MARIJUANA ADVOCATES PAN LAWS ON POT

Rally, March Aim at Public Awareness

DAYTON - What do a college student, a candidate for the Ohio House of
Representatives and an Ohio farmer have in common?

They want pot legalized. They came to Dayton on Saturday to make their
case.

The Ohio Cannabis Society organized a rally at Dave Hall Plaza
downtown and a post-rally march to the Montgomery County Courts Building.

John Hartman, director of the Cleveland-based group, said the event
was held, in part, to raise public awareness about the shooting death
of Clayton J. Helriggle in Preble County and show that prohibition of
marijuana is more harmful than the drug itself.

Helriggle, 23, was shot in the chest during a September drug raid by
Preble County authorities at his farmhouse south of West Alexandria.
Officers seized less than an ounce of marijuana, as well as pipes and
target guns owned by Helriggle and his roommates.

Speakers occasionally mentioned the shooting and railed against police
raids. They also criticized anti-drug education programs, exchanged
tips on legally preventing unwanted house and car searches and
encouraged greater participation in organized legalization efforts.

"The more numbers we have, the better it is," said Cher Neufer,
president of the North Ohio chapter of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws and a farmer.

Hartman warned that, statistically, the odds are against marijuana
users avoiding arrest.

"If you haven't been busted, you're going to be busted," he
said.

Signs reading "Stop Terrorizing Us" and "Stay Out of My Home" hung
from canopies. Individuals took the stage to read poetry, sing and
make speeches.

Kenneth B. Schweickart, Democratic candidate in Ohio's 22nd House
District, which includes part of Franklin County, said he supports
full legalization of marijuana.

"There's a lot of merits to marijuana being legalized akin to
alcohol," he said.

If elected, he pledged that he would push only for legalization of
marijuana for medical uses and re-legalization of hemp for certain
commercial uses.

Schweickart said he also wants a review of the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program, an anti-drug program taught in schools by police
officers.

College student Tim Lemmon of Columbus said tobacco and alcohol pose
greater risks than pot.

He advocates making it legal for citizens to grow their own
pot.

"I think the pot laws are ridiculous," he said.