of industrial hemp.

"I introduced legislation several years ago to encourage research on
medicinal marijuana," said Rep. Vicky Riback Wilson, D-Columbia,
whose constituency includes MU. "It is an issue we definitely need to
look into. Hemp in the past has been a very profitable crop for
Missouri. It is an agricultural product that the state should look
at."