LEGALIZATION FOR MARIJUANA ADVOCATES SPREAD THE SEED

A petition requiring 1,442 John Hancocks is all Jacksonville Beach
citizens need to take a step toward being Florida's first city to
decriminalize marijuana.

Now, an underground movement is working to speed up and spread out
this process all over the nation.

An effort called Spread the Seed encourages the unlimited
distribution of cannabis seeds on public and private land. The
proliferation of weed plants would make it expensive and difficult
for authorities to enforce prohibition, thus speeding up the
legalization of cannabis.

Almost every week without fail, at least one UNF student is caught
with giggle grass, as more young adults are seeing past their
parents' 'Reefer Madness'-like views of cannabis. It is even
considered a rite of passage for many college students, said Ford
Banister, president of Jacksonville's chapter of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a non-profit lobbyist
group since 1972.

"How are you going to regulate something that grows like a weed in
your backyard?" Banister said.

Also known as the Johnny Weedseed Project, Operation Overgrown or
Harry Hempseed, Ryan Tinney, the president of NORML and sophomore
English major, is skeptical of the effects of Spread the Seed.

NORML isn't pushing to completely legalize marijuana across the
board, but to regulate it, similarly to alcohol, Tinney said.
Personally, he doesn't agree with cannabis use for those under 18
years of age. Rose Slater, intervention and HIV counselor for UNF
Health Promotions, remembered movements similar to Spread the Seed
from her college years.

"I don't think the presence of more plants is going to spur any
legislation for marijuana decriminalization," Slater said.

UNF student-offenders are often referred to her office for free and
confidential counseling, which is also available to all students.

"I've heard people talk about [Spread the Seed] in my life," Banister
said, mentioning a specific occurrence in Georgia.

However, he said he can't encourage or endorse it.

After Banister founded Jacksonville's NORML chapter in 2008, a legal
committee was formed, including members of Jacksonville's Office of
the Public Defender, the Florida Bar and a few law students.

Then a petition was created, requiring 1,442 signatures for a
marijuana reform amendment to be put on Jacksonville Beach's election
ballot for Nov. 2010. The deadline for the petition is May 6, and the
signature collection is on time so far, Banister said.

This proposed amendment would reduce greenage possession, of 20 grams
or less, from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction requiring a $100
fine. Florida state law requires up to a year behind bars and $1,000
in fines for those in possession with that amount of pot.

Under the new amendment, police officers would have the option to
enforce either the state or city law. The amendment is required to
have a simple majority vote to pass.

Banister considers more societal harm to come from prohibition of
marijuana rather than actual drug use, listing examples from students
losing scholarships over a bag of Maui Wowie, to deaths caused by
police drug stings gone awry.

"Marijuana is infinitely safer than alcohol in every single possible
way," Banister said.

His reasons included the inability to overdose on Mary Jane, the
disassociation of the drug with violent behavior and the debate of
whether bud dependence even exists.

"A lot of students think [marijuana use] must be safe if everyone is
doing it," Slater said.

Unexpected research suggesting marijuana may protect the brain from
some damage caused by binge drinking was released in a study by the
Neurotoxicology and Teratology journal in July, including researchers
from University of California San Diego.

However, the eradication of cannabis on public lands has increased
since 2004, according to a written assessment in 2008 by the National
Drug Intelligence Center.

UNF's NORML was founded Apr. 20, 2006 and has about 25 students
involved. Members initiated a protest outside of Jacksonville Beach's
City Hall in April concerning the overall prohibition of marijuana
and were joined by Jacksonville's NORML chapter, members of UNF's
College Democrats and Ospreys for Peace.

"I want to encourage the student body to think with an open mind
about marijuana regulation in general," Tinney said.