CANNABASH TAKES ON DISCIPLINARY ACTION AS GOAL

If it were up to the organizers of this year's Cannabash concert, next
year would bring a change to dorm living, where students would not be
kicked out after being caught with marijuana.

The fourth annual Cannabash concert is sponsored by National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and will start at 3 p.m.
Saturday in Matthews Hall, Room 210. The event is free to attendees
and is open to all ages.

This year, one of the goals of the concert will be to try to change
the discipline system in the dorms. The current setup has students
being kicked out of their dorms for using marijuana on the first
offense, but a three-strike rule applies to alcohol.

"We want the same rule that applies to alcohol to apply to pot. Pot is
safer but there are stronger consequences if you get caught using it,"
said Matt Kayser, a senior in the School of Aeronautics and
Astronautics ]and a member of NORML.

Kayser will be speaking at the event about a sister organization
called Safer Alternative for Enjoyabe Recreation. The goal of SAFER is
to let people know why alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana and to
change rules and laws accordingly.

Andy Matternowski, a lawyer and representative of Indiana State NORML,
will be speaking and will inform attendees of their rights and tips
for protecting themselves when dealing with the police.

"We are going to have four bands playing at the concert, and three of
them have Purdue students as some of the members," said Kayser.

One of the bands playing is The Oceanographers. Three of the four
members of the band are Purdue students. The lead singer of the band
is Ross Stackhouse, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts.
Stackhouse said his band plans on playing a mix of both original songs
as well as covers.

"We draw on a lot of different influences. Some of them are Dave
Matthews, Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles and Eric Clapton," said Stackhouse.

The Oceanographers played last Cannabash and Stackhouse said one of
the reasons they decided to come back was because it was such a fun
experience.

"It's a relaxed environment where people can find out a lot about
issues that are more dangerous than pot, but are still legal," said
Stackhouse.

The band plans on staying after their performance to hang out with the
audience and answer questions people may have about them. The four
bands that are performing are The Diggity, The Oceanographers, Lefty
and headlining is The Family Groove Company.