European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday .iune30, 1986 the stars and stripes Oregon to vote on legalizing pot passage of measure doubted by All Portland Ore. A in Oregon wire the biggest Cash crop is marijuana and backyard pol polls Aren t unusual voters will decide in the november elec Tion whether to legalize Home grown Polfor personal me. Even the most ardent backers of the initiative Aren t predicting its passage. But they say the election at the least will be a Good measure of Public sentiment on the Issue. No matter what the vote is in is a very historic event in the whole move ment said Kevin Scese. Director of the National organization for the Reform or marijuana caws or Normal. This is the Lime. This is the final stage of the marijuana prohibition  the Washington  organization brought its recent National convention Here to spotlight the Oregon measure. Normal ranks Oregon third in the nation in pot production behind califor Nia and Hawaii. The organization figures the value or the annual Oregon crop tops is billion. Nationwide. Normal said last year s Domestic pot crop of 9 million pounds was Worth $18.6 billion a figure disputed by Law enforcement officials. Backers of the initiative turned in87,000 signature to put it on the nov. 4 general election ballot. It was their second attempt. In 1984, inc proposal is kept off the ballot when election officials said samples showed Here weren t enough valid signatures. The measure facing voters would allow adults to grow marijuana for per Sonal private use the proposal sets no limits on How Many plants could be grown. Delivery and commercial trafficking in marijuana would remain crimes the election will be Only inc second statewide Vole in the nation on marijuana legalization California voters Defeated a legalization measure in 1972. Oregon in 1973, became the tint state to repeal criminal penalises for posses sing less than one ounce of marijuana which now is punishable by a maximum j100 Fine. Normal estimates More than half of the marijuana grown in the United Stales last year was harvested by 2.5 Mil lion personal use growers who planted pot Lor themselves and a few close mends. A University of Minnesota economist reported in april that allowing adult to grow their own marijuana would give significant boost to the Economy in creasing the Gross National product by up to j to billion a year and producing up to 816,000 new jobs. The Leader of the Oregon drive for Manhattan paramedics will use motorized carts to reach victims faster new York not the City will begin using Small motorized cans to squeeze through and around snarled Rush hour traffic in Midtown and lower manhat Tan so that the emergency medical service can reach heart attack victims and other emergency cases More quickly. The enclosed three wheeled vehicles called Cushman carts will be tested in the crowded downtown area during the Liberty weekend Celebration City officials said. Then they will be deployed around Midtown when morning and eve Ning Rush hour traffic often makes Many Cross streets and avenues impassable. At first officials said 10 to 15 Cush mans will be deployed with five or so added later at a Cost of $ 8,000 each. They said new York would be the first City in the country to use the paramedics carts As emergency ambulances. The gasoline powered carts Are similar to those Vised by the police in issuing parking summonses. They Are manufactured by outboard Marine corp of Waukegan. 111. The director of the emergency medi Cal service or. Alexander Kuehl said the carts would also reduce unnecessary ambulance runs which account for 40 percent of emergency Calls by getting la the scene quickly and then signalling on the radio that the victim is not in immediate danger. He said this would prevent an ambulance from gelling tied up in traffic  carts officials said might have saved the life of a transit authority bus Driver who died of a heart attack thurs Day at 42nd Street and the Avenue of the America after an ambulance took 21minutes to respond or 11 minutes longer than the average response time. They said that while traffic congestion was not an immediate Factor in the death of the 53-year-old Driver James Copland the slow response was due to an unusually heavy demand for emergency ambulances at the time the objective is to get a paramedic to a victim As quickly As possible even if i Means having a cart tear Down a sidewalk with its Siren screaming so that a heart can be resuscitated or bleeding stopped. According to emergency medical physicians getting to victims fast often counts More than getting them to a hos Pital quickly. Thus the Cushman. Which seat one person Are not designed to transport patients to the Hospital. The first priority Kuchl said Wilt be to gel to heart attack victims first and Lei the ambulance catch up  the Cushman Are approximately 4 feet wide and thus can be driven Down a Side walk and Between stalled vehicles. They also can negotiate alleys and ramps. Ambulance Crews say the cans will re Lieve Many of the problems of respond ing to emergency Calls in Manhattan. The Crews say the worst spots Are mid town especially during Rush hours near the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens mid town Tunnel and canal Street. Wednes Day Heater matinee crowds create traffic jams that Are the worst in the country City ambulance officials say. Although Kuehl says ambulance response time has dropped to nine minute son Calls involving life threatening emergencies ambulances trying to gel through a Midtown traffic Jam can get stalled for much longer. The stress is incredible shouted James Traunstein an emergency medical technician As he tried to Snake his Way Down ninth Avenue Early wednesday evening on an emergency Call. Although the traffic was not us bad a usual Braunstein was blocked by parked True a Automo bics blocking intersections and Drivers who refused to yield Lothe ambulance s wailing Siren. It s bad enough that we can t get through he said. Bui when driven won t get out of the Way ii drives us  limited legalization of marijuana is John Sajo of Portland a Boyish looking 30 year old who holds a mathematics degree from Portland slate University. Sajo insists that the main goal in t to promote pot use but to rid the books of ineffective Laws that cause the criminal Justice system to waste time and Effort. We re not voting on marijuana we re voting on the marijuana  he said. They be been a total failure. We re Noi trying to encourage the use of marijuana we re trying to encourage democracy an free  Sajo said the Point is nol thai using drugs is Good but thai Ai least in inc Case of marijuana criminal Laws Aren t the answer. We re concerned about drug  he said. We Are As concerned about it As the other  other supporters of the measure say in would just legalize what already is com Mon. Cultivating marijuana now is thoroughly entrenched throughout the United stale said Tom Alexander editor of sin Semilla tips a pot growers Trade journal published in Corvallis. Alexander said High tech systems Are being developed that allow indoor grow ing without soil and about one third of All Domestic marijuana now is raised in doors. In five years outdoor growing will be a Dinosaur unless it s  he says. The Days of Large scale outdoor plantations arc  despite the proponent arguments influential groups arc lining up to Bank the ballot measure. Opponents of the measure say that marijuana is far from harmless and thai even limited legalization would make n hard to control. The ecumenical ministries of Oregon and three other Church related groups have formed a coalition to fight measure1, and they plan to put speakers in thou Sands or churches. Pm ens against marijuana legalisation another organisation formed to de feat inc measure is headed by former reps. Edith Green and Wendell Wyatt. Its ranks include gov. Vic Aliyah and both candidates to succeed him. Norma Paulus and Neil . As Well Assen Mark Hatfield congressmen state legislators and College presidents. We now know that marijuana is harmful. Marijuana leads to harder  inc governor said and he also linked marijuana and other drugs to child abuse and incest. Sajo said he has no illusions about if  Are an underdog and it s an Uphill fight he said. Taking a dip in Tokyo the Rainy season is still continuing in Japan but even Cloud can t put a Damper on summer fun. And about 2,500 schoolgirls took the plunge Sai inlay in the Mammoth Pool of Tokyo s Tosh Maen amusement Park