OHIO SENATOR OPPOSES INITIATIVE ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON (AP) An Ohio senator introduced legislation Monday to overturn a
referendum in which District of Columbia voters overwhelmingly approved
legalization of marijuana for medical uses.

No matter how well-intentioned the motive behind the initiative, Republican
Sen. George Voinovich said, ''it would be unconscionable for the United
States Congress not to exercise its constitutional duty and prevent the
district from going forward.''

''Illegal drug use is wrong,'' he said. ''The district government and the
United States government should never condone it, regardless of the
professed purpose.''

The Constitution gives to the District of Columbia limited self-government
with most of the powers of the states but to Congress the power to override
them. Voinovich heads a Senate subcommittee with authority over matters
involving the city.

Last year, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, Washington voters supported an
initiative that created an exception to the prohibition on drug possession.
The exception allowed physicians to recommend use of marijuana to ease
symptoms of a serious illness such as AIDS or to reduce side effects of
treatments such as chemotherapy.

Anyone without prescriptions caught with marijuana would still be subject
to the former punishments: six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Voinovich
said the medical marijuana initiative ''would present an enforcement
nightmare to police ... and would serve as a de facto legalization of
marijuana in D.C., increasing its prevalence and the number of addicts
citywide.''

A similar measure already was introduced in the House.

Mayor Anthony Williams has asked Congress ''to respect the will of the
electorate'' and let the referendum stand. Congress ordered the district
not to implement the referendum result in its budget for the new fiscal
year, one of the attacks on home rule that prompted President Clinton to
veto the bill.