A WONDERFUL POET'S UGLY DEATH

On June 14, a great poet and writer by the name of Peter Williams died. He
was known to many here in the United States, but his death has amounted to
nothing more than a quick mention from most news services. The
circumstances of his death are why I'm writing.

Peter learned in 1996 that he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and AIDS at the
same time. It was also in '96 that California was the first state to pass a
law allowing the use of medical marijuana. Peter had to undergo
chemotherapy for his cancer illness, and the pills he had to take to fight
off the AIDS virus all made him vomit constantly. The nausea he experienced
was greatly reduced when he smoked marijuana. He was able to keep his
medication down and start getting better.

In December 1997, federal agents raided his home and confiscated a book he
was writing on how to grow medical marijuana. In the middle of '98, federal
agents arrested him for the "crime" of smoking marijuana. Even though the
state had decided that its residents could smoke medical marijuana, the
federal agents sidestepped the decision. The judge ruled that Peter could
not mention that medical marijuana was allowed in California, nor could he
introduce the benefits of medical marijuana. Peter was left with no course
but to opt for a plea-bargain of five years, and hope that he was placed
only under house arrest. If he had been sent to jail, it would have been
for all intents and purposes a death sentence.

Peter never found out what his punishment was, though, because he died
before the sentence was passed down. He agreed to not smoke marijuana while
out on bond because his family's house was placed on the bond. He was found
dead on his bathroom floor and had died due to asphyxiation. To put it
bluntly, he died choking on his own vomit because he was too weak to get up.

The War on Drugs has claimed the life of a wonderfully talented individual.
Had he been permitted to smoke marijuana he would still be alive today. The
government should be ashamed of this farce known as the War on Drugs. We
can't afford to lose another person needlessly. We as the people need to
stand up to say no more!

Jerome Barthelemy, Panama City