'JOINT CONFERENCE' IN J'LEM NEXT WEEK

At a time when Palestinians and Israelis appears on the brink of a
new cycle of violence one group has found a way to have the two come
together for a whole new purpose - the legalization of marijuana.

Aleh Yarok, Israel's branch of the Green Leaf Party, has organized
the first ever conference for Palestinians and Israelis to discuss

Marijuana Legalization. Scheduled to take place October 25 at the
Hebrew University, the day-long event will see speakers from both
populations discuss ways in which they can mutually advance their causes.

"There are so many reasons this is important to us, but first and
foremost we want to see peace in the regionaE&peace begins with a
shared interest to advance certain goals," said Ohad Shem-Tov, the
head of Aleh Yarok.

While Israel has emerged as one of the worldwide leaders in the
practical application of medical marijuana - last year, a group of
doctors at the Sheba Medical Center published findings which
suggested that marijuana might be one of the most effective tools in
combating head trauma - the issue remains on the fringes of
Palestinian society, said Shem-Tov.

"Arab Israeli families are facing more and more problems with drug
addictions in the family. They are beginning to feel that changing
the laws might make the situation better," said Shem-Tov. "For many
reasons this issue is not talked about as much, and there is no
party that resembles Aleh Yarok in any Arab country. We feel that by
bringing this to Arab individuals we are putting it on the map."

Among the dozen speakers scheduled to address the conference is
Harvard Professor Dr. Lester Grinspoon, often referred to as the
founder of the medical marijuana movement due to his research in the
field during the early 1970s.

"He has somewhat of a cult following," said Michelle Levine, the
head of the Aleh Yarok environmental division. Levine invited
Grinspoon to address the conference after discovering that the
Jewish professor had never visited Israel because he had never
been invited to speak at a conference here.

According to Levine, the idea for the conference came after the
group first tried to send a letter directly to Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We wrote the letter, but the day before we could send it Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped and we felt that with all the
chaos going on it was not likely that our letter would get read," said Levine.