GATHERING WILL MARK 10 YEARS OF LEGALIZED MEDICAL POT USE

Despite Setbacks, Veterans Of California's Pioneering Movement Will Celebrate.

SACRAMENTO -- With pomp and a bit of pot-inspired pageantry, the
battle-tested veterans of California's medical marijuana movement
will come together this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of
Proposition 215, the milestone ballot measure that redefined cannabis
as medicine.

Those planning to gather today at the Gay Community Center in San
Francisco include former cannabis club impresario and Proposition 215
author Dennis Peron, celebrated medical marijuana physician Dr. Tod
Mikuriya and former San Francisco Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan.

On Nov. 5, 1996, 56% of the California electorate voted to approve
the ballot measure, igniting a national controversy and putting the
state squarely at odds with the federal government's blanket
prohibition on pot.

The last decade has seen dozens of medical marijuana dispensaries
raided by federal drug agents and scores of patients arrested.
Several disputes over the California law landed on the U.S. Supreme
Court's doorstep, most recently with a decision last year upholding
prosecutions of patients in federal court.

Despite unwavering federal resistance, 10 other states followed
California in approving medical marijuana measures. Voters in South
Dakota are scheduled to decide Tuesday whether they want to join the club.

The decade also saw a proliferation of cannabis dispensaries in the
Golden State. By some counts, California has more than 250 clinics
and distribution networks and 200,000 patients.

There has been backlash. Although two dozen cities and seven counties
- -- including Los Angeles, Riverside and Santa Barbara -- have
approved regulations allowing dispensaries, three times as many
municipalities have passed moratoriums or banned cannabis clubs.

In addition, three counties -- San Diego, San Bernardino and Merced
- -- sued the state, questioning the constitutionality of a mandate
that conflicts with federal law. A hearing is scheduled for this month.

Many physicians have shied away from recommending marijuana to their
patients, despite a pivotal federal court victory upholding
doctor-patient privacy rights. More than two dozen cannabis
specialists have recommended the drug, authorizing marijuana for
thousands of patients suffering a variety of ills, including AIDS
wasting, muscle aches and depression -- in some cases prompting
criticism and professional sanctions.

Fears of rising recreational use among teenagers were unfounded, with
rates declining over the decade.

A nationwide Gallup poll a year ago found that 78% of Americans
supported allowing doctors to prescribe pot.

Meanwhile, there is movement for even greater legalization of the plant.

On Tuesday, the cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica
will vote on initiatives aimed at eliminating criminal penalties for
adult recreational use of cannabis. Two states -- Nevada and Colorado
- -- will vote on proposals to legalize adult marijuana use entirely.

Ten years after Proposition 215, "a second marijuana reform shockwave
may be in the making," said Dale Gieringer, California director of
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.