EUGENEANS MARCH IN WORLDWIDE RALLY FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

"We're here, we're high. Get used to it!"

About 125 people gathered at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in downtown
Eugene on Saturday in a show of solidarity with marchers in Berlin, Osaka,
Perth and other cities across the world for the Global Marijuana March. The
event advocates the legalization of marijuana. Eugene was one of three
cities in Oregon and 184 cities in the world to participate in the march.
The event is in its 16th year, though Eugene has held a march for only six
years.

Dan Koozer, one of the local march's organizers, said not all supporters
advocate for across-the-board legalization.

"Some people in the movement believe in the medical use but don't want it
legalized (for other purposes)," he said.

Koozer said the drug was made illegal in 1937 and has been stigmatized ever
since.

"It's been in history for thousands of years but in 1937, it was made
illegal and demonized mainly by the government," he said. "It's a plant and
it's natural. (Marijuana) has been used for 3,000 years as a medicine."

Marijuana can be used to treat a wide variety of symptoms and ailments,
Koozer added. "One of the main ones is that it helps reduce nausea from
chemotherapy and it also helps stimulate the appetite," he said.

The march proceeded around the Eugene Saturday Market and the Eugene
Federal Courthouse before concluding at Skinner's Butte with a barbecue.