MORE PETITION DRIVES PLANNED FOR D.C. MARIJUANA INITIATIVE

Three weeks after their drive to collect enough petition signatures to get
a medical marijuana initiative on the D.C. ballot apparently failed,
activists are gearing up to start the process all over again.

They had until Dec. 8 to gather the signatures of 17,070 registered D.C.
voters to get their measure called Initiative 57 placed on the
September mayoral primary ballot. They delivered hundreds of pages of
signatures to the city's Board of Elections and Ethics, but organizer Steve
Michael, of ACT UP Washington, said last week that they fell short by at
least 800 names.

Board officials will not issue their final ruling until Jan. 7, but
Executive Director Alice Miller said that "on the face of it, it seems that
they did not make it." Miller said Michael has refiled the initiative,
which would legalize the possession, use, distribution and cultivation of
marijuana if recommended by a physician for illnesses such as AIDS, cancer
and glaucoma. The board will consider the matter next month, and if the
activists get the goahead, volunteers could hit the streets in search of
signatures by early February.

"Our folks are excited. They're geared up to go at this again," Michael
said. To get the measure on the September ballot, they would have to turn
in signatures by May 15. Michael's group may not be the only medical
marijuana supporters running around town this spring with clipboard and
pens. Americans for Medical Rights (AMR), a California group that ran a
successful medical marijuana initiative there last year, is launching its
own ballot initiative in the District.

AMR has filed a measure with the elections board and hired a D.C. lawyer
and a professional organizer to drum up support. Dave Fratello, a spokesman
for the group, said AMR plans to spend at least $40,000 and perhaps as much
as $500,000 to get its initiative passed.

But don't look for AMR and the local activists to join forces. They differ
on several points. Michael's group is staunchly opposed to a provision in
AMR's initiative that would require medical marijuana users to register
with the D.C. government and carry identification cards. In addition, the
local group is accusing AMR of trying to capitalize on its grassroots work.

"If they continue with their initiative, there will be a war, and we will
win," Michael said. "The people of D.C. can't let these bigmoney outsiders
come in and make local law."

He added: "If the [elections] board allows both of us to gather signatures,
voters are going to be confused. Everyone agrees on that."