PRO-MARIJUANA GROUP DISCUSSES STRATEGY HERE

ST. LOUIS - Don Yarber joked that he has managed to earn the nickname
Mayor Juana through his efforts to legalize cannabis.

Last week, two nonbinding referendums seeking support on statewide
legalization of marijuana use for medical purposes narrowly failed in
Cottleville, where Yarber has been mayor for five years. He had hoped
its passage would have sparked state legislators to put the matter to
a statewide vote.

"We have to start working to convince the nonbelievers," Yarber told
a small gathering Saturday at the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws state spring conference in St. Louis.

"I always think of this issue, you know it's not a Libertarian, it's
not a Democratic, it's not a Republican issue. It's a compassion issue."

Saturday's daylong conference was held in the Randall building on
Cherokee Street.

Yarber's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer 16 years ago and used
marijuana to offset the nausea and appetite loss she suffered during
radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She recovered.

Yarber grew vocal about the issue after other states began legalizing
medical marijuana.

Yarber said the effort to legalize marijuana in his community helped
get the word out about the issue and desensitized people to the word
"marijuana."

"It's not a defeat," he said. "I think 49 percent of the vote is huge."

The issues both failed by nine votes out of 380 cast.

John Coffman, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union at
the Missouri Legislature, said an amendment dealing with the medical
marijuana issue went to a vote in the Legislature this year, gaining
five votes in the Senate and 19 in the House.

"It wasn't a great showing, but we did have a debate. We talked about
it," said Coffman, who previously served on the City Council in
Columbia, Mo. "My theory is that we need to get people thinking about
drugs, and particularly marijuana, in the context of public health."

Coffman said there was still a medical marijuana bill pending before
the Legislature but said it was unlikely to reach a floor vote.