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Eugene mayor plans appearance at pot rally
Friday, May 01, 2009 | No comments posted.
EUGENE(AP) - Mayor Kitty Piercy has set pro-pot Web sites buzzing with her decision to attend the Global Marijuana March rally here this Saturday.
Piercy will issue a formal declaration marking April 30 through May 6 as "Medical Marijuana Awareness Week."
"Eugene has always been a place for - for lack of a better word - marijuana enlightenment," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws based in Washington, D.C. "But for a sitting mayor to come out and be this public about it is really rare."
The mayor's appearance at the rally is hardly an endorsement of legalizing marijuana, however.
"I'm not weighing in on that, and this is not me leading any cause," Piercy told The Register-Guard newspaper. "But I'm more than willing to state my support for the legal, medical use of marijuana."
It was local medical marijuana patient Jim Grieg who persuaded Piercy to issue the proclamation. Grieg, who serves on the board of directors for the local chapter of the marijuana reform group, was able to get Piercy to declare a "Medical Marijuana Awareness Day" for Eugene back in 2007. Getting her to endorse a week wasn't too much of a stretch.
"It didn't take a whole lot of convincing," Grieg said. "I think she's really shown some leadership qualities by doing this."
Grieg, 57, is one of about 21,000 people in Oregon who can legally use medicinal marijuana. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and uses a wheelchair. Oregon and 12 other states allow people to possess, use and grow marijuana if their doctor recommends it for debilitating symptoms.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners declined to follow Piercy's lead in attending the rally, Grieg said. "It's an issue they didn't want to get into."
For Piercy, however, that issue is somewhat personal. She has a friend who uses medical marijuana to help relieve symptoms of ovarian cancer. She realizes some people might not like her public stance on the matter. But, she said, "just because there are differing opinions doesn't mean you should run away from something you support."
The rally in Eugene is one of more than 250 planned in cities around the world.
Piercy will issue a formal declaration marking April 30 through May 6 as "Medical Marijuana Awareness Week."
"Eugene has always been a place for - for lack of a better word - marijuana enlightenment," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws based in Washington, D.C. "But for a sitting mayor to come out and be this public about it is really rare."
The mayor's appearance at the rally is hardly an endorsement of legalizing marijuana, however.
"I'm not weighing in on that, and this is not me leading any cause," Piercy told The Register-Guard newspaper. "But I'm more than willing to state my support for the legal, medical use of marijuana."
It was local medical marijuana patient Jim Grieg who persuaded Piercy to issue the proclamation. Grieg, who serves on the board of directors for the local chapter of the marijuana reform group, was able to get Piercy to declare a "Medical Marijuana Awareness Day" for Eugene back in 2007. Getting her to endorse a week wasn't too much of a stretch.
"It didn't take a whole lot of convincing," Grieg said. "I think she's really shown some leadership qualities by doing this."
Grieg, 57, is one of about 21,000 people in Oregon who can legally use medicinal marijuana. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and uses a wheelchair. Oregon and 12 other states allow people to possess, use and grow marijuana if their doctor recommends it for debilitating symptoms.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners declined to follow Piercy's lead in attending the rally, Grieg said. "It's an issue they didn't want to get into."
For Piercy, however, that issue is somewhat personal. She has a friend who uses medical marijuana to help relieve symptoms of ovarian cancer. She realizes some people might not like her public stance on the matter. But, she said, "just because there are differing opinions doesn't mean you should run away from something you support."
The rally in Eugene is one of more than 250 planned in cities around the world.
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