STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS AT ODDS OVER LEGALIZATION OF
MEDICAL MARIJUANA

NOAH ADAMS, host:

It's . I'm Noah Adams.

This month, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signed a law permitting
Nevadans with cancer, AIDS and other illnesses to use marijuana to
relieve their symptoms. This was one month after the Supreme Court
ruled that marijuana use is prohibited by federal law. Yet nine
states, like Nevada, still permit patients with certain serious
illnesses to use it. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports on this growing conflict
between state and federal law.

INA JAFFE reporting:

The Supreme Court ruling shut down medical marijuana distribution at
several clubs in Northern California. But at the Los Angeles Cannabis
Resource Center, it's business as usual. And on Tuesday, that means
the bakers are at work. Not every user of medical marijuana likes to
smoke or can smoke, so Brian, who didn't want to give his last name,
is mixing up a batch of brownies, getting ready to add some finely
chopped marijuana and other ingredients to the batter.

BRIAN: We either add, like, chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
just to make them a little bit more interesting, more fun.

JAFFE: Fun, perhaps, but definitely illegal according to Congress,
which has classified marijuana as a schedule one drug, meaning it has
no medicinal value. This law was the basis of the Supreme Court
decision. Scott Imler, the head of the LA Cannabis Resource Center,
said he wasn't sure at first what effect the high court's ruling would
have on his organization. They have more than 800 carefully screened
members, he says, who use marijuana to alleviate symptoms of AIDS,
cancer, epilepsy and other serious illnesses.

Mr. SCOTT IMLER (LA Cannabis Resource Center): So we called an
emergency meeting; 165 members showed up, and it was clear and
unanimous that nobody's willing to go back to the streets and the
black market. People's treatment regimens for cancer and AIDS depend
on safe and reliable access to cannabis. You know, we just can't close
the door.

JAFFE: So club members continue to stop by for their brownies or
Baggies. Their supply comes from dozens of plants they grow on the
center's first floor. And outpatients in the state of Nevada can also
legally grow their own if they qualify for a state registration card.
Assemblywoman Chris Giun Achig Aliani is the author of the Nevada law.

State Representative CHRIS GIUN ACHIG ALIANI (Nevada): My bill
protects individuals from state prosecution if they have their
registry card. They will not be subject to any prosecution unless they
abuse that.

JAFFE: Giun Achig Aliani says the law merely codifies the will of
Nevada voters, who overwhelmingly passed medical marijuana initiatives
twice. The double vote was necessary for the initiative to become an
amendment to the state constitution. Allowing registered users to
grow their own pot was an attempt to resolve the catch-22 of medical
marijuana, says Giun Achig Aliani Patients are legally allowed to have
the drug, but there's not legal way to buy it.

Rep. GIUN ACHIG ALIANI: They're at a risk. They have to either
purchase it illegally off the street, which many are doing currently,
or access seeds in some way and garden. But again, they have to order
the seeds illegally over the Internet. The United States has just put
people in a terrible quandary regarding medical necessity, and I just
think they need to change the federal laws.

JAFFE: A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said they will
continue to enforce the ban on marijuana, but she couldn't comment on
what specific actions, if any, the department might take in the states
where medical marijuana has been legalized. This has left state
legislators to wrestle with how best to get an illegal substance to
people who are legally permitted to have it. In the state of Maine,
some legislators favor creating a not-for-profit distribution center
officially sanctioned by the state. Maine Representative Michael Quint.

State Representative MICHAEL QUINT (Maine): It would be sort of a
quasi-governmental agency, but it would be at arm's length, because
one of the things we knew we would not be able to do and get it passed
is to have it be funded by state dollars.

JAFFE: But last month, when the Supreme Court decision came down, some
legislators balked at taking a step that was so out-of-line with
federal policy. Quint says the vote has been postponed until January,
though he's optimistic it will pass, regardless of federal law.

Rep. QUINT: You know what? We're at odds with the federal government
all the time, whether it's highway funding, or whether it's Medicaid,
environmental issues. We are not always in agreement with the federal
government.

JAFFE: Advocates of medical marijuana are hoping that Congress will
come closer to their way of thinking. The organization Americans for
Medical Rights, which has sponsored many of the state ballot measures
around the country, plans to sponsor another one next year in
Washington, DC. Voters there overwhelmingly approved a medical
marijuana initiative in 1998, but Congress, which still has authority
over the district, overturned the initiative rather than permit this
conflict with federal law. Gina Pesulima is with Americans for
Medical Rights.

Ms. GINA PESULIMA (Americans for Medical Rights): We plan to go back
to Washington, DC, and take this issue back to voters because we
believe that that will require Congress to make a decision as to
whether they will engage with us on the issue of medical marijuana
toward a solution, a national solution on the issue and allow the
voters' will to be implemented.

JAFFE: And according to the Supreme Court, it's the will of Congress,
not the voters, that determines whether using marijuana is considered
a treatment or a crime.