CANNABIS COALITION COMES OUT OF THE SMOKEY SHADOWS

On Saturday, May 3, the Vermont Cannabis Coalition held a rally in
Burlington's Battery Park to protest the prohibition of marijuana.

The event, one of 200 similar protests held around the world on Saturday,
was a part of Cure-not-Wars' annual Million Marijuana March.

The Burlington protest was largely an educational event.

Vermont State Representative Dave Zuckerman, who recently introduced a bill
advocating the legalization of medical marijuana before the Vermont
Legislature, spoke, along with neurologist Dr. Joe McSherry. The 100
participants were encouraged to collect information materials while
listening to the music of the Channel 2 Dub Band.

The Million Marijuana March was started almost 30 years ago by Dana Beal.
Since Beal founded Cures-not-Wars, a New York-based organization, in 1999
the group has assumed sponsorship of the event.

Cures-not-Wars was founded in May 1994 as a grass-roots response, according
to the group's Web site, "to the deteriorating quality of life in America."
In addition to marijuana activism the organization has assumed a strong
stance on many drug-related issues. According to its Web site,
Cures-not-Wars is composed of a "coalition of concerned citizens,
drug-reform activists, health-care and drug-treatment providers, drug users
and social-justice activists committed to direct action to stop the drug
war, whether in small, local protests or in regional or national actions."
The organization provides informational materials on Cures-not-Wars.org and
Million MarijuanaMarch.org designed to unite the efforts of activists
throughout the world.

"The war on drugs," declares Cures-not-Wars, "is public health enemy number
one." The goals of the organization include legalizing possession and
over-the-counter sale of hypodermic syringes to reduce the spread of
infectious disease, funding medical research for non-coercive drug
treatments and separating so-called "soft" and "hard" drugs, while
decriminalizing all personal use.