VOL. XVII, NO. 9

The marijuana movement seems to be rapidly increasing in our school and also outside of school. Many authorities seem to feel this will be the year in which many or all states will decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Since there are thirteen million regular smokers and several million others who try it occasionally, this news must come as a welcome surprise.

Lately marijuana busts haven't been too newsworthy, but almost a half‑million people are still arrested every year for possession. The Illinois law for possession of 10 to 20 grams of marijuana is a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine; this is for the first offense.

An association which calls itself NORML or the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is working for complete legalization. This group ran a poll on the public's opinion of legalizing marijuana. Fifty‑three per cent thought possession should be punished by probation, a small fine, or no penalty at all. Thirty‑four per cent thought smokers should be hospitalized and only 10 per cent recommended jail.

This association plans to take its case to each state and then to the Supreme Court. It is also going to make marijuana an issue in the 1976 election by getting each candidate to take a stand. They figure that any party which ignores this issue will be neglecting a large part of its constituency.

One argument they plan to bring up is the case of President Ford's son, Jack Ford, who smoked marijuana illegally, but was not sent to jail.

Some medical evidence is also becoming hard to rationalize, especially when some doctors claim that marijuana can cause brain damage, and later it is found out that they're giving the monkeys, being tested, the equivalent of between 200 and 240 joints a day.

It's becoming quite difficult to try to determine who's committing the injustice - the smoker or the laws forbidding that person to smoke.