Pubdate: Sat, 23 Jan 2016
Source: Manteca Bulletin (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.mantecabulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3670

POT GROUP WINS FREE SPEECH LAWSUIT AGAINST IOWA STATE

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A federal judge ruled Friday that Iowa State 
University administrators violated the constitutional free speech 
rights of student members of a pro-marijuana group by barring them 
from using the university logos on T-shirts.

U.S. District Judge James Gritzner issued an order granting members 
of the ISU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of 
Marijuana Laws a permanent injunction which means university 
administrators cannot use a trademark policy to prevent the 
organization from printing shirts depicting a marijuana leaf.

"In this case, plaintiffs have shown injuries by demonstrating that 
they were not allowed to produce, wear, and sell their desired 
T-shirts for raising awareness of their cause and that ISU 
administrators put unique burdens on both their and the group's 
political expression," Gritzner wrote.

Students Erin Furleigh and Paul Gerlich, former presidents of the 
group, sued in July 2014 alleging ISU withdrew its approval of one of 
the group's marijuanathemed T- shirts featuring the school's Cy 
mascot under pressure from donors and a group of conservative 
Republican lawmakers.

The school later rewrote its trademark guidelines to bar their logos 
in products that promote illegal drugs.

Although it means the group can design a university T-shirt with the 
marijuana leaf logo, the real victory is much larger, said the 
students' attorney Robert Corn-Revere.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom