NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF
MARIJUANA LAWS
1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
SUITE 1010
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
TEL 202-483-5500 * FAX 202-483-0057
E-MAIL natlnorml@aol.com
Internet http://www.norml.org/
... a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana Prohibition.
June 6, 1996
"Cheers" Star
Plants Hemp In Kentucky ... And Pays The Price
Harrelson Hopes To Challenge Federal Law By Act Of Civil
Disobedience
June 1, 1996, Lexington, KY: Hemp
activist and noted Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson was arrested
and charged with cultivation of fewer than five marijuana plants
after he brazenly planted four seeds of industrial hemp in full
view of Lee County Sheriff William Kilburn. The planting
and subsequent arrest are part of an orchestrated protest by
Harrelson to challenge the continued prohibition of industrial
hemp. Harrelson expects to be found guilty of the
misdemeanor charge and intends to appeal because current law
makes no distinction between marijuana and industrial hemp.
"The [law prohibiting hemp cultivation] is overly
broad," explained Burl McCoy, a Lexington attorney who was
on hand to represent the actor. "There is no rational
basis for the statute."
In a June 5 press release, the famed actor of both television and
film explained his actions.
"I am not one to go out of my way to get arrested. But
in this case, I thought it was important for me to take that step
in order to demonstrate the difference between industrial hemp
and marijuana.
"Industrial hemp, like the four certified seeds I planted,
was first grown in Kentucky two hundred and fifty years
ago. It is currently grown in other countries across the
globe, including France, England, Canada, Australia, China,
Hungary, and the Ukraine. Industrial hemp has very little
THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. [Therefore,] it
cannot be used as a drug. None of the countries that allow
industrial hemp production have experienced any problems relating
to the crop.
"Industrial hemp is very clean and easy to grow. It is
one of the most environmentally sound sources of industrial fiber
in the world. ... Environmentally friendly detergents,
plastics, paints, varnishes, cosmetics, and textiles are already
being made from it in Europe. ... Industrial hemp can meet
our fiber needs while also revitalizing our struggling rural
economies.
"Congress never intended to make legitimate industrial hemp
farming the same as marijuana cultivation. I planted
industrial hemp and got arrested because someone must highlight
this difference and in order to truly know the law, one must test
the law. I think it is time for all of us to make a stand
... for environmentally friendly, rural economic
development. If the people lead the leaders will
follow."
Harrelson, who is part owner of The Hempstead Company -- one of
the largest hemp clothing companies in the nation -- notes that
he intends to plant hemp in additional states to further challenge
the laws.
For more information, please contact the office of Simon Halls
@ (212) 957-0707 or the Colorado Hemp Initiative Project (CO-HIP)
@ (303) 784-5632. Press releases regarding Harrelson's
arrest are available on the Internet at The Hempstead Company
website. Their website may be linked from the Hemp
Industries Association homepage @: http://thehia.org/
Majority Of Police Chiefs Admit That War On Drugs Is Unsuccessful
June 1996, Washington, D.C.: Sixty
percent of police chiefs nationwide admit that police and other
law enforcement agencies have been unsuccessful in reducing the
drug problem in the United States and an overwhelming majority
(85 percent) call for major changes in the way America deals with
drug use, according to a joint study conducted by the Police
Foundation and Drug Strategies -- a Washington D.C. based
organization that advocates a more balanced approach to fighting
drugs.
"Police Chiefs want to see a balanced approach," Police
Foundation President Hubert Williams recently told the Law
Enforcement News in response to the report. "They
recognize that a narrow strategy directed down a single corridor
will not work." More than 300 police chiefs from around
the country participated in the study.
The report's key findings are as follows:
* Only 15 percent of the police chiefs polled say punishment
would be more effective than education, interdiction, or
treatment in controlling drug problems; only 10 percent of chiefs
who have served in a narcotics division choose punishment over
the other options.
* Nearly three-fourths say that mandatory minimum sentences for
drug possession have been only somewhat effective or not really
the answer to drug trafficking in their communities; only 21 percent
say mandatory sentences have been very or fairly effective.
* Only 28 percent regard low conviction rates, either for dealers
or users, as key limitations in their ability to deal with drugs
in their communities.
* By two to one, police chiefs say that putting drug users in
court-supervised treatment programs (59 percent) is more
effective than prison or jail time (28 percent).
* Only three percent believe that current efforts by law
enforcement have been very successful in reducing the drug
problem in the United States.
"The findings of the Police Foundation and Drug Strategies
demonstrate that the majority of our nation's police chiefs who
are on the front lines of the 'War on Drugs' do not favor the
'get-tough' approaches against drug users that are so often
heralded by our political leaders and supported by the American
public," said NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre.
For more information, please contact Drug Strategies @ (202)
663-6090.
Small Town Mayor Claims She Was Unaware That Growing Marijuana Was Illegal
May 29, 1996, Copperhill, TN:
Copperhill Mayor Janelle Kimsey admits that she grew marijuana,
but argues that she was unaware that growing marijuana for
"educational purposes" was illegal. The
rural-town mayor was recently found growing ten marijuana plants
on her porch and may be indicted on charges of marijuana
cultivation.
"There may be a perfectly good explanation for this, but at
this point we haven't found it," stated Polk County Sheriff
Bill Davis.
In her defense, the two-term mayor claims she was guilty of
nothing more than ignorance. "We made a drug bust a
couple of months ago, and the citizens wanted to know what
[marijuana] looked like," said the mayor, adding that she
planned to take the full grown plants to the police department to
be used as a display. "I didn't know it was illegal to
grow it for educational purposes."
Kimsey also maintains that she intended to use the plants to
train the city's drug sniffing dog to sniff out cannabis.
When asked why she was growing so many plants, the mayor
responded that she thought several plants were needed so that she
could choose the best quality.
"I know ignorance is no excuse, but in my case, it was
ignorance," she remarked.
Although Kimsey has not been arrested, her case will be taken
before the Polk County grand jury on July 1. The 10
marijuana plants were confiscated by police.
Charges Dropped Against California Medical Marijuana User
June 5, 1996, Toulomne County, CA:
Marijuana possession charges were dropped yesterday against
Barbara Sloniker, a cancer patient who uses cannabis medicinally
to ease her pain. "The six-month battle was hurtful
and draining at times ... but I am not angry at anyone,"
says Sloniker, who was informed in 1994 that she had at best a 20
percent chance of living through the chemotherapy and radiation
treatments. "Anger would kill me."
An activist as well as a patient, Sloniker intends to spend the
summer educating California voters about the need for medical
marijuana and encouraging citizens to vote "yes" this
November for an initiative to allow patients to use marijuana as
a medicine without fear of repercussion from law
enforcement. "All of us who can need to speak up
now," she said.
-END-
MORE THAN 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 ... ANOTHER EVERY 65 SECONDS!