DRUG ACTIVIST SHOULD BE ALIVE

The drug war claimed another victim last week when author, publisher and
activist Peter McWilliams died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50.
Perhaps ironically, he died the same day Gov. Ben Cayetano of Hawaii signed
a medical marijuana bill passed by the state legislature - making Hawaii the
first state in the country to authorize the medicinal use of marijuana
through the legislature rather than by a vote of the people.

An author whose computer how-to books several times made The New York Times
best-seller list, and whose "Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do" is destined
to be a modern classic, Mr. McWilliams contracted AIDS and cancer a few
years ago. He found that marijuana was the best way to control the nausea
brought on by both AIDS and cancer treatments and to restore his appetite.
He gave writer and patient Todd McCormick a large advance to finance a
research project into the medicinal qualities of different strains of
marijuana for a book after California's Proposition 215 passed in 1996,
which allows use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. When McCormick
was arrested, Mr. McWilliams came to his defense, explained that he had
financed the project - and got a federal indictment as a "drug kingpin."

During and after the trial, Federal District Court Judge George King ordered
him not to smoke marijuana. Since his mother and brother had taken out
second mortgages on their houses to make his bail and he didn't want to put
them in jeopardy, he complied. At first his health deteriorated severely,
but over time he developed a severe regimen of bedrest and other precautions
that enabled him to keep his medicines and his viral count down.

On June 11, a fire in his house destroyed Mr. McWilliams' computer and
backups, including a book on his ordeal that was almost finished. The loss
was overwhelming to him. On June 14, he was found dead; he had choked on his
own vomit.

One can't help but think that if he had been allowed to use the
anti-nauseant he found most effective, he would still be alive, his
intelligence and infectious sense of humor still vital despite the
deterioration of his body.