cannabisnews.com: Belmont Teen Fights Ban of Her Pot Project Belmont Teen Fights Ban of Her Pot Project Posted by CN Staff on January 29, 2003 at 12:48:16 PT By Renee Koury, Mercury News Source: San Jose Mercury A Belmont teenager refused to back down Tuesday on her fight to get her project on medicinal marijuana entered in the school science fair this week. The Belmont Redwood Shores School District offered a written apology for waiting so long to ban her project and full credit for her work. But 13-year-old Veronica Mouser would have none of it.``I don't agree with them at all,'' she said. ``It seems like bribery to me. They just want to give me the letter of apology and a grade, so this won't get out and so they can keep it closed out. It needs to be open. This is something we need to talk about.'' She vowed to keep fighting unless her ``Mary Jane for Pain'' research project is entered into the science fair that began Tuesday and ends Thursday at Ralston Middle School. Superintendent Anne Campbell did agree to re-evaluate the decision, and asked to view Veronica's 4-foot-high wooden display on medicinal pot, but in the privacy of her office. A decision on whether to reinstate it could come today.``We are learning more and more about what her project says, and we might have a new decision in the morning,'' Assistant Superintendent Marcia Harter said.Veronica's project examines the possible medicinal benefits of marijuana. School principal Deborah Ferguson barred the project Jan. 17, citing concerns that pot is still illegal under federal law even though Californians have sanctioned it for medicinal use.Veronica was showered Tuesday with invitations to talk to local and national media about the rejection of her work. The American Civil Liberties Union rose to her defense.``The school's decision to exclude this project is troubling both in terms of free speech and in terms of the underlying purpose of a science fair, to encourage students to challenge conventional notions by engaging in research,'' staff attorney Ann Brick said in a statement. ``The idea that students cannot report the results of their research because its content is controversial is the antithesis of science.'' The ACLU has decided not to take the case to court, however.Veronica became interested in medicinal weed after watching a close relative wasting away from a gastrointestinal disease. He recovered after he began smoking medicinal pot. She didn't use marijuana herself or give it to any research subjects. Her project display doesn't include any samples of the weed.Instead, she logged the effects of the drug on three medicinal marijuana patients. She also visited a private pot-growing room, toured an Oakland cannabis club and interviewed doctors.She also surveyed students and relatives, and 72 percent said it was easier for teenagers to buy pot than alcohol.Veronica concluded that medicinal marijuana does help relieve pain and nausea for chronically ill and dying patients, but warned that smoke can be hazardous.In addition to concerns about pot's legality, Ferguson rejected Veronica's project saying that it amounted to a research paper and not a scientific experiment. She said hands-on procedures are required for state and county science fairs.But Cliff Gould, a board member for the California State Science Fair, said Veronica's project would be acceptable if it won at the local level and was entered in the statewide fair.``My goodness, it's someone simply talking to people about their contact'' with marijuana, he said. ``Personally I find that terribly innocent. It is not illegal to talk about marijuana, to write a book about marijuana, do a school report about marijuana. And those are the things that she's done. If those are projects the science fair raised to the state level, it might raise some eyebrows but there would be no reason for us to question its acceptability.''Veronica had three medicinal marijuana patients log the effects of the weed for one week and the effects of abstaining for one week. Gould said that aspect might raise the project to the level of scientific research.Her dilemma is strikingly similar to a case last year involving a Santa Cruz County seventh-grader who submitted a science project with the same ``Mary Jane for Pain'' title.The girl included a marijuana-laced muffin and a liquid steeped in pot. The school let her present the report but seized the potent props.Both cases illustrate the wider conflict over marijuana that arose when California voters approved it for medicinal use in 1996 though it is still banned under federal law.In San Mateo County, a huge research project examining pros and cons of medicinal pot is under way, using strict controls to meet federal sanctioning rules.``For my daughter, this is all about what's right and wrong,'' said Veronica's stepfather, Dave Phillips. ``I could support her backing off, but she's firmly entrenched. Her project will be displayed.''Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)Author: Renee Koury, Mercury NewsPublished: Wednesday, January 29, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Jose Mercury NewsContact: letters sjmercury.comWebsite: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmPot Project Pulled - San Jose Mercury Newshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15301.shtmlDoctors Want Better Marijuana for Studyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15272.shtmlMedical Marijuana Exhibit on Displayedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12065.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by pokesmotter on January 29, 2003 at 16:49:27 PT: trainwreck ok i understand now. the main problem is the majority of US citizens have NEVER known anyone that need marijuana for medical uses. Once people experience the love of seeing a loved one benefit from marijuana then the law will change. This little girl could be a key figure in the future. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on January 29, 2003 at 16:42:37 PT: Reprise Had to Share:One of my colleagues came into my office today to discuss this case. He was aghast at how this girl was treated, especially in view of the fact that his 14 year old boy was allowed to present his scientific research on flatulence, at a conservative private Christian school no less, and took third place!The principal told his mom that his project deserved first place, but they didn't have the courage to send him on to the state competition! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by trainwreck on January 29, 2003 at 16:21:30 PT pokesmot What has to happen is for the majority of citizens of the USA to believe it should reclassified, then to organize within the political parties to affect the politicians! Um, in essence democracy.Either that or hire a lobbyist, contribute tons of money to the parties in order to get your guy elected, and wait for a favorable political climate to sneak a provision in to an unrelated bill to reclassify and hope no one notices.Basically polictics as usual. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by pokesmotter on January 29, 2003 at 14:24:13 PT: go girl! I am glad to see her fight this. One thing i was wondering today: What has to happen for cannabis to be reclassified so it can be prescribed legally? Something that isnt happeneing soon though, i am sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by AlvinCool on January 29, 2003 at 14:23:52 PT Another LTE If the number one goal of our government is the protection of it’s residents, then our prison system is a complete and utter failure. You state that no other program has been shown, by solid statistical evidence, to reduce crime and protect society more effective than more prisons and handing down tougher sentences. In a few minutes of searching on the internet I can, and have, proven you wrong. Finland had a prison system that was modeled on the Russian gulag. Finland has a prisoner rate of 52 for every 100,000 while the US has 702 per 100,000. The return rate in Finland is 1 per 10 while ours is 6 in 10.And what you so easily forget is that prisoners getting out of the prisons you seem to love so dearly will move in next to one of us. He will bring the behavior he learned in prison to us. He will not be rehabilitated at all. He will not be ready to re-enter society. His entire incarceration will be a joke and a waste of time. And it will cost us 10 times the price to do this.The only way you can truly believe that more prisons are better is if you personally benefit from them because we, as American taxpayers, do not. If you want to see an article to back up my facts here is one.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70D15FA3B5B0C718CDDA80894DB404482 Longer Sentences a Proven Success [ Post Comment ] Post Comment