REP. FRANK DEFENDS BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE SMALL AMOUNTS OF POT

BOSTON - Rep. Barney Frank is defending a bill he plans to file this
week decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, saying the federal
law unfairly targets those using medical marijuana in California.

Frank, who filed a bill to decriminalize marijuana as a member of the
Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, said the decision whether to
make possession of the drug illegal should be left up to the states.

He also said the federal government shouldn't have a law on the books
that is rarely enforced and which doesn't make sense to large
portions of the public.

"Do you really think people should be prosecuted for smoking
marijuana? I don't think most people agree with that. It's one area
where the public is ahead of the elected officials," Frank said in an
interview with The Associated Press. "It does not appear to me to be
a law that society is serious about."

Frank said he was particularly troubled by federal law enforcement
agencies targeting those using marijuana as a legal medical treatment
under California law.

"I don't think smoking marijuana should be a federal case," he said.
"There's no federal law against mugging."

Marijuana use is illegal under U.S. law, which does not recognize the
medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and other U.S. agencies have been
shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout
California in the last two years and charging their operators with
felony distribution charges.

Frank first announced the bill on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by
Bill Maher.

Frank's comments come as pro-marijuana activists are pushing a ballot
question that would decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of
marijuana in Massachusetts.

Instead of facing a criminal record, those caught with a small amount
of marijuana for personal use would instead pay a civil fine of $100
much like a traffic ticket. Supporters say the measure would save the
state millions of dollars in law enforcement costs and spare
thousands of state residents from the burden of a criminal record.