Pubdate: Sun, 05 May 2002
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sltrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Kevin Cantera

SLC RALLY PROMOTES MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A noisy band of pro-marijuana marchers moved through Salt Lake City on
Saturday with a blunt message -- it's time to legalize medical pot in
Utah.

Marijuana "has the power to make us a more loving and compassionate
society," said California activist Dennis Peron, leading the raucous
and tie-dyed crowd up to the state Capitol, where they rallied on the
Statehouse steps.

About 200 people turned out for the Million Marijuana March, many
sporting green pot leaf stamps on their faces, others carrying signs
with messages like, "Marijuana is good medicine: The only side effect
is happiness."

The group cheered and called out "Smoke weed!" as passing drivers
honked their support.

The march and rally -- one of 185 scheduled to take place around the
world -- was organized by Peron, the self-styled "father of medical
marijuana," along with Utah activists Ken Larsen and Ben Valdez.

Peron, a San Francisco native who led the successful 1996 initiative
drive in California legalizing medical use of cannabis, faces trial in
Cedar City's 5th District Court for possession of marijuana with
intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia. He and two
companions were arrested last year after Cedar City police allegedly
found more than a pound of pot in their motel room and car. Peron, who
carries prescriptions from three California doctors allowing him to
use weed to treat his alcoholism, has vowed to fight the charges.

He hopes Utah will join eight other states, including Nevada and
Colorado, which have put medical marijuana laws on their books. "I am
proud of the people of Utah," he told the cheering group. "We changed
the law of the land in California . . . We can do it here."

Trying to make that possible, Rebecca Vandevener moved through the
crowd, enthusiastically gathering signatures for The Utah Therapeutic
Humane Cannabis Act, a proposed ballot initiative.

"This is for all the people who are suffering," said Vandevener, who
suffers from cancer and says that "marijuana is the only thing that
works."

By smoking marijuana, Vandevener says she is able to counter the
nausea that accompanies her cancer treatment. "It just makes sense. We
can do it in Utah," she said.

And even though Peron himself admits that the group will be unable to
gather the 76,180 signatures needed by June 1 to put the initiative on
this year's ballot, organizers say that their first task is to get the
message to voters.

"If we create a debate, we will win," said John Entwistle, another
California activist who worked with Peron in 1996.

"People in Utah are more networked than we are in California,"
Entwistle said. "A good idea in Utah can spread very quickly."

The most important step is to convince the state's lawmakers that
medical marijuana makes sense, and has the support of many in the
medical community, Entwistle said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake