WILLIAMS MAKES MARIJUANA PLEA

Strong Words on a Hot-Button Issue:

Talk-show host Montel Williams joined a group of medical-marijuana
advocates Wednesday in imploring Congress to allow him and other sick
people to use the drug without fear of prosecution.

"This is really so simple it's ignorant," said Williams, who was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. He said legal drugs do not
help the pain.

"I'm hurting right now. I'm hurting. Why? Because I knew I had to come
to Washington, D.C., and I can't carry anything because I know I'd get
busted," he said.

Williams spoke at a Capitol Hill news conference, at which a
bipartisan group of lawmakers said decisions about medical marijuana
should be left to the states.

Ten states have laws that allow residents to use marijuana for medical
purposes. The Supreme Court has said that does not protect
distributors from federal anti-drug charges.