BACKERS OF 'POT' TO RALLY IN PARK

Medical Use Focus of Legalization Bid

Rex Petty says it's a shame that "a bunch of old hillbillies" are having to
do what he believes the state Legislature should be doing: working to
legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

So, for anyone who thought the effort died when supporters failed to get
enough signatures on petitions to put the proposal on the Arkansas ballot
in November, Petty says, "The situation ain't going to go away."

Petty, a rock mason from Atkins, and other members of the Arkansas
Marijuana Party are planning a rally on the banks of the Arkansas River at
the Old Post Road Park in Russellville to raise awareness of the issue.

Petty said the party has about 100 members.

There will be bands, speeches and maybe refreshments (of the legal sort)
during a six-hour, free-admission rally starting at 4 p.m. Oct. 23. Petty,
the state party's platform chairman, will play bass when his five-member
band Feedback performs.

The petition drive fell just over 12,000 signatures short of the required
64,456 to qualify for the Nov. 2 ballot.

When so many Arkansans want the law changed, it shouldn't be left to
"hillbillies out in the backwoods of Arkansas," Petty said in an interview
Friday.

He hopes the Legislature "has the good sense to do the right thing" but he
isn't confident, because it "just doesn't have the political guts to do it."

At 47, Petty, who has run unsuccessfully for Congress and justice of the
peace, doesn't pull any punches about his own marijuana use.

"I've been a pot smoker for 30 years," he said.

"I'm a healthy person; I can't claim medical marijuana for myself."

Petty acknowledged his party believes in the full legalization of marijuana
but said the rally, sponsored by the party's Pope County chapter, will
focus on legalization for medical needs.

Larry Page, executive director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council,
called smoking marijuana for medical purposes "an ill-advised medical policy."

"It's not about not wanting people who are suffering to get relief from
pain," Page said.

Rather, he said, it's a medical and law-enforcement issue. A marijuana
cigarette has four times the tar of a traditional cigarette, Page said.
Further, when police arrest people for growing marijuana in California now,
he said, the suspects often claim it's for medical uses even if it's not.

Page noted Marinol, a synthetic form of an ingredient in marijuana, already
is legally available. He contends it provides the same medical benefits as
marijuana -- a view not everyone accepts.

Clinical Preventive Medicine, an American Medical Association book released
this year, says the carcinogens in a marijuana cigarette are much stronger
than those in tobacco.

The AMA's most-recent policy statement on the issue, in 2001, recommends
marijuana remain illegal. The AMA confirmed Friday that it still did not
endorse the use of medical marijuana.

The policy statement, however, supports further well-controlled research to
determine the drug's medical effectiveness and the development of a
smoke-free inhaled delivery system.

Rally organizers have obtained the required special-event permit to have
their event on federal property in Russellville.

"This permit does not mean we endorse the event or its subject matter,"
said P.J. Spaul, spokesman for the Little Rock district of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.

Spaul said rally organizers must ensure participants comply with applicable
laws and regulations. Petty said the party has invited Pope County Sheriff
Jay Winters to monitor the event.

Other conditions include not disturbing other park users with excessively
loud music. Petty said the group also could not "talk politics in the
normal sense" during the rally. Further, "We can't make money."

That said, the party may sell a few T-shirts with its emblem, contact
information and the words "Just Say Know," as in "increase your knowledge"
about medical marijuana. "If we sell enough T-shirts to break even, we'll
be very, very lucky," Petty said.

Petty isn't expecting a huge crowd.

"If we find 100 people who have the guts to show up, we'll be surprised,"
he said. "We know we have support, but you say 'marijuana,' and people duck
under the covers and hide."