Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993 TAG: 9311280016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: BURKEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
It's because of marijuana, although no one has proposed growing it along the roadway for greenery. Rather, the Virginia Friends of Hemp want to join the ranks of Lions clubs, Boy Scout troops and Sunday school classes by adopting a state highway. They've even picked one out, and it happens to be a main drag through Burkeville.
In return for keeping Virginia 621 clear of trash, the group, which advocates legalization of marijuana, would have its name splashed on an official sign as public appreciation of its civic-mindedness.
Some in this hamlet of 535 residents, about 15 miles east of Farmville on U.S. 460, don't think that's where the Virginia Adopt-a-Highway program should be headed.
But what started as a cheap way to maintain many of the state's roads now faces First Amendment considerations. Virginia, like other states with similar cleanup programs, has grudgingly acknowledged that the constitutional right of freedom of speech means controversial groups such as the Friends of Hemp can join up and be thanked with a sign.
A gay group in Hampton Roads is tending a road in front of the Christian Broadcasting Network. Its sign has been vandalized several times, state officials said.
After a court battle in Arkansas, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan recently were awarded a mile of highway, but not the busy stretch they originally sought. NORML, another group that favors legalizing marijuana, also maintains a road there.
Such groups often admit that they are participating for publicity or an image boost. "We wanted to let people know we were solid citizens," said Sandra Hayer, president of Virginia Friends of Hemp. "Our second thought was there might be controversy, and we could use it to educate people through the media."
Hayer, 37, an administrative aide in Richmond whose license plate reads "HEMP N," said she smokes marijuana every evening to relax and ease back pain from a horseback-riding accident. She said her group wants greater awareness of its efforts to decriminalize marijuana, especially as it relates to medical treatment.
Hayer has two drug possession charges on her record: one for marijuana grown at her home for what she calls medicinal purposes, the other for cocaine. The charges have not made the Friends of Hemp president friends with police or most of her neighbors.
Last year, the organization tried to claim a highway near its headquarters in Crewe, just east of Burkeville, but the request was denied because the state Transportation Department felt the group "had a controversial message to legalize hemp," said Chuck Hansen, spokesman for the Adopt-a-Highway program.
After a year of wrangling with the state, the Friends of Hemp called in the American Civil Liberties Union, which told the state that its policy violated the First Amendment and would spur a lawsuit. Officials mulled things over and finally agreed this fall.
So now the Friends of Hemp are awaiting word on when they can get to work on Virginia 621. The road is home to an abandoned gas station, a drugstore, a doctor's office, the volunteer fire department, a tire dump and an "antiques and junk" shed.
"We hope for a lot of visibility," Hayer said.
by CNB