Dear Sir:

The citizens of California and Arizona have spoken. Through voter
initiatives, the majority of voters in those states opted to let
physicians and their patients decide on the most effective means of medical
treatment, including the use of marijuana.

Now the federal government has responded with the threat of prosecution and
decertification of physicians who recommend marijuana for their patients.
What this amounts to is a law enforcement agency (the Drug Enforcement
Administration) determining the mode of medical treatment. Where else in
the world do we find the police deciding what is appropriate medicine?

Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey has referred to the voter initiatives in Arizona
and California as a "cruel hoax". On the contrary, the majority of voters
of these states have informed themselves about marijuana, and have seen
through the cruel hoax perpertrated by the federal government since 1937,
when the official demonization of marijuana began.

What McCaffrey and company fear is not a drug-use epidemic spawned by the
voter initiatives in Arizona and California. What they fear is that the
truth about controlled substances will enter the wider public debate, as it
did in the two state referenda. When this happens, their cruel hoax will be
uncovered for just what it is: a hoax devised to perpetuate a multi-billion
dollar drug-war budget, which has failed abysmally to reduce drug use or
availability.

Federal interference in state initiatives and laws, especially those
pertaining to medical practice, is a frightening thought. If they succeed
in thwarting these initiatives, where will the feds and their police force
strike next?

Donald M. Topping
Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i