NORML SANCTIONED, FOCUSED ON ADVOCACY

A campus marijuana advocacy group was put on probation this year, but
without random drug tests and grouchy probation officers.

The University chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws was sanctioned with two years of probation on April 21.
The organization was found by student judiciary to have violated
University trademarks and to have failed to follow the instructions of
University officials regarding the organization's logo -- a cartoon
depiction of a bulldog smoking while studying under the Arch.

NORML officers contested the decision, claiming they did everything
possible to follow University officials' instructions and that the
logo is satirical, therefore the intellectual property of the artist.

The conflict began on Feb. 11 when University officials from the
Center for Student Organizations sent NORML an e-mail asking them to
stop distributing T-shirts bearing the logo and remove the cartoon
from its Web site.

Later that week, CSO contacted NORML officers again, saying the group
could distribute the remainder of its T-shirts, but were barred from
producing any more.

On Feb. 16, NORML was once again contacted by the University with a
request that the group turn in all remaining shirts and setting a
deadline for the logo's removal from NORML's Web site.

Wojciech Kaczkowski, president of NORML, responded to the message
saying all T-shirts had been sold and explaining the organization's
Web master was out of the country and unable to be contacted to remove
the logo.

When the deadline passed, the organization was informed it was thought
to be in violation of the University code of conduct.

NORML was offered a sanction of one year's probation if it admitted it
was in violation, an offer NORML declined. After a two-day hearing,
the organization was found to be in violation and sanctioned with a
two-year probation.

After the sanction, Kaczkowski said he planned to appeal the decision,
but after discussing the idea with other NORML members, the
organization voted to simply accept its sanction.

"We're college students, so we just wanted to concentrate on NORML
activities," Kaczkowski said.

Since then, NORML has been focusing on advocating change in marijuana
policy off campus, Kaczkowski said.

"The University of Georgia has not really been bothering us," he said.