LISTEN UP, WASHINGTON, THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

Government: State voters approved the use of medicinal marijuana. The feds
should honor that.

What kind of a government carries on a crusade against the will of its
voters, favors pain and even death for some of its people?

>From a president still distancing himself from youthful experimentation
with marijuana, a drug czar who has effectively declared war on American
citizens and a Congress that forbids the counting of votes on a Washington,
D.C., ballot initiative on medical marijuana (sure to pass), our federal
government continues to bungle the issue of medical marijuana.

There is an utter disregard of states' rights, to try to silence the
proponents of medical marijuana, to threaten the integrity and livelihood of
California physicians and, ultimately, to engage in a campaign against the
health and care of sick and dying Californians.

In November 1996, 56% of California voters passed Proposition 215, which
allows the medicinal use of marijuana--a critical treatment and care option
for sick and dying patients. The voters declared they want their
relationship with their physician (rather than the government) be the
arbiter of their health and healing modalities.

In good faith, California local government and law enforcement leaders have
spent the past two years working with patients, physicians and providers of
medicinal marijuana to ensure responsible, compassionate implementation of
Proposition 215.

Yet our federal government has assumed it knows best what's good for our
people. It has engaged in activities that demonstrate an outrageous
disregard for the will of our California voters (and since November,
Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Alaska voters as well).

How ironic that Bill Clinton -- who won our state by a smaller margin than
voters approved Proposition 215 -- has the temerity to send federal law
enforcement into our state to contravene the decision of our citizens.

Until the beginning of this year, our state and federal governments colluded
to thwart the voters' mandate. Former California Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren
publicly vowed to respect the voters' decision, yet then proceeded to take
every action he could to ensure that Proposition 215 could not be safely
implemented. To the extent he refrained from overtly violating our voters'
mandate, he relied on the feds to do his dirty work.

Together, they closed most of the providers of medical marijuana in
California, threw several legitimate caregivers in jail and currently are
preventing a seriously sick defendant -- author Peter McWilliams, now in
failing health as a result -- from access to medicinal marijuana.

Fortunately, California has begun, since the inauguration of a new attorney
general and governor in January, to look more respectfully upon the will of
our people.

Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer has kickstarted efforts to implement the voters'
wishes regarding medical marijuana. He's convened a statewide task force of
all key stakeholders, naming Republican Santa Clara County Dist. Atty.
George Kennedy and me to co-chair it. Our charge is to find ways to make
Proposition 215 work responsibly.

Sadly, our charge will be largely Sisyphean as long as the federal
government does not change its position or have its position changed by more
sympathetic federal courts.

Until Washington allows marijuana to be prescribed under the controls
applied to other drugs like morphine and cocaine, its benefits will be
available to those willing to risk greater harm by getting their medicine
from street pushers.

A tidal wave of support for medicinal marijuana has begun in the Western
United States. The future of many federal officials will depend, in large
part, on whether they ride that wave into a compassionate future or,
standing in the way, are rendered irrelevant by the voters.

It is now incumbent on Californians to convince the federal government to
abide by our will, rather than have Big Brother consigning them to pain and
even death.