WHEN WILL THE VOTERS FINALLY BE HEARD?

In 1996, 65 percent of Arizona voters voted for Proposition 200, which
reduced drug abuse by treating drug users rather than incarcerating them in
drug-infested jails and prisons.

As a result, two-thirds of drug users are successfully completing
treatment, at an annual savings of $5 million in state and local expenditures.

In addition, there has been a sharp decline in the crimes users commit in
order to get the money needed to support their habit. The Arizona Supreme
Court in its official evaluation said that the treatment programs are
resulting in "safer communities."

Proposition 200 was supported by many conservative Republicans, including
the late Barry Goldwater, former Reagan official John Norton and Dr.
Jeffrey Singer, a benefactor to the Cato Institute. The idea was to provide
an alternative to our failed War on Drugs, a strategy of curtailing drug
abuse. Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, our chief law
enforcement officer for eight years, is actively endorsing the new measure
as well.

Proposition 200 also allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for patients
suffering from acute pain, uncontrolled vomiting, and wasting disease.
Unfortunately, this provision never took effect because the Legislature
repealed that section of the law immediately after the election.

In 1998, the voters reinstated the medical marijuana provision but this
time it was made a dead letter because federal authorities threatened to
take away the license of any physician who dared to prescribe marijuana to
a patient.

Proposition 203 will finally achieve what Arizona voters approved in 1996
and 1998. The medical marijuana under the terms of Proposition 203 will
come from marijuana seized by law enforcement agencies, so there will be no
need to violate federal laws triggered by the interstate commerce clause of
the U.S. Constitution.

The program will be administered by the Department of Public Safety thereby
insuring that marijuana will be used only by patients with a doctor's
recommendation.

As a consequence, there will be no basis for either the Arizona Legislature
or any federal agency to block the provisions of 203 from implementation.

In the 1980s, Arizona had a research project involving medical marijuana
patients that was supervised by the Department of Public Safety. In this
case, there was no federal pre-emption and no abuse, since the DPS oversaw
the program.

Some of the other provisions of Proposition 203 include prohibiting
incarceration for marijuana users, mandating that violent drug offenders
serve 50 percent longer sentences, expanding drug treatment and directing
drug fines into drug prevention programs for our youth. All of these build
on our success from 1996 in offering an alternative to the War on Drugs.

The claims made by the Maricopa county attorney, the nation's drug czar and
political opponents that Proposition 203 is part of a strategy to legalize
drugs are simply untrue - the same lies they told in 1996 and 1998.

These opponents have twice demonstrated they don't care about the will of
the voters and they twice blocked medical marijuana.

Don't let them succeed a third time. Show them who is in charge. Vote "yes"
on Proposition 203.