MARIJUANA MEASURE AN APPARENT WINNER

Nov. 8, 2000 - Amendment 20, the initiative to legalize marijuana for
medical use, was an apparent victor Tuesday.

Although several counties' ballots still hadn't been counted at press time,
supporters "are really confident that we've got a victory," said Luther
Symons of Colorado for Medical Rights 2000. "Support has been solid."

"We decided as a group that we wouldn't concede until it's over," said Dr.
Frank Sargent of the opponent group Coloradans Against Legalizing
Marijuana. "We hope in the future that we can make something of what we
did. This campaign won't end. Being defeated at the polls doesn't mean that
we were wrong."

The ballot measure was favored by 67 percent of Colorado voters polled in
late September, but support began to dwindle as the election neared.

Amendment 20 would create a registry of seriously and terminally ill
patients who would need a physician's approval before being issued a card
entitling them to use marijuana.

A patient with approval could possess 2 ounces of marijuana and a maximum
of six plants. Possession of larger quantities or reselling the marijuana
would be illegal.

The amendment doesn't establish a system for distributing marijuana to
patients.

Tom Strickland, U.S. attorney for Colorado, said in a statement released
Tuesday afternoon that his office would continue to "aggressively enforce
federal drug laws, including the prohibition of marijuana, regardless of
the passage of this ballot initiative." Supporters say approval would give
patients and physicians more options in treating pain and nausea associated
with diseases such as cancer, AIDS and glaucoma.

Passage would remove the stigma associated with marijuana, backers say.
They also noted several studies that show marijuana is an effective
treatment and is not addictive.

Opponents said Amendment 20 is the first step toward legalizing marijuana
and that young people would get the wrong message from its passage.

They also contended that patients would be forced to buy marijuana from
illegal sources, leaving questions about its potency and safety. In
addition, they said smoking marijuana is medically unnecessary, noting that
a prescription drug, Marinol, contains marijuana's active ingredient.