Cited: Journey for Justice: http://www.JourneyForJustice.org/

Drug Policy Forum of Texas: http://www.dpft.org/

Common Sense for Drug Policy: http://www.csdp.org/

Bookmark: MAP's link to Texas articles is:
http://www.mapinc.org/states/tx

For Journey for Justice Protest news items:
http://www.mapinc.org/journey.htm

PROTESTERS CALL FOR LEGALIZED MARIJUANA

A caravan of marijuana legalization advocates rolled up to the Capitol
steps Friday, calling for a cease-fire in the war on drugs and a
legalization of medical marijuana.

Journey for Justice, a procession of convicted drug offender's family
members, medical marijuana patients and citizens, concluded its week-long
tour that started in Houston and highlighted Texas' record number of
non-violent prisoners.

"Our national policy of drug prohibition has failed," said Al Robison,
executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas. "It has filled our
prisons with non-violent drug offenders to the point that the U.S. has
become the world's leading jailer."

According to the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., based
non-profit research and public policy organization, nearly 90,000 people
are incarcerated in Texas for non-violent crimes. In comparison, according
to the Institute, Texas's non-violent prison population is second only to
California and is larger than New York, the nation's third largest state.

Robison said drug abuse and drug addiction are public health problems but
are being treated primarily by the criminal justice system with disastrous
results.

But Howard Simon, spokesman for Partnership for a Drug Free America, said
children would suffer if marijuana were to be legalized.

"We are opposed to anything that would make dangerous and illegal drugs
more socially acceptable to kids," he said. "If you want to keep kids off
drugs, you don't make them more available and more socially acceptable."

Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, said he was part of
a small delegation that met earlier with Gov. George W. Bush's staff Friday
addressing the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.

"We focused on the needless suffering of people who turn into criminals
just because they need medicine," Zeese said.

Tiffany Landreth, who has chronic sharp pain resulting from surgery for a
herniated disk, said she has tried many different muscle relaxers and pain
killers. She said marijuana has proven the most effective in alleviating
her symptoms with the least amount of side effects and should not be illegal.

"I'm a non-violent person," she said. "I've never hurt anybody. I love
people; I work. There's no reason for me to be in jail."

According to their policy statement on marijuana, the American Medical
Association said it believes that marijuana is a dangerous drug and is a
public health concern therefore sale and possession of it should not be
legalized. However, it did encourage research and well-controlled studies
of patients who smoke marijuana to alleviate chronic pain.

Gretchen Michael, spokeswoman of the U.S. Department of Justice, said
marijuana is a controlled substance under the Drug Control Act and that it
remains in the hands of the legislature to change any drug laws.