Pubdate: Thu, 21 Feb 2002
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento Bee
Contact:  http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Jessica Brice, Associated Press Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

POT EXHIBIT AT SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR GOES BUST UNDER CRUSH OF ATTENTION

Calif. (AP) - A shy seventh grader's hotly disputed medical marijuana 
science fair project wilted Wednesday as she was too embarrassed to 
present her pot-laced products alongside less controversial entries.

The young girl's entry, dubbed "Mary Jane For Pain," met science fair 
guidelines, school officials decided, but the Mission Hill Junior 
High School student opted not to attend the fair and scaled back her 
display.

She refused to be interviewed about her project that originally 
featured literature regarding medical marijuana alongside faux 
pot-laced muffins and real marijuana-infused rubbing alcohol.

The watered-down version of the medical marijuana project, a few 
newspaper clippings of pot club busts fixed to black cardboard, 
failed to place among the finalists at the science fair. The entries 
were judged by scientists from NASA and the University of California.

"Even though she didn't win and she didn't place, she learned more 
out of this project than all the kids at that science fair combined," 
said the girl's aunt, Jackie Fitzhenry.

The muffin never had the real stuff in it anyway, Fitzhenry said. 
"The muffin was yellow cake mix with food coloring," Fitzhenry said, 
who admits to baking the item. But she acknowledged placing a note on 
the muffin that read "This is for exhibition only."

Fitzhenry works at a nonprofit organization that dispenses real 
marijuana muffins and other cannabis-laced goodies to people 
suffering from terminal illnesses.

The community roiled after the girl she brought her display to school 
for approval. School administrators initially sent the pot props back 
to the girl's home and said her medical marijuana display could be 
shown - only without the marijuana.

"She had some good questions," said Mission Hill's principal Cathy 
Stefanki-Iglesias. "The value is in what the student learned from the 
scientific process."

The girl's father, Joe Morris, agreed that his family had indeed 
learned from the experience.

"You know what? Nobody is doing anything wrong here. She came up with 
a hypothesis and a conclusion and, you know what? We learned 
something," Morris said. "Medical marijuana isn't a bunch of people 
sitting around taking payments from the government to smoke 
marijuana."

The girl's schoolmates buzzed around the fair, parents in tow, and 
talked less about the blue ribbon entries and more about medicinal 
marijuana - the sort of attention such an exhibit was designed to 
bring all along.

One mother, Stephanie Raugust, came to the science fair to see her 
13-year-old's entry. Raugust said she didn't have a problem with the 
medicinal marijuana subject matter, but added she didn't think 
"glorifying drug use was the best thing to do."

Eighth-grader Amelia Telt, 13, said she wouldn't be allowed to tackle 
such a thorny issue as medical marijuana for a science project.

"My mom would freak out. She'd probably send me to boot camp," Telt 
said as she circled among the dozens of displays.

The next science project might be different for the girl who worked 
three months researching the benefits of medical marijuana for AIDS 
patients and cancer survivors.

"We're talking about a volcano or something real simple," Fitzhenry said.
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