John Walsh, 56, is a long-time activist and works on campus with the Survival Center and the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp. Walsh sits in the EMU three days a week collecting signatures from students in order to legalize marijuana. (Tess Freeman/Oregon Daily Emerald)
John Walsh@@http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1225491275@@ is a familiar face on campus. He sits behind a table for Students for Sensible Drug Policy@@http://ssdp.org/@@ 20 hours a week in the EMU. Stacks of flyers, brochures and newspapers in support of legalizing marijuana are scattered across the table. A large white sign with a marijuana leaf hangs above Walsh’s head. He relies on the drug to survive.
For 18 years, the 56-year-old activist from Rhode Island has been involved with student groups on campus, including the Survival Center@@http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~survival/@@ and the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp@@http://www.myspace.com/restorehemp@@. He has gathered thousands of signatures from Oregonians toward legalizing marijuana and has registered hundreds of students to vote.
Walsh said his activism stems from the help he received from a group of “hippies” in the late 1960s. They reached out to help Walsh when he was being abused by his stepfather.
“I would have been killed had they not helped me,” Walsh said.
The hippies moved to San Francisco in 1967 and took Walsh with them. He said he completely adopted the “hippie lifestyle” and began advocating for the legalization marijuana and hallucinogens, including LSD.
Walsh became a strong marijuana advocate after the abuse from his stepfather caused a severe back injury. Walsh is now considered disabled and receives federal disability benefits, which cover the cost of his rent. Walsh can’t walk down the stairs and has to do everything sitting down. He relies on medical marijuana to help him with the injury.
Most of Walsh’s days are spent at the University, trying to register students to vote and to advocate for legalizing marijuana. Walsh said he volunteers at the University about 60 hours a week, sitting behind the SSDP table or in the Survival Center in the basement of the EMU. About a decade ago, Walsh said he was on campus from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Co-Director of the Survival Center and University junior Griffin Gates @@http://tinyurl.com/8556erp@@works frequently with Walsh.
“He often likes to tell stories about when there used to be hundreds of kids in here and how they used to be more active,” Gates said. According to him, Walsh spends a lot of time in the Survival Center. Sometimes, Gates said, he’ll go to the center to find Walsh asleep on the center’s couch.
“He’s more or less a legend,” Gates said.
University senior and President of SSDP Sam Chapman@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Samuel+C+Chapman+@@ has worked with Walsh for four years. Chapman called Walsh a “poster child” for medical marijuana and said he inspired him to become involved with the SSDP.
“He’s been a drug-policy warrior for so long,” Chapman said. “He’s the one that everyone hails.”
Walsh is not only known around campus but is well-known in Oregon and nationally for his marijuana activism. The High Times Freedom Fighters@@http://www.facebook.com/pages/High-Times-Freedom-Fighters/140244862668657@@, a national marijuana-legalization group, named Walsh the Freedom Fighter of the year in 2009. Sometimes Walsh carries the certificate around with him.
Although Walsh said he enjoys being at the University, he said things have changed.
“Most of the students don’t pay attention,” Walsh said. “They’re not as active as they used to be.”
Walsh said he used to collect hundreds of signatures a day to legalize marijuana. Now, he struggles to collect even a dozen.
Even so, students still notice Walsh. One student walked by Walsh sitting behind the table, waved, and said, “What’s up, John?”