Mo. state conference to discuss changes in drug policy

Advocates hope to discuss issues in an unbiased forum.

By Katie Moritz

Published Feb. 20, 2009

MU will be home to the 2009 Missouri NORML/SSDP State Conference Feb. 20-22, where people from across the country will discuss changes in drug policy, especially within Missouri.

Advocates of change believe it to be high time that these issues be discussed in an unbiased forum.

Evan Groll, Students for Sensible Drug Policy president, is one of those advocates for change. Groll hopes to address the injustices going on in the U.S. surrounding drug users.

"People who are interested in the movement are coming from all over the Midwest," Groll said. "We're fighting against the drug war as a whole."

Groll said he advocates decriminalization of drug use, not the legalization of it. Creating new policies concerning drugs would cut down on black market problems, he said.

"Countries like Mexico are in horrible shape because of the black market drug ring," Groll said.

Health risks associated with drug use would also be diminished by decriminalization, Groll said.

Advocating safe drug use would cut down the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C. Groll said those diseases are spread by heroin users who can't buy clean needles and resort to reusing or sharing needles.

Groll is not advocating drugs by advocating laws that allow for safer use to take place, he said.

"Some states, you can't buy a clean needle anywhere," Groll said. "If I hand someone a needle, does that make them more likely to use heroin? Absolutely not. If they are going to do drugs, they should do it safely."

Nick Wulf, vice president of the MU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the current set of laws associated with marijuana is a problem for students.

"The current condition of the law is regressive and not progressive," Wulf said. "It locks people up."

Students' financial aid can be taken away if they are caught with cannabis, Wulf said. Wulf would like to see changes made to the laws to decriminalize cannabis use.

"It should be treated the same way alcohol is treated," Wulf said. "There should be age restrictions on it and regulations."

Groll believes in the idea of what he calls personal sovereignty.

"This means, 'what I put in my body is up to me,'" Groll said. "'The government and nobody else should be able to decide what I put in my body.'"

Kelly Maddy, president and founder of the Joplin NORML chapter, said his goal is to make sure medical patients are free to use prescribed marijuana.

"Seriously ill patients should not be arrested and sent to prison for using marijuana with their doctor's approval," Maddy said. "That is a travesty."

Wulf said the general view of cannabis users skews people's beliefs about drug use in general.

"There's a lot of negative stereotypes and social deviants associated with the word 'drugs,' especially marijuana," Wulf said.

Maddy said that marijuana is the safer alternative to alcohol and tobacco although most would not view it that way.

"The majority of recreational users of marijuana are not criminals and should not be jailed for making the safer choice of marijuana over the two available legal drugs," Maddy said.

Groll said drug prohibition is failing, just as alcohol prohibition failed in the 1920s.

"This isn't right, this isn't working," Groll said.

Maddy said prohibition is the very antithesis of control the government purports it to be.

"Producers and sellers are unlicensed and completely unregulated and taxes are not collected and in turn the profits drive organized crime," he said.

MU NORML president Kellie Smith has been doing behind-the-scenes work for the conference. She said the conference has been the main point of excitement for the organization this year.

"We want to inform the public why we think the war on drugs is doing more harm than good," Smith said. "I hope a lot of people come out."

Groll said he has been working on outreach for this conference.

"I've talked to MU Vampires Club, churches and other organizations that have nothing to do with drug policy," Groll said.

Groll said that to succeed in the goal to get their messages across, the organizers needed to collect many different types of people to reach.

"We want to present scientific data and unbiased information," Groll said.

Maddy hopes for intense discussion at the conference, with contributions from both sides of the issue.

"Attendees should expect rigorous dialogue with all points of view," Maddy said. "This is a public seminar and not a fraternal gathering of activists."

Wulf said he wants people to keep an open mind about those issues.

The organizers of the conference would love for attendees to leave with an open mind and more knowledge than they had before on the subject of the war on drugs.

"Listen to the points of view," he said. "Be able to listen and think rationally about everything."

The discussion begins the conference at 5:30 p.m. today at the Arts and Science Building.