Propositon 215 is a modest health reform measure, not a drug legalization
initiative. it will change the legal designation of marijuana so that it
has the same status as any number of potentially dangerous drugs that are
still strictly illegal but can be prescribed by doctors under restricted
circumstances. That should have happened nationwide 10 years ago when DEA
judge Francis Young, after comprehensive testimony onthe subject, declared
the prohibition against medical marijuana "unreasonable, arbitrary, and
capricious." The DEA, protecting its turf, stepped in and blocked the
ruling. This Nov. 5 the people will decide. A No vote would affirm our
"unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious" policy of arresting the infirm for
their choice of medicine. A Yes on Prop. 215 is a vote for the basic
medical rights of doctors and patients.

MICHAEL SUSSMAN
San Mateo