ACTIVISTS TO SPEAK ON MARIJUANA, HEMP

As somewhat of a preamble for next week's Hempfest celebration on the Quad,
a long-time marijuana and hemp advocate will be at ISU today.

According to Annie Cadmus, chair of the University Forum Committee who is
sponsoring the event, Dana Beal will speak at 6:30 p.m. in CVA Room 147
about a number of hemp-related issues, including the benefits of medical
marijuana and the hemp plant.

"On this campus, people hear the word marijuana and they automatically
associate it with drugs when there are so many benefits of the cannabis
plant," Cadmus said

"He'll touch upon the scientific aspects of the plant, which will hopefully
bring more awareness to the campus," she said.

Cadmus said the points of his speech regarding benefits of marijuana for
cancer patients will be a meaningful segue into the Relay for Life Cancer
Walk, which will be occurring outside on the Quad at the time.

"He's really going to focus on medical marijuana...especially because it's
the day of Relay for Life," Cadmus said. "[We're] bringing a number of
campus events together."

According to Ralph Weisheit, a distinguished professor of criminal justice,
marijuana has immense benefits for cancer patients.

"The DEA and other groups will be quick to tell you that marijuana doesn't
heal anything, and that's true, however it does heal symptoms," he said.

"For people with cancer, AIDS and other illnesses that include wasting away
as part of the illness, marijuana induces hunger and allows them to stay
healthy longer."

He said it can also help with glaucoma because it relieves pressure on the
eye.

Weisheit also said medical marijuana prohibition is peculiar considering the
availability of cocaine and methamphetamines for medical purposes.

Many of these facts will likely be included in Beal's speech, which Cadmus
said will also contain a lot of historical background on marijuana. Cadmus
said Beal's resume as a marijuana advocate stretches back nearly 40 years,
when he joined in with the Youth International Party and helped organize the
first Marijuana Smoke-In in New York City in 1967. She said the group were
"major activists of environmental and political purposes" and also included
famous activists Abbie Hoffman and Paul Krassner. Cadmus said Beal later
began the Ibogaine Project, an organization dedicated to legalizing the
pharmaceutical Ibogaine to help addicts break their addictions more gently.

As part of that project, Beal "worked on separating marijuana from hard
drugs," Cadmus said.

Beal's current activist work includes Cures Not Wars, a group that advocates
utilizing marijuana in conjunction with Ibogaine, as well as medical
marijuana legalization and other drug related issues.

He also continues working with the Yippie! organization, with whom he helped
found the Million Marijuana March, which takes place around the world,
including a branch at ISU.

While Cadmus said she was unsure if Beal was informed of the recent change
in Normal's laws allowing police to simply issue a ticket for marijuana
possession, she said he would likely field questions on the topic.

She said Beal's speech is also sponsored by Mobilizing Activists and
Students for Hemp, which will host their annual Hempfest on the Quad from 11
a.m. to 9 p.m. April 23.