REP. COHEN A HIT AT MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT GALA DINNER

WASHINGTON -- Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen acknowledged feeling a little
lonely as he addressed a crowd of self-described pot smokers just off
Capitol Hill.

After all, sharing a stage with Cheech and Chong and calling for
loosening drug laws isn't usually in the campaign playbook of a
sitting congressman.

Cohen, a two-term Democrat from Memphis, didn't seem to care Wednesday
night as he headlined the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project's
15th annual gala, where the famed stoner comedy duo of Cheech Marin
and Tommy Chong won a lifetime "trailblazer" award for helping push
marijuana use into the mainstream.

"Most of my colleagues didn't want to be here and aren't here. Maybe
that says something about my political judgment," Cohen joked to a few
hundred people at the $250-per-plate dinner, where sponsors displayed
pot "vaporizers" and hemp clothing.

A longtime advocate for legalizing medical marijuana for people with
chronic illnesses, Cohen also argues that the government is wasting
billions of dollars and wrecking people's lives by cracking down on
petty drug offenses.

He said his own campaign polls have shown nearly 3-1 support for
medical marijuana.

"And that's in Memphis, Tenn.," he said. "This is an issue that's
important. It's a freedom issue. It's an intelligence issue. ... I'm
proud to be here."

Cohen threw in some marketing advice for the crowd, which also heard
from former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico and actor Larry
Hagman.

"If you renamed marijuana something like Jack Daniel's or Jim Beam,
it'd be a lot more popular," Cohen said. "You need to get a good name
for it."

His suggestions were well-received -- Cohen got nearly as loud an
ovation as Cheech and Chong.

Thirteen states have legalized medical marijuana, and New Jersey is
poised to become the 14th after the state's legislature passed a bill
this week.

The Marijuana Policy Project is the chief lobbying arm of the
legalization movement.