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St. Cloud State University
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NORML, Red Carpet unite
By Nissa Billmyer
Published:
Thursday, November 7, 2002
Media Credit: Jason Risberg
Angel Samolytz, right, a graduate of SCSU, shakes a maraca while The Stearns County Pachanga Society plays for the crowd during Hemp Harvest Fest Monday night at the Red Carpet.
When most students think of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) they might not associate dozens of bright, intelligent students working together for a cause.
However, that was the case Monday night during the Hemp Harvest Festival. SCSU’s NORML chapter, Devon Evans and Friends, the Stearns county Pachanga Society, DJ Ova and the SCSU Global Dancers together provided students and the public with an opportunity to become better-educated about the rally to legalize hemp and marijuana and its related economic uses.
“We want to educate people for the most part and for people to associate cannabis with a fun experience,” said NORML member Matt Jensen. “Awareness (is) the biggest thing we have to recondition people.”
NORML is the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws that was formed in 1970 and is the oldest and largest national marijuana policy reform group. The goal of NORML is to move the public’s opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that there can be responsible use of cannabis by adults without being subject to penalty.
Marijuana was legal in the U.S. until 1937. Now the NORML chapter of SCSU is fighting to raise awareness concerning the need to reform marijuana laws. They advocate the decriminalization of the use of marijuana for medical, religious and responsible recreational purposes by law-abiding adults.
“(We) definitely want to educate the public, especially that tomorrow is Election Day,” said NORML cofounder LeeAnn Ilminen. “The fastest way to drug reform is through legislation. The Hemp Harvest Festival is to tell people about the difference between hemp and marijuana.”
There are several uses of hemp. The Harvest Festival encouraged was the legal use for farming and economic means. The stems from the hemp plant can be used for fabric, fuel, paper and commercial use. The hemp is dried and broken down into two parts: fibers and pulp. Each of these has its own distinct applications.
The fiber strands are spun into a thread, which is either made into rope or woven into high quality textiles that can be made into clothing, fine linens and fabrics. The pulp, which consists of fragments of dried stalk, which are made of 77 percent cellulose and can be made into tree-free, dioxin-free paper, non-toxic paints and sealants, industrial materials, plastics and other materials. Hemp has also been considered to be the best source of plant pulp for biomass fuel, which can be turned into different fuels including gas, charcoal, methanol, gasoline. It can even be used in the production of electricity.
The seeds can be used for foods and oil. Hemp seeds do contain complete, easily digestible protein that is the highest source of essential fatty acids in the plant kingdom. The roots from the hemp plant anchor and invigorate the soil to help prevent erosion and mudslides.
“South Dakota has hemp issues on their ballot and they’re our neighbors,” Ilminen said.
There are many studies that have been conducted to support the use of marijuana and hemp. A John Hopkins study, published in May of 1999, examined marijuana’s effects on cognition on 1,318 participants over a 15-year period. Researchers reported “no significant difference in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users and nonusers.” (American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 149, No. 9.)
Of course NORML is fighting more than just laws — they are fighting the corporate media’s message.
“As far as corporate media messages, it’s negative,” Jensen said. “It’s crazy. It’s the same idea as the 60s.”
Jensen points out that media texts such as “High Times” and “Hemp Times” portray both stereotypical images and beneficial messages as to the battle over marijuana and hemp.
Music also has different portrayals of marijuana.
“Definitely in the case of Bob Marley and the Wailers as herb was part of their lives,” Ilminen said. “It is about freedom and how we call out freedoms through music. It changes from cultures. Like in the song ‘Because I Got High’ is a bad stereotype of marijuana use.”
Those who attended the festival enjoyed music by DJ Ova and Devon Evans, a former musician for Bob Marley and the Wailers. The music spoke of peace and the educate people on the benefits of legalizing hemp.
“We don’t advise using illegal drugs. That’s one of many assumptions,” Ilminen said. “And that you have to smoke marijuana to be in the group.”
NORML of SCSU is concerned with maintaining their professionalism and breaking the stereotypes associated with the typical marijuana activist. As the Hemp Harvest Festival showed, the education students receive is their ticket to freedom.
“The drug war is a violation of our rights. We should be able to choose what we put into our bodies regardless,” Ilminen said. “Not just smoking marijuana for educational use, we believe we should have the right to so do nonviolently in our homes. It is important for people to come out and say ‘this is my life, not some stereotype.’”
