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Hempfest took place Wednesday, and several students let their voices be heard about marijuana legalization.
Students lined up to sign the petition for Just Say Now, a campaign against marijuana prohibition. The campaign's purpose is to show the "higher-ups" that there are a lot of voices that support marijuana legalization and to educate people on the benefits of legalization. The message was spread in large part by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a student group dedicated to fighting the war on drugs.
"If you ever heard of the D.A.R.E program, they always promoted 'Just Say No' back in the '80s. Well, we're promoting Just Say Now, which is to legalize marijuana now," said Samir Suthar, a junior in theater studies and member of SSDP.
Just Say Now is SSDP's way to put a foot down on marijuana prohibition, said Nicole Murphy, a senior in history and vender coordinator for Hempfest.
"This prohibition is ridiculous,
she said. "We're students, and we can stand up, and we have the right to say what we believe in."
It would be nice to have marijuana available agriculturally, medicinally and recreationally, Suthar said. Many of the materials used in the older times were made of hemp-like the Declaration of Independence, he said. Abraham Lincoln lit his reading lamps with hemp oil, and Francis Scott Key wrote part of the "Star Spangled Banner" on a hemp envelope, he said.
Hemp is a seed of the plant Cannabis sativa. It has been cultivated worldwide for more than 10,000 years and provides raw materials for food and fiber, according to a Hemp History Week brochure. It was banned in 1957 for confusion with the drug variety of the plant-hemp plants contain zero percent tetrahdrocannabinol, the primary ingredient for marijuana.
Hemp is also used in auto parts and foods, said Stephanie Smith, a senior in political science and a member of SSDP.
California will vote on Proposition 19 on Nov. 2, which would give marijuana a similar legal status to alcohol or tobacco. If passed, the ruling would legalize the sale of marijuana to any individual, and the drug could be smoked as long as it wasn't in public, much like the open-container laws with alcohol.
"If California passes this, we would likely see Washington and Oregon follow quickly, and then Colorado and maybe Texas," Suthar said.
U students understand the majority of Utah is conservative, making such a feat difficult.
"Utah will definitely be the last of the Western states to legalize marijuana," Smith said.
Zachery Cox, a senior in anthropology and treasurer for SSDP, believes marijuana should be legalized.
"The prohibition of marijuana is doing more harm than it is doing good," Cox said.
The United States spends $20 billion each year to fight the war on drugs, and the people involved with drug cartels are making more than $70 billion a year, Cox said.
"I believe everyone should be able to smoke marijuana because it has almost no negative effects that are drastic," said Dylan Weight, a freshman in chemistry who signed the petition. "I want to support anything that helps legalize the drug."
It's important for people to understand both sides of the fight, Suthar said.
"It'll be very hard to legalize marijuana with a Mormon majority population, but we just need to keep on advertising its benefits," Weight said. "Weed should be legalized so I could smoke it every day."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:dailyutahchronicle.com
Author: Josh Bennett
Contact: " + artTitle.replace("-","") + " - " + "The Daily Utah Chronicle" + "
Copyright: 2010 dailyutahchronicle.com
Website:The Daily Utah Chronicle
Students lined up to sign the petition for Just Say Now, a campaign against marijuana prohibition. The campaign's purpose is to show the "higher-ups" that there are a lot of voices that support marijuana legalization and to educate people on the benefits of legalization. The message was spread in large part by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a student group dedicated to fighting the war on drugs.
"If you ever heard of the D.A.R.E program, they always promoted 'Just Say No' back in the '80s. Well, we're promoting Just Say Now, which is to legalize marijuana now," said Samir Suthar, a junior in theater studies and member of SSDP.
Just Say Now is SSDP's way to put a foot down on marijuana prohibition, said Nicole Murphy, a senior in history and vender coordinator for Hempfest.
"This prohibition is ridiculous,
she said. "We're students, and we can stand up, and we have the right to say what we believe in."
It would be nice to have marijuana available agriculturally, medicinally and recreationally, Suthar said. Many of the materials used in the older times were made of hemp-like the Declaration of Independence, he said. Abraham Lincoln lit his reading lamps with hemp oil, and Francis Scott Key wrote part of the "Star Spangled Banner" on a hemp envelope, he said.
Hemp is a seed of the plant Cannabis sativa. It has been cultivated worldwide for more than 10,000 years and provides raw materials for food and fiber, according to a Hemp History Week brochure. It was banned in 1957 for confusion with the drug variety of the plant-hemp plants contain zero percent tetrahdrocannabinol, the primary ingredient for marijuana.
Hemp is also used in auto parts and foods, said Stephanie Smith, a senior in political science and a member of SSDP.
California will vote on Proposition 19 on Nov. 2, which would give marijuana a similar legal status to alcohol or tobacco. If passed, the ruling would legalize the sale of marijuana to any individual, and the drug could be smoked as long as it wasn't in public, much like the open-container laws with alcohol.
"If California passes this, we would likely see Washington and Oregon follow quickly, and then Colorado and maybe Texas," Suthar said.
U students understand the majority of Utah is conservative, making such a feat difficult.
"Utah will definitely be the last of the Western states to legalize marijuana," Smith said.
Zachery Cox, a senior in anthropology and treasurer for SSDP, believes marijuana should be legalized.
"The prohibition of marijuana is doing more harm than it is doing good," Cox said.
The United States spends $20 billion each year to fight the war on drugs, and the people involved with drug cartels are making more than $70 billion a year, Cox said.
"I believe everyone should be able to smoke marijuana because it has almost no negative effects that are drastic," said Dylan Weight, a freshman in chemistry who signed the petition. "I want to support anything that helps legalize the drug."
It's important for people to understand both sides of the fight, Suthar said.
"It'll be very hard to legalize marijuana with a Mormon majority population, but we just need to keep on advertising its benefits," Weight said. "Weed should be legalized so I could smoke it every day."
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:dailyutahchronicle.com
Author: Josh Bennett
Contact: " + artTitle.replace("-","") + " - " + "The Daily Utah Chronicle" + "
Copyright: 2010 dailyutahchronicle.com
Website:The Daily Utah Chronicle
