NORFOLKAN FIGHTING HIS OWN WAR

DRUGS HAVE MEDICAL USE, ACTIVIST SAYS

As a soldier fighting against the national war on drugs, Arthur Sobey of
Norfolk is suing for peace. Sobey, a leader in the fight to legalize
marijuana for medical reasons, is one of two Nebraska plaintiffs in a
federal class action lawsuit seeking to end the U.S. prohibition on the
medical use of marijuana. The 20 year Army veteran and chronic pain
sufferer monitors, from his Norfolk home computer, what he says is a $100
billion national war on drugs that is doing more harm than good.

Sobey would also like to see an end to the prohibition on recreational use
of most of the drugs that are now illegal in the United States. Like the
failed prohibition of alcohol, drug prohibition fosters a powerful criminal
criminal element in society, as well as multi-layers of often abusive law
enforcement agencies that have been unsuccessful in stemming the drug flow,
Sobey said. Legalization and strict controls would eliminate the criminal
element that pushes the products, especially among youths, and would
provide an additional tax revenue source like alcohol and tobacco, Sobey said.

That's because the black market does an effective job of distributing and
marketing, despite the billions of tax dollars spent to stop the narcotics
trade, he said. Because the products are illegal, that makes them highly
profitable for drug dealers and cartels, Sobey said.

The 55-year-old, pony-tailed retiree - who fights several health problems
related to a back injury suffered after his military retirement - has lived
in Nebraska for 18 months. Sobey said he likes the state's "humane
marijuana laws" that decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of
marijuana. He says that law is one of the prime reasons Nebraska has fewer
drug problems than other states.

Sobey said his plan to legalize drugs would not make it easier for children
to obtain drugs. Instead, it would make it harder. He contends that
children can obtain illicit drugs now more easily than they can obtain
alcohol. "The drug market is open 24 hours a day," he said.

Sobey knows that his vocal stance in favor of legalizing drugs is not a
popular position and might make him a target for law enforcement scrutiny.
"You can't hide from attention if you want to take a stand." he said. Sobey
added that he knows his position violates everything Americans have been
taught about drugs. But much of that has come from the government, illicit
drug dealers, and pharmacological industries, which have demonized illegal
drugs and lied about their roles mainly to protect their own interests, he
said.

Sobey said his current attitude also violates everything he learned about
drugs in his conservative upbringing and military training. But the truth
can't be denied, he said.

Sobey said he also has learned the medical community does a very poor job
of helping chronic pain sufferers. "Everyone knows who Dr.(Jack) Kevorkian
is, but nobody asks why all these people need his services," said Sobey in
a reference to the Michigan physician who recently was convicted for
helping individuals kill themselves.

Sobey said he thinks selfish reasons are to blame for the government's
opposition to the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. If, for
some reason, marijuana would be legalized, Sobey said, more research would
be conducted and people would learn the truth about the benefits of
marijuana. After that, millions of people in law enforcement and government
whose jobs are dependent on fighting marijuana production and distribution
will be out of work.

"People don't think logically about it," Sobey said, arguing that current
drug laws and policies are hypocritical because they sanction lethal drugs
like alcohol and tobacco but criminalize what he says are more benign
substances, such as marijuana. "No one has ever overdosed on marijuana," he
said, ticking off a list of other positive attributes of the product that
he admits he uses occasionally - and illegally - for health reasons. Sobey
said it is much more effective for him and more healthy than the legal
methadone prescription he has been given for his medical condition.

Sobey said marijuana controls pain without the troublesome side effects of
other painkillers, and it has been used as a medicinal herb for centuries.

He also claims no one who is high on marijuana ever started a bar fight or
beat their spouses because of its mellowing effects. Because of these and
other benefits, which he said are being discovered by new research, Sobey
predicted many mild analgesic medicines would be marijuana-based in the
future.

In addition to his work in the national medical marijuana legalization
fight, Sobey has been active in Libertarian Party politics. In fact, his
wife, Debra, is preparing a campaign for Congress as a Libertarian Party
candidate. She will begin her campaign this fall.

Sobey, who speaks passionately about marijuana and other constitutional
freedom issues, addressed the Nebraska Libertarian Party convention in
Omaha in the spring. He previously worked for a Libertarian Party candidate
for governor of California.

Sobey said his military pension and disability give him the time to
research drug issues on the Internet and exchange information with a
growing number of online supporters.