Pubdate: Wed, 02 Sep 2009
Source: Spinnaker, The (University of North Florida, FL Edu)
Copyright: 2009 The Spinnaker
Contact:  http://www.unfspinnaker.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5077
Author: April Schulhauser

LEGALIZATION FOR MARIJUANA ADVOCATES SPREAD THE SEED

A petition requiring 1,442 John Hancocks is all Jacksonville Beach 
citizens need to take a step toward being Florida's first city to 
decriminalize marijuana.

Now, an underground movement is working to speed up and spread out 
this process all over the nation.

An effort called Spread the Seed encourages the unlimited 
distribution of cannabis seeds on public and private land. The 
proliferation of weed plants would make it expensive and difficult 
for authorities to enforce prohibition, thus speeding up the 
legalization of cannabis.

Almost every week without fail, at least one UNF student is caught 
with giggle grass, as more young adults are seeing past their 
parents' 'Reefer Madness'-like views of cannabis. It is even 
considered a rite of passage for many college students, said Ford 
Banister, president of Jacksonville's chapter of the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a non-profit lobbyist 
group since 1972.

"How are you going to regulate something that grows like a weed in 
your backyard?" Banister said.

Also known as the Johnny Weedseed Project, Operation Overgrown or 
Harry Hempseed, Ryan Tinney, the president of NORML and sophomore 
English major, is skeptical of the effects of Spread the Seed.

NORML isn't pushing to completely legalize marijuana across the 
board, but to regulate it, similarly to alcohol, Tinney said. 
Personally, he doesn't agree with cannabis use for those under 18 
years of age. Rose Slater, intervention and HIV counselor for UNF 
Health Promotions, remembered movements similar to Spread the Seed 
from her college years.

"I don't think the presence of more plants is going to spur any 
legislation for marijuana decriminalization," Slater said.

UNF student-offenders are often referred to her office for free and 
confidential counseling, which is also available to all students.

"I've heard people talk about [Spread the Seed] in my life," Banister 
said, mentioning a specific occurrence in Georgia.

However, he said he can't encourage or endorse it.

After Banister founded Jacksonville's NORML chapter in 2008, a legal 
committee was formed, including members of Jacksonville's Office of 
the Public Defender, the Florida Bar and a few law students.

Then a petition was created, requiring 1,442 signatures for a 
marijuana reform amendment to be put on Jacksonville Beach's election 
ballot for Nov. 2010. The deadline for the petition is May 6, and the 
signature collection is on time so far, Banister said.

This proposed amendment would reduce greenage possession, of 20 grams 
or less, from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction requiring a $100 
fine. Florida state law requires up to a year behind bars and $1,000 
in fines for those in possession with that amount of pot.

Under the new amendment, police officers would have the option to 
enforce either the state or city law. The amendment is required to 
have a simple majority vote to pass.

Banister considers more societal harm to come from prohibition of 
marijuana rather than actual drug use, listing examples from students 
losing scholarships over a bag of Maui Wowie, to deaths caused by 
police drug stings gone awry.

"Marijuana is infinitely safer than alcohol in every single possible 
way," Banister said.

His reasons included the inability to overdose on Mary Jane, the 
disassociation of the drug with violent behavior and the debate of 
whether bud dependence even exists.

"A lot of students think [marijuana use] must be safe if everyone is 
doing it," Slater said.

Unexpected research suggesting marijuana may protect the brain from 
some damage caused by binge drinking was released in a study by the 
Neurotoxicology and Teratology journal in July, including researchers 
from University of California San Diego.

However, the eradication of cannabis on public lands has increased 
since 2004, according to a written assessment in 2008 by the National 
Drug Intelligence Center.

UNF's NORML was founded Apr. 20, 2006 and has about 25 students 
involved. Members initiated a protest outside of Jacksonville Beach's 
City Hall in April concerning the overall prohibition of marijuana 
and were joined by Jacksonville's NORML chapter, members of UNF's 
College Democrats and Ospreys for Peace.

"I want to encourage the student body to think with an open mind 
about marijuana regulation in general," Tinney said.