MARIJUANA MARCH

Legalization Activists Plan Worldwide Protests.

"The War on Drugs" should really be called "The War on Some Drugs,"
according to supporters of hemp reform and legalization. Cannabis sativa, a
plant that once budded proudly among America's lush foliage, today is
locked behind bars with the rest of Drug War perpetrators. The opiate and
coca plants are also on the DEA's most wanted list for their psychoactive
properties.

In 1937 marijuana became illegal to grow under an act established by the
Federal Bureau of Narcotics. "But there was never a public vote about it,"
says Jonathan Gustek of the Hemp Education Network, a UO advocacy group.
Gustek is also a musician for The Thirteenth Tribe, which will provide
beats for Eugene's 3rd Annual Peace March Saturday, May 4. Supporters of
industrial and medical marijuana legalization will begin marching at noon
from 24th Street and Amazon Parkway to the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza.

The prohibition of marijuana can be credited to emerging plastic and
chemical corporations, not societal addictions and health problems, Gustek
explains. "Dupont, for example, started creating nylons [fiber] in the
1930's and didn't want the competition," Gustek says. Hemp, the fibrous
stalk of the marijuana plant, is well known for its value in rope, clothes,
paper, plyboard and other building materials.

As supporters often reiterate, 10,000 acres of hemp generates enough paper
and pulp to save 41,000 acres of forest. Even so, the federal government is
not willing to dabble in "narcotics" by permitting industrial production.
Last month the DEA went to the 9th District Court in an attempt to pull all
products made with hemp oils, seeds and fibers from stores. However, the
court ruled against requests to expand the statute on what defines products
containing THC.

The Associated Press also reported that the General Accounting Office
recently looked into the medical marijuana programs in Oregon and three
other states to evaluate potential abuse. A total of nine states have
medical marijuana programs. Oregon state officials were questioned about
the medical marijuana law and the number of patients and doctors involved.
Some medicinal marijuana supporters are concerned that the federal
government's recent visit was an attempt to interfere with states' rights,
as with Attorney General John Ashcroft's battle with Oregon over the
state's assisted-suicide law.

Meanwhile, the federal anti-drug budget has risen to $19 billion and
resulted in 646,000 arrests for simple possession in the year 2000 alone.
And little research seems to indicate that severe drug sanctions leads to a
decrease in abuse among communities.

"The reason why these drugs are illegal is not because of our children,
it's because of the black market." Kris Millegan, a history writer for High
Times magazine says. "It keeps the economy humming."

Millegan suggests taking marijuana out of the black market and creating a
state-regulated legal market, reducing prison populations and creating a
taxable industry to support schools. "We don't need a vice model," he says,
referring of the punitive manner in which law enforcement deals with the
issue. He suggests the plant be made available through state liquor stores
or state-regulated shops.

Others question the feasibility of advertising marijuana in the market.
"Who would the target audience be? How are you going to advertise something
like this?" David Fischer asks, counselor for Addiction Counseling
Education Services, a local private non-profit. ACES provides substance
abuse treatment, of which 40 percent of their clients are struggling with
psychological addiction to THC. Physical withdrawal symptoms are not
common, Fischer says, but he does see prevalent life changes that occur in
individuals as a result of recreational use. People tend to mold their life
around smoking, only engaging in activities that would include getting
high, he says. Smoking becomes a way of coping.

But Fischer doesn't see marijuana as the "gateway" drug, leading to use of
harsher intoxicants, as it is commonly portrayed. "Nicotine is really the
drug that opens that door," Fischer adds. If the prohibition of THC were
really about health, he continues, we would see more drugs off the market.

Protestors in the Million Marijuana March, which spreads over six
continents worldwide, will hit Eugene streets once more to declare the
unconstitutional nature of prohibiting such a calming herbal inebriant.

Two petitions are currently in circulation. "Personal Privacy 2000" would
allow hemp to be grown industrially and accessed only by people 21 and over
who would not be allowed to sell it. Another petition deals with creating
state-licensed dispensaries that would allow more immediate medical
attention for patients seeking the herb. Under this amendment, nurse
practitioners and naturopaths would also have authority to write prescriptions.

Voters passed Oregon's medical Marijuana law in 1998 and new polls show
increasing support of existing laws.

"It's not just about smoking pot," Gustek says." Although, he sees nothing
wrong with it. "It's about citizens' constitutional right to limit
government, not to be limited by government."