Pubdate: Wed, 07 May 2003
Source: Middlebury Campus, The (VT Edu)
Copyright: 2003 The Middlebury Campus
Contact: http://www.middleburycampus.com/main.cfm?include=submit
Website: http://www.middleburycampus.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2813
Author:  Megan O'Keefe

CANNABIS COALITION COMES OUT OF THE SMOKEY SHADOWS

On Saturday, May 3, the Vermont Cannabis Coalition held a rally in 
Burlington's Battery Park to protest the prohibition of marijuana.

The event, one of 200 similar protests held around the world on Saturday, 
was a part of Cure-not-Wars' annual Million Marijuana March.

The Burlington protest was largely an educational event.

Vermont State Representative Dave Zuckerman, who recently introduced a bill 
advocating the legalization of medical marijuana before the Vermont 
Legislature, spoke, along with neurologist Dr. Joe McSherry. The 100 
participants were encouraged to collect information materials while 
listening to the music of the Channel 2 Dub Band.

The Million Marijuana March was started almost 30 years ago by Dana Beal. 
Since Beal founded Cures-not-Wars, a New York-based organization, in 1999 
the group has assumed sponsorship of the event.

Cures-not-Wars was founded in May 1994 as a grass-roots response, according 
to the group's Web site, "to the deteriorating quality of life in America." 
In addition to marijuana activism the organization has assumed a strong 
stance on many drug-related issues. According to its Web site, 
Cures-not-Wars is composed of a "coalition of concerned citizens, 
drug-reform activists, health-care and drug-treatment providers, drug users 
and social-justice activists committed to direct action to stop the drug 
war, whether in small, local protests or in regional or national actions." 
The organization provides informational materials on Cures-not-Wars.org and 
Million MarijuanaMarch.org designed to unite the efforts of activists 
throughout the world.

"The war on drugs," declares Cures-not-Wars, "is public health enemy number 
one." The goals of the organization include legalizing possession and 
over-the-counter sale of hypodermic syringes to reduce the spread of 
infectious disease, funding medical research for non-coercive drug 
treatments and separating so-called "soft" and "hard" drugs, while 
decriminalizing all personal use.
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