FACTS ABOUT MARIJUANA

LAW Professor Gerald Uelmen's column on medical marijuana (Opinion, July 23)
was a piece of work.

He opened with a discussion of Attorney General Bill Lockyer's courage, and
closed with accusations that Gov. Gray Davis lacks compassion and is a coward.

Cleverly, he never discussed what Proposition 215 actually said. There is a
reason for this. The law is not on his side.

On page 61 of the Proposition 215 voting material provided to California
voters, San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan stated that
Proposition 215 "only allows marijuana to be grown for a patient's personal
use. Police officers can still arrest anyone who grows too much, or tries to
sell it." The voters did not vote for cannabis clinics, did not vote for
changing the way the FDA approves drugs or the way the DEA classifies them,
and did not vote for pot identification cards.

The "enactment" of Proposition 215 would mean, again in the words of
Hallinan, "Proposition 215 simply gives those arrested a defense in court."

Davis is trying to save impressionable children from drug abuse. He should
be commended.

Michael Corlett, Salinas