cannabisnews.com: Pro-Hemp Rally Held Downtown 





Pro-Hemp Rally Held Downtown 
Posted by FoM on May 06, 2001 at 07:48:32 PT
By Paul Clark, Staff Writer
Source: Asheville Citizen-Times
"Hemp, hemp, hooray!" Steve Rasmussen said, warming up the few hundred early gatherers at Saturday’s rally at City-County Plaza in support of industrial hemp and the medical use of marijuana. The rally, Rasmussen told the receptive crowd from a stage more used for bluegrass than psychotropic grass, was one of more than 150 taking place around the world Saturday as part of the "2001 Space Odyssey-Million Marijuana March."
But despite the jokes and pro-pot asides (Rasmussen’s noting that Asheville’s rally was held at "high noon"), the rally participants had some serious messages: If de-controlled, hemp could provide inexpensive food, fuel and fiber to a hungry world. If decriminalized, marijuana could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people with debilitating diseases.And if dropped, Buncombe County’s planned satellite jail wouldn’t be filled with the kinds of people Rasmussen said are marginalized by a society misinformed about marijuana."We know the satellite (jail) will house Black people, hippies and anyone who is a victim of the drug war, which is about everyone," he told the crowd. The rally was sponsored by Community of Compassion, which is trying to get Asheville lawmakers and enforcers to place less emphasis on the enforcement of marijuana laws.Swaying to the reggae and cruising the booths campaigning against the destruction of Southern woodlands were the kinds of people you’d expect at a pro-hemp, pro-marijuana rally. There were plenty of young people with dreadlocks and tie-dye, tattoos and piercings. But also among the sellers of Jamaican regalia and drug paraphernalia were the kinds of people you might be surprised to see at such a rally.People like Travis Stephens.Closely shorn and looking more Marine than marijuana mariner, Stephens signed a petition in support of N.C. Rep. Paul Luebke’s House medical marijuana study bill. An Army veteran, Stephens was there for his sister, who has multiple sclerosis."I just wish there was a way she could get it (marijuana) without feeling like a criminal," the Georgia resident said under a shade tree while one of several bands played on the City-County stage. "It’s the only thing that helps her pain."Stephens actually stumbled upon the rally. He and his wife were in Asheville for the weekend, staying nearby at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, which ironically was hosting a meeting of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on Saturday."Ask those doctors," Stephens, a hemp bracelet around his left ankle, said. "Maybe they’ll tell you it helps with the pain.""There’s no question it’s cruel to deny medicine to sick people," Rasmussen said behind the stage while the bands played. "It’s cruel to jail sick people."Rasmussen said his wife and daughter use marijuana to alleviate the pain they suffer from migraine headaches."I see them lying and screaming on the couch," he said, "and just a few puffs and the migraine is gone."Bill Herring was there for the hemp. Owner of hemp shorts and sandals, he said the super-strong fiber could be an economic boon to farmers who want to get out of tobacco."Hopefully we’ll learn more uses for it if our government will give proponents a chance," Herring, an Asheville resident, said.The rally’s feature speaker was Stephen Gaskin, founder of an intentional community near Summertown, Tenn., called "The Farm." Gaskin, author of "Cannabis Spirituality" and other books, created the community in 1971."More people are killed by prescription drugs than street drugs," he said. The government’s war on drugs "is a big smoke screen."For more information on this topic, visit the following Web sites:Medical Marijuana Research: http://www.maps.org/mmj/Hemp Industries Association: http://www.thehia.org/North American Industrial Hemp Council: http://www.naihc.org/National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: http://www.norml.org/home.shtmlNote: This isn’t your father’s war on drugs. This was more a war on the war on drugs.Source: Asheville Citizen-Times (NC)Author: Paul Clark, Staff WriterPublished: May 6, 2001Copyright: 2001 Asheville Citizen-TimesContact: editor citizen-times.comWebsite: http://www.citizen-times.com/2001: The Space Odysseyhttp://www.2001thespaceodyssey.com/CannabisNews Articles - Million Marijuana Marchhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=mmm
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Comment #1 posted by sm247 on May 06, 2001 at 08:35:49 PT
Good luck
Good luck with your petition. Glad to see events like this. 
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