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Fredericksburg resident among those rallying for reform of marijuana laws. Date published: 4/27/2004
Tom Aylesworth said the stupidest thing he ever did was also the most cathartic.
It was five years ago, and a casual friend had gone to Southeast D.C. to buy a small amount of marijuana. Dana Griffin got caught between rival gang gunfire, and a shotgun blast left him dead. Aylesworth was outraged. "I was like, 'This is friggin' ridiculous!' He was going to buy some pot and got shot in the chest and died." The next day, Aylesworth decided to "come out of the closet," a phrase he uses to equate private drug-users with homosexuals who go public. He fired off an e-mail to everyone in his address book: his parents, his in-laws, his friends, his co-workers. The marijuana laws are unjust, and "by the way, I've been smoking pot since I was 15," he wrote. "It was cathartic," said Aylesworth, 36, of Fredericksburg. "And I was just tired of hiding it." Besides sending the e-mail, Aylesworth called up the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He volunteered to run the group's Web site. No longer NORML’s Webmaster, Aylesworth nonetheless was among a couple of hundred folks who turned out for the group’s national conference in Washington over the weekend. To be fair, plenty of groups highlight what they say are the harmful effects of marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, for instance, notes that smoking pot may lead to decreased memory and slower learning; increase a smoker's risk of a heart attack; lead to respiratory illness; and reduce the user's immune system, among other side affects. Not surprisingly, those at the NORML conference came with very different views. The gathering included about 15 wheel-chair bound folks who want to legalize marijuana to ease their medical conditions; dozens of college students, including a busload of 40 who came up from six Florida schools; dozens more older recreational users; and a smattering of civil libertarians who believe banning pot violates Americans’ constitutional rights. Each group hopes to benefit from the other. "The medicinal issue is going to be the wedge issue," said Robert Ablon, 34, of Oakland, Calif. He, himself, is a recreational user. "We’re going to force you to arrest cancer patients."
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