STILLWATER -- Those driving down North Main Street Thursday afternoon may have seen a young woman holding a bake sale.

The profits are going to a unique cause, however.

Nadjeschda Goertz, a 21-year-old Botany major at Oklahoma State University, is raising money for Stillwater Hempfest.

“That's going to be on Aug. 27, and Hempfest is going to be about discussing marijuana legislation in Oklahoma, and I just want people to not be afraid to talk about it,” said Goertz.

She was hoping to see more customers throughout Thursday afternoon. Selling assorted baked goods, Goertz made sure to make one thing clear.

“I'm selling chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and no, they aren't, that's all I have to say,” she laughed.

She was also selling biscuits, muffins and cigars.

Bringing attention to marijuana legalization is important, Goertz said.

“It's important because marijuana has killed no one,” she said. “All these drugs that are FDA approved have actually killed people directly. And people are going to jail for years. They're being bankrupted and indebted to the courts, to the state, to the U.S. government over marijuana.”

Goertz said she used to “hate anything and everything about pot.”

“And I went out to northern California to volunteer on farms, and they're really lax about it there, so of course, I got to meet marijuana culture and people who cultivate, sell and use,” she said. “And they're actually good people. I mean, when I was down and out, they helped me out, and it really helped people. I met patients. So it totally changed my views, and I really want to Oklahoma to be able to understand what I discovered over there.”

She runs a newsletter and website titled “The Lighthouse.”

“‘The Lighthouse' is to be a resource for people to have constant news and real information about marijuana, so we do everything from prison capacities in Oklahoma to recipes,” said Goertz. “We do it all.”

She said she wants “The Lighthouse” to publish important issues. She started in May and is always looking for contributors.

“Once the school year starts, it's going to be hard and if I don't find more contributors before then, then I'll probably have to give it a break until next summer,” she said. “But, I don't want it to just be marijuana in the end. I feel like there a lot of important ideas that need to be talked about that are unpopular and nobody is publishing.”

The newsletter is distributed at various businesses around town.

“It's not illegal to state your opinion and to be open about your beliefs,” said Goertz. “A lot of people are afraid to come out of the woodwork and say, ‘I support decriminalization of marijuana,' and I don't want people to be afraid to say that.”

She said this issue is important in Stillwater.

“I actually did a ride-along with a cop and watched a marijuana arrest, and I stay up on the weekly arrests that happen and it happens all the time,” she said. “People get pulled over, they have marijuana in their car. The cop smells it and then bam, they're in jail.

”Whether it's personal use, whether it's distributing, the cops don't know quite the consequences that are going to come down on that person, and they're not in a position to change the consequences that come down on that person. And so, I just want to help my local people stay out of trouble, maybe spread the word on proper use and that sort of thing.“

So far, she has seen support for the cause, she said.

”There are a lot of people that have come up to me and said, ‘I like what you're doing,'“ said Goertz. ”I haven't had anybody be like, ‘Well, this is horrible. This is awful. Marijuana is a horrible thing.’ So there's obviously lots of support for it, but as far as getting anything changed in the legislature, I think we still have a long way to go.“

She plans on continuing the bake sales at least once a week, in addition to other fundraising tasks. But in the end, her goal for the day is simple.

”I want people to have a good lunch and get a treat and enjoy themselves today,“ Goertz said. ”Maybe I can make them happier.“