PRO-POT SIGNS GO UP IN CALIF.

Medical marijuana groups push view

SAN FRANCISCO - Medical marijuana advocates last week began a billboard
campaign that features the 8-year-old daughter of a man in prison for
cultivating pot.

On 30 billboards across California, Ashley Epis holds a sign that reads, "My
dad is not a criminal." Her father, Bryan, is serving a 10-year federal
sentence for growing cannabis for a medical marijuana club.

The billboards, sponsored by a host of marijuana groups, also read, "Medical
marijuana, compassion not federal prison."

California voters in 1996 approved a measure that allows people to use
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. The federal government, however,
does not recognize the law and has raided California medical pot clubs and
arrested growers who say they are cultivating for patients.

Richard Meyer, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, said the groups
are "entitled to express their opinions" but added that marijuana remains
illegal.

The marijuana groups said they paid about $20,000 for the banners. Billboard
company Clear Channel Outdoor donated the space for a month.