REEFER RALLY SET FOR NEXT WEEK

Although international weed day, April 20, was last week, several Columbia
groups are waiting until May 3 to hold a rally for pot.

This is the third year the marijuana law reform rally has taken place, and
the first time it will be held in Columbia. For the past two years, the
local rally was held on the lawn of the Capitol in Jefferson City.

The rally will take place in Peace Park from noon to 6 p.m. The event is
sponsored by the MU chapter of the National Organization for the
Reformation of Marijuana Laws, MU Law School chapter of ACLU and Students
for Sensible Drug Policy.

The rally is less of a political event and more of an opportunity for
people to get together and listen to local music and hang out, MU NORML
member Sarah Duff said. She said the groups moved it to Columbia in hopes
of attracting a larger crowd than in Jefferson City.

"We thought it would be a good place for support because of the marijuana
initiative," Duff said.

Dan Viets, state coordinator of Missouri NORML, said he is unsure what the
size of this year's rally will be with the new location.

"In previous years, the event has drawn a few hundred people throughout the
day," Viets said.

The rally will be just one of hundreds of rallies occurring worldwide
throughout the weekend.

"There will be about 150 rallies going on in the country," said Kris Krane,
spokesman for the NORML Foundation. "It depends on the city, but most will
have music and speakers."

The rally isn't a protest, but just an event to increase people's
awareness, Krane said.

"We usually get decent media coverage, especially local media, which helps
a lot," Krane said.

A similar event held in April in Ann Arbor, Mich., called the Hash Bash,
attracted about 50,000 people on the University of Michigan campus this year.

"It is a smoke-in where smoking marijuana is encouraged," Hash Bash
organizer Adam Brook said.

In Michigan, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in the city is
considered a civil infraction with a $25 fine, Brook said.

"We don't get much media coverage because the more media coverage, the
bigger the crowds," he said.

Marijuana use is discouraged at the rally in Columbia, Viets said.

"We are actively discouraging drug use at the rally," he said. "We don't
want anyone breaking the laws, that is not the purpose of the rally."