MARIJUANA LAW SAFE

To the editor:

On March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case
addressing whether medical marijuana distributors may offer a
"medical necessity" defense in federal court. The court's ruling in
U.S. vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative cannot overturn Maine's
medical marijuana law.

In the case, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking the Supreme
Court to reverse the Sept. 13, 1999, decision of the U.S. Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals, which permits entities to distribute
marijuana if they can prove that their clients are seriously ill and
have a legitimate medical need for the substance.

This case deals exclusively with federal law and is essentially
limited to distribution issues; it does not question a state's
ability to allow patients to grow, possess and use medical marijuana
under state law.

Nearly 99 percent of all marijuana arrests in the nation are made by
state and local (not federal) officials. Thus, Maine's medical
marijuana law effectively protects 99 out of every 100 medical
marijuana users who otherwise would have been arrested and prosecuted
- - no matter what the Supreme Court rules in the Oakland case.

Robert Kampia, Washington, D.C.