NORML AT IU TO SUPPORT IND. MARIJUANA LEGISLATION

Indiana's state legislature is currently debating Senate Bill 192 and
reviewing the state's marijuana laws, specifically on criminal law and
procedure.

Senate Bill 192 focuses primarily on marijuana's effect on Indiana's
criminal justice system, whether marijuana should remain illegal in
Indiana, the implementation of medical marijuana and if marijuana does
become legal, how sales and taxation will be handled.

The Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters
administered the study regarding the concerns conferred in the bill.

On Feb. 21, Bloomington's National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws had attorney Steve Dillon and marijuana activist and
nurse Debra Parrish come to discuss SB 192 and why Indiana should pass
the bill, highlighting the issues with Indiana's marijuana laws.

Dillon assisted in creating Indiana NORML in 1974 and is presently the
state coordinator of the organization.

He has fought numerous cases regarding the inefficiencies of marijuana
laws in Indiana.

After graduating from the IU Law School, Dillon decided to focus on
cases protecting people against marijuana laws.

"I believe in liberty and freedom, and I felt that this was the best
way to execute the

Constitution," Dillon said.

Dillon said he believes Indiana should reform marijuana laws because
of the medical benefits of marijuana, the evidence that the government
can't afford the cost of prison systems due to marijuana charges and
the illegitimate procedures for convicting persons of crimes related
to marijuana.

Dillon encountered a specific case in which a woman who has had
multiple sclerosis for 14 years was arrested for using marijuana.

The woman tried marijuana after it was recommended by her son, and she
claimed it was the only medicine that eased her pain and depression
and that it helped save her life.

Similarly, Rep. Tom Knollman, R-Liberty, has testified against
marijuana laws in regard to diseases like MS.

Parrish said when her husband was diagnosed with cancer, he was
prescribed a drug called Marinol that soothes the nausea and vomiting
resulting from chemotherapy.

Parrish also said the active ingredient in Marinol is synthetic
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, an active ingredient in marijuana.

Dillon said legal cases and government considerations to reform
marijuana laws like Indiana's SB 192 are small steps in providing
awareness of medical benefits and glitches in the criminal justice
system regarding marijuana-related crimes.

Dillon said millions of people are arrested for marijuana in Indiana
every year and 90 percent for possession of less than one ounce.

Since 1965, 20 million people in the United States have been arrested
for marijuana, causing more than a trillion dollars in taxes on prison
systems in America.

"The Indiana government knows it can't afford putting prisoners away
for marijuana.

They might not be making changes out of compassion or recreation, but
economics, and that's okay. Whatever works to make a change," Dillon
said.

Along with the high cost of marijuana convictions, Dillon said the
ways in which people are convicted is illegitimate.

Dillon said when people are convicted of driving under the influence
of marijuana, they are tested for carboxy-THC, which can stay in a
person's system for up to three months.

"THC has no relevance to impairment, but this is how they measure it,"
Dillon said.

In regard to the resistance against legalizing marijuana, member of
the board of Indiana NORML and President of Bloomington NORML senior Steve
Templeton said "After the prohibition of marijuana in 1937, the
propaganda against marijuana made it seem much more intense than it
actually is."

Parrish said one of the most important things to do right now is to
educate the community.

"Knowledge without action is plain fantasy. The more you know, the
more you can do. We (activists) need to educate, communicate and
cooperate in order to make a change," Parrish said.