NIC TRUSTEES WON'T BUST MARIJUANA CLUB

College Board Calls Legally Formed Club's Goals Protected Speech

Coeur d'Alene _ North Idaho College trustees made it clear Wednesday that
they will not interfere with a new student club formed to promote the
legalization of marijuana.

"This is protected speech," board Chairwoman Barbara Chamberlain said. "It
won't come to the board as an action item."

The board asked college president Michael Burke to draft a response to a
letter the Coeur d'Alene City Council sent this week. The letter said that
the city has worked hard to educate youth about the dangers of drug abuse,
and that the new club contradicts those efforts.

Chamberlain said that it is not the board's place to put down a legally
formed club. The trustees have confirmed that position with their attorney,
she said.

Burke said news reports about the club's formation have prompted phone
calls from concerned parents of students. Burke stressed that the student
code clearly prohibits the sale, possession and consumption of drugs or
alcohol on campus.

Also, Burke said, the club's goal is to change a law in the state of Idaho,
not to advocate drug use.

The club plans to develop an initiative for the November 2002 ballot that
would ask voters to legalize marijuana and industrial hemp. Club officers
originally planned to develop the ballot initiative for this year's
election, but realized Wednesday that it would be too late for the April 30
deadline.

Placing an initiative on the ballot requires gathering signatures statewide
amounting to 6 percent of registered voters in the previous general
election. Half of the state's 44 counties have to be represented.

"We can start gathering signatures now," said club President Dan Sheckler.
"We can still do work toward our goal. I suspect we're going to need more
time than we had thought."

Burke pointed out that the club's constitution includes a statement that
members will abide by all state and federal laws. Though some may see the
club's formation as "tax dollars gone awry," Burke said, the only funds the
club is eligible for are student fee monies, not property tax dollars.

"That is not part of our tax support," Burke said.

Some board members of the college's fund-raising foundation have expressed
concern about the club's impact on NIC's image, said Steve Schenk,
executive director of the NIC Foundation.

"It's always going to be a controversial issue," Schenk said. "A lot of
people misunderstand this and think taxpayer money has been used toward
this effort and that's not the case.

"Whether we agree or disagree, they have the right to do this."