THE ANTI-DEMOCRACY IN D.C.

Almost a year after they voted on whether marijuana should be legalized for
medical use, District of Columbia residents finally were allowed last month
to count the vote. Unfortunately, thanks to some members of Congress, the
outcome--overwhelming approval--may not count for much.

The voters had to wait a year for the vote-count because Congress,
exercising its constitutional authority to govern the district, voted not
to allow it. It passed a measure written by Rep. Bob Barr (R--Ga.) that
deprived the district of money to conduct the count. And that threw the
results into limbo.

A federal judge finally cleared the way for the vote-count, but that hasn't
ended the controversy. Despite a 69 percent landslide in favor of
legalization, the Republican-led Congress now has passed a spending bill
that would prevent the District from implementing the measure. President
Clinton has threatened to veto the bill, although a veto threatens to block
the District's operating funds, too.

That's how democracy works in the nation's capital, which is to say that it
hardly works at all.

Since District of Columbia residents can vote for only one non-voting
delegate to the U.S. House, all of Congress' voting members are elected by
and, therefore, accountable to voters who live somewhere else. The result
is about what you would expect in a situation where the government rules
without the consent of the governed.

In matters affecting D.C. alone, the voters there ought to have the same
right to register their views at the polls and have their votes counted
that voters elsewhere in the nation have.

On the issue of medical marijuana, D.C. is far from a pioneer. So far, six
states--Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington--have
passed measures similar to the one approved in D.C.

Increasingly, voters are sending a loud and clear message of compassion and
support for those who say marijuana relieves the pain of the terminally
ill, calms the nausea of chemotherapy patients and reactivates the
depressed appetites of AIDS patients.

It is an affront to the spirit of democracy for Rep. Barr and those who
vote with him to treat the District of Columbia as if it were some sort of
colony and its people as vassals.

A democratic nation cannot tolerate such anti-democratic behavior in its
capital. If democracy is to mean anything in the nation's capital, Congress
must butt out and let the decision of D.C. voters take effect.