Cited: Incorrectly by this student newspaper below. The Journey for Justice
website is: http://www.JourneyForJustice.org/

Notes: From MAP: Daily updates from the Journey by Kevin Zeese are being posted
at these sites: http://www.csdp.org/j4jtexas/ and http://www.dpft.org/txj4jj.html

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

HEMP ACTIVISTS DEMONSTRATE AT OLSEN FIELD

Hemp, weed, boo, marijuana, grass, Mary Jane, cannabis and mooch are all
names associated with the illegal plant scientifically known as pistillate
hemp, or Cannabis sativa , and it might be coming to a drug store near you,
if a national group gets its wish.

Journey for Justice campaigned in the Bryan-College Station area Monday for
support of its initiative to legalize marijuana for medical use, bring
attention to the issue of for political debate and reduce the incarceration
rate of nonviolent drug-related convicts. The group, en route to Austin
where the members plan to march on the Capitol and present their case to
the press, is composed of people who were convicted of marijuana use and
possession, medical marijuana patients and citizens concerned about the
issue. They made a political statement at Olsen Field by placing someone in
a cage to represent the injustice of convicting and imprisoning nonviolent
people for marijuana possession.

Joe Ptak, a member of Journey for Justice, said the group is campaigning on
the Texas A&M campus because of its extensive agricultural research
facilities and large student population.

"Both of these factors can help to raise awareness with the possible
commercial uses of marijuana," he said.

The group's goal is to encourage the agriculture department to find a way
to extract THC (tetrahydrolannabinol), the illegal component in marijuana,
to make it less harmful and more productive for consumer purposes. Hemp,
the fiber produced from Cannabis sativa , can be used to produce clothing,
paper, hair care products, and fuel, and for nutritional purposes, in
addition to other uses.

Dr. Dennis Reardon, senior coordinator for alcohol and drug programs for
the Department of Student Life, said extensive marijuana use can have many
of the same side effects as alcohol use and the legal consequences are just
as severe.

"Physicians should be allowed to use any substance proven in controlled
studies to help with ailing patients and, whether that is marijuana or not,
it doesn't matter," he said.

However, Reardon said in a survey of the A&M student body last year, only
7.4 percent of A&M students admitted to using the illegal substance within
the last 30 days. Sixteen percent of students from other colleges around
the country admitted to using it.

Sgt. Dan Jones, public relations officer for the College Station Police
Department (CSPD) and a former member of the Brazos Valley Narcotics Task
Force, said marijuana contains more than 420 chemicals, and that 63 of them
are considered mind-altering when heated. Therefore, he said all the side
effects have yet to be discovered.

However Judy Jones, program coordinator for Journey to Justice, said that
regardless of the misconceptions about the use of marijuana, the drug
serves an important purpose for those with medical needs.

"We go out in a bold way and tell people we have patients on board that
will die without marijuana and this gets our points across," she said.

Jones added that Texas is the No. 1 incarcerator in the United States for
marijuana use.

"If Texas was a country it would be the No. 1 country for incarcerations,"
Jones said.

Journey for Justice concluded its campaign at A&M with a two-hour open
forum at the Koldus Building that included speeches and skits.

For more information on Journey for Justice and its campaign visit
www.journeyforjustice.com.

CSPD officers host education programs in the community to deter residents
from early-age drug use, such as the national Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (D.A.R.E.) programs, a nationwide lecture that aims to educate
elementary-school students. Speakers from the Narcotics Task Force speak at
various events throughout the community, hoping to educate the public about
the harms, effects and legal consequences of marijuana use.

Drug possession is illegal according to current law, and people in an
effort to prevent drug use convicted of marijuana possession can receive
fines of up to $4,000 and one year in jail for 2 to 4 ounces, depending on
the amount.