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page 6
daily nebraskao
monday, february 13, 1978
i
Meeting presents
NORML, negatiye views on marijuana4
By Kate Gaul
The National Organization foT Reform
of Marijuana Laws is out to prove that
marijuana users are normal, average people
and not long-haired drug addicts they say
the media has portrayed them to be.
Part of that information drive was a
Midwest regional symposium last weekend
in Omaha. Doctors, lawyers and legislators
spoke on both sides of the marijuana issue.
Twelve states and nearly 100 persons par
ticipated in the symposium.
"Marijuana is a relatively harmless recre
ational drug," said Keith Stroup, execu
tive director of NORML.
NORML wants to provide role models
to show the public that one can smoke
marijuana and be a good citizen, Stroup
said.
Stroup, an attorney, said the organiza
tion was founded in 1970 as a direct result
of the consumer movement. In 1968,
when he was graduated from law school,
the country was in turmoil from the Viet
nam War, Stroup said. Ralph Nader taught
that the public has a voice in how products
affect consumer's lives.
Inspired by Nader, Stroup founded
NORML, believing that "the individual can
have an impact," he said.
NORML is a national organization
which lobbies for marijuana decriminali
zation and distributes information about
marijuana.
Dorothy Whipple, a pediatrician and
professor at Georgetown University, said
marijuana probably is relatively safe.
Whipple, author of . the Grass
Greener?, cautioned that mairjuana
should not be smoked while driving or by
women in the early stages of pregnancy. At
one time, marijuana was thought to cause
aggression in smokers. More recently, it
was thought to cause laziness, she said.
Whipple said marijuana "offers a good
deal of promise" in treating glaucoma,
bronchitis and nausea for cancer patients
undergoing chemotherapy.
Dr. Charles Levie, a psychiatrist and as
sistant professor at the University of Ne
braska Medical Center, said marijuana
"needs to be out of the killer weeds cate
gory and back into the medical field."
Detective Ralph Hitchins from the nar
cotics division of the Minneapolis Police
Department, disputed the statement that
decriminalization would save money in
the court system.
He also said decriminalization laws
foster a "disrepect for the law."
However, Richard Woods, an adviser in
the Denver district attorney's office, said
he believes excessive marijuana penalties
would increase disrespect for the law.
State Sen. Patrick Venditte of Omaha
said he believes it would be a "grave mis
take" to lessen marijuana penalties in
Nebraska.
He noted two major problems, the
"widespread lack of knowledge" about
marijuana and the "acceptance that it is
innocuous."
Venditte said marijuana "must be
presumed harmful until proven innocent."
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However, Bill Craven, Kansas State
NORML coordinator, noted "it is, not the
pot that is Locked up, it is people and
pedple are presumed innocent until proven
guilty."
State Sen. John DeCamp of Neligh said
his overall goal in introducing legislation to
decriminalize marijuana in Nebraska is "ef
fective law enforcement."
Judd Golden, attorney and Iowa
NORML coordinator, said educating the
public , is a matter of "consciousness rais
ing." He said the current consciousness for
mulating attitudes on marijuana is based
on the information disseminated in the
1930s when such movies t Marijuana: The,
Assassin of Youth were made. .
It
Golden said marijuana legalization has a
strong conservative appeal once the myths
are exploded, because it is a matter of in
dividual rights and a conservative battle
cry. Stroup said marijuana users are 'not
asking for any more rights than drinkers
or tobacco smokers have, J. , ; ;v
Legalizing marijuana does hot mean an
individual would be free to abuse civil
rights and infringe upon others, Stroup
said.
DDdDN'TT
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Valentine's
Dav is
Tuesday, Feb. 14
nx .ii t .a
2 . ! T 'ki Davis
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