UA students, march in support of legalizing pot

Jennifer Menditch Arizona Daily Wildcat Tucson's first Million Marijuana March, a University of Arizona student-organized event, began Saturday as protesters marched downtown in support of marijuana legalization. About 60 people held signs and marched from the UA Mall to Congress Street before returning to campus.

About 60 University of Arizona students and community members marched downtown from the UA Mall Saturday, chanting and carrying signs to support marijuana legalization.

The event was sponsored by the UA Libertarian Students, an Associated Students-sponsored club that is not affiliated with the Libertarian Party.

For Kirsten Tynan, a non-degree seeking graduate student and group member, the issue is about civil liberties.

"You have a right to live your life as you choose, so long as you don't interfere with anyone else's," she said.

The march was part of a worldwide event that took place in more than 20 cities across the U.S. and several other countries, according to the event's official Web site. No uniformed police officers were monitoring the Tucson affair, although some protesters said they suspected undercover officers may have been present.

Tynan said she hopes the marches will help educate the public about the harmlessness of marijuana.

"We believe in educating ourselves as well as other people," she said.

Arizonans have twice supported referendums supporting medical marijuana, but state legislators have ignored the results, said Travis Klein, an economics sophomore and Libertarian Students member .

"Cultural change has to precede legal change. If the public is against you, you can't push it through," he said. "If you're not hurting anybody why should we throw you in jail? People don't think our jails should be filled with people who smoked a joint while rapists go free because there's no room."

Links between marijuana use and crime are greatly exaggerated, and are mostly due to the drug's prohibition, he said.

"You don't see people shooting each other over a pack of cigarettes or alcohol very often," he said. "That's because you can go out and buy it."

Klein added that a "scare culture" about drugs should be eliminated from society.

Chuck Aubrey marched because he has a personal stake in the medical marijuana debate.

Aubrey suffers from asthma, and does not like the side effects such as temper flares and nosebleeds that can result from prescription medication, he said.

Desperate for relief, he flew to the Netherlands to get a prescription for medical marijuana, he said.

While he worries about arrest in this country, he said that marijuana alleviates his asthma without side effects.

Marijuana reduces stress, a major cause of asthma attacks, Aubrey said. It also acts as a bronchial dilator, opening up clogged lungs, he added.

Mark Murphy, a specialist at Arizona's Poison Control Center, said Aubrey could experience those side effects from his medication.

But Murphy warned that marijuana has its share of drawbacks, including a high tar content.

"The smoking part is the one that could be the biggest problem," he said. "He's ignoring the fact that smoke is an irritant. A lot of health care professionals have a problem with it for medical use."

The marchers gathered on the UA Mall early Saturday morning and listened to several speakers who criticized the government's stance on marijuana use.

One of the speakers was Dave Croteau, who is gathering signatures to get on the ballot as the Green Party mayoral candidate next year.

Croteau said he will "prioritize our police resources" if he is elected in November.

"Crimes of person and property, such as assaults and thefts, should take a higher priority," he said. "It's a waste of resources to prosecute and criminalize a plant that anyone can grow in their backyard."

But university police Chief Harry Hueston II said his department will continue making arrests for marijuana sale and possession despite the protesters' views.

"It's an illegal act and it's dealt with appropriately," he said.

The demonstrators marched to Congress Street and back to campus, chanting "education not incarceration" and "hemp, hemp, hooray."

Drivers honked their horns and waved while pedestrians smiled and shouted encouragement.

Tynan said she was satisfied with the results and was already planning for the future.

"We had a lot of good response and support," she said. "I think we are probably going to do it again considering the turnout."