Pubdate: Fri, 28 Oct 2005
Source: Crimson White, The (Edu, Univ of Alabama)
Copyright: 2005 The Crimson White.
Contact:  http://www.cw.ua.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2451
Author: Libby Rogers

MARIJUANA PARTY HEAD SEEKS GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

Students Skeptical About Nall's Chances

Loretta Nall is a 31-year-old wife and mother of two. She's an Alabama
native with a confessed history of drug use.

And now Nall, president of the U.S. Marijuana Party, wants to be
Alabama's governor.

She said she favors prison reform, states' rights, abolition of gun
control and a checkbox-style government along with the obvious drug
policy reform.

Nall said she decided to run in a conservative state such as Alabama
because the state is dying for change.

"Cops are teaching kindergarteners it's alright to pee in a cup on
demand," she said.

Six days after writing a letter to The Birmingham News urging
Alabamians who wanted drug policy reform to join together to enact
change in November 2002, Nall was arrested.

That's when she decided she wanted to have a bigger influence in the
state. At first, Nall said her decision to run for governor was kind
of a joke.

"It was like, 'Gee, I'll run for governor.' Just a remark, you know?,"
she said.

Nall, however, officially declared her candidacy in late September.
She said she has high hopes for the upcoming election. "I'm an eternal
optimist, and I actually think I'll win," Nall said. "Yes, I know
everyone thinks I'm a lunatic."

Nall said college students should be interested in one part of her
platform: working to get rid of a provision of the Higher Education
Act that blocks federal financial aid for students with prior drug
convictions.

"It doesn't make any sense to me to block aid to students with
convictions since higher education is proven to help correct those
that may be on a path toward a life of crime," Nall said. Greg
Ostendorf, a UA freshman majoring in telecommunication and film, said
he thinks it is such issues that make Nall appealing to college students.

"Her running here is going to bring more interest to college-age kids,
and that's been lacking in previous elections," Ostendorf said. "Older
people, though, that have been voting for longer won't take her seriously."

Nall said she has a decent chance in the state because of the
uniqueness of her platform. She said there's a difference between her
platform and Gov. Bob Riley's pushes for a "Biblically-inspired tax
cut" and former Alabama chief justice Roy Moore's push to display the
Ten Commandments in government buildings.

However, Nall said a lot of her platform is actually not that far from
the beaten path followed by many Alabama politicians. "If you pay
attention to what I'm saying my platform is actually equally, if not
more, conservative than the Republicans," Nall said. Some UA students
said they still have a hard time thinking Nall could pull out a win,
however.

Mike Rashid, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said he doubts Nall
stands a legitimate chance in Alabama.

"I'd say it's really good for the state to have more diversity in the
elections, though," Rashid said.

Katie Thompson, a junior majoring in interior design, said she
doesn't think Nall could win, "but anything other than
ultra-conservatives running is great."

Christina McDonald, a freshman majoring in elementary education, said
she hasn't ever heard of the Marijuana Party before, but said Nall's
party didn't really matter to her that much.

"As long as she does what she needs to do for the state of Alabama,
then I'm fine with her," McDonald said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin