LOCKYER TO LIGHTEN UP ON MEDICAL POT

Biggest Changes May Be In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO - With Gov.-elect Gray Davis promising, almost wryly, a soaring
era of government moderation and political fine-tuning, the most radical
change in Sacramento may occur just three blocks away in the attorney
general's office.

At the fortress-like red marble Department of Justice building on I Street,
Democratic Attorney General-elect Bill Lockyer has already unrolled a list
of priorities that bear little resemblance to those set by his Republican
predecessor, Dan Lungren.

While Lungren focused almost exclusively on crime and punishment during his
two terms, Lockyer's list of 12 key issues takes on a far different tone.
His priorities include passing an enforceable ban on assault weapons and
beefing up civil rights, environmental and consumer protections. He wants
to reform the drawn-out death penalty appeals process, curb school violence
and regulate the state's gambling industry.

As his 10th priority, Lockyer promises to focus on the use of medical
marijuana in the wake of Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative intended to
allow ill patients to use marijuana for pain relief.

The initiative has largely failed because of efforts made through the
courts by Lungren and the federal government. But Lockyer says he wants to
make Prop. 215 work, at least in ways that make sense and that can appease
the Clinton administration.

"That means," Lockyer said, "cooperating with local communities if they
have different approaches. So San Francisco would be different than Kern
County. . I think (Lungren) was overly zealous in continuing to oppose the
initiative, even after the people had adopted it. I joke that there are
days when I thought Dan had a copy of "Reefer Madness' at home."

Demystifying the role

But perhaps the most noticeable change from Lungren will be Lockyer's
desire to demythologize the role of attorney general. Lockyer acknowledged
he can be a powerful force in supporting crime legislation, and that his
office has a huge role in handling criminal appeals. In the end, however,
the job has limited influence over actual street crime and the criminal
courtrooms.

"My view is perhaps Dan Lungren felt like he was the pinnacle of the
law-enforcement community, and I see my role as more of a support service
for local DAs and local law enforcement," said Lockyer, who takes office
Monday. "Of course, in four years I hope to run ads taking credit for all
the fine work they do, which is what attorneys general tend to do."

During the campaign leading up to his election in November, Lockyer, a
longtime Democratic lawmaker from Hayward, got slapped around by Republican
opponent Dave Stirling, a conservative former judge and chief deputy
attorney general. Stirling portrayed Lockyer as a dangerously squishy
liberal who may or may not have smoked pot. He said Lockyer tried to trash
the state's "three strikes" law. And he said Lockyer would likely cause the
crime rate to soar.

It didn't sell. Although voters generally view the attorney general as the
state's "top cop," they picked Lockyer over Stirling by 10 percentage points.

Dealing with Prop. 215

While Lockyer will have many unresolved issues to face, including 50,000
ongoing lawsuits and criminal appeals, one of the stickiest may be dealing
with Prop. 215.

The 7,000-member California Narcotics Officers Association endorsed
Stirling and differs with Lockyer on medical marijuana, calling Prop. 215 a
sham. Christy McCampbell, president of the association, said she has met
with Lockyer, found him to be interested in her work and thinks the
Stirling endorsement can be put behind them as "politics is politics."

"I think it's going to be kind of a learning experience, all the way
around," McCampbell said. "He's learning a new position and we really don't
want to be involved in the politics. Our membership is trying to do a job
and trying to uphold the laws on the street."

Although medical marijuana distribution centers have now gone underground,
supporters were buoyed last month when five states - Arizona, Nevada,
Alaska, Washington and Oregon - approved statutes similar to California's.

Many marijuana clubs around the state, including the 9,000-member Cannabis
Healing Center in The City, have been shut down since the passage of Prop.
215 through Lungren's efforts and those of the Clinton administration's
Justice Department, seeking to enforce federal laws against marijuana
distribution.

Lockyer, whose mother and a sister died of leukemia, supported Prop. 215.
During his campaign he said he wants "clinics, not cults." He has appointed
a task force that includes state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, and
Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy, to find ways to make
Prop. 215 work.

"The change from Lungren is potentially very significant," said Dave
Fratello, spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights. "Lockyer has said he
understands the conflict we have with federal law and would like to see
this initiative work. And he has even said he would support regulated
distribution of marijuana, as long as there were safeguards."

Fratello said 1999 could bring efforts to set up an official registry,
perhaps in the state Department of Health, so that medical marijuana users
could show police an identification card if they are stopped. There may be
a move to determine exactly how much marijuana is appropriate per patient.

A request for more funds

Meanwhile, Lockyer isn't pretending he knows everything about the agency
he's about to head. He still hasn't announced his picks for many top-level
positions, from the criminal law division to civil rights and, perhaps, a
new position in charge of environmental enforcement.

"The good news is that there are a lot of really fine law-enforcement
professionals who are willing to take on the task of managing the cop
shop," Lockyer said. "Once that person is in place, I would want to get his
recommendations about the best way to use the department's budget."

Lockyer has asked Gov.-elect Davis for $25million in extra funding over
last year's budget to hire more attorneys in some departments and to
strengthen the state's crime labs.

He describes taking over the sprawling agency as similar to being lowered
from a helicopter onto a massive aircraft carrier at sea. Lockyer has spent
the past two months exploring his new digs.

He marvels that the attorney general's supercomputer processes about 1.5
million local law enforcement inquiries a day. He'll go from 50 employees
in the Senate to 5,000 as attorney general. He was astonished to find the
division of civil rights enforcement somewhere below the Registry of
Charitable Trusts on an internal organizational chart.

As a lawmaker, Lockyer was certainly influential as Senate president pro
tem, but ultimately he was just one chattering voice among 120 senators and
Assembly members.

Not anymore.

"(It's) the difference between having an opinion and having a legal
opinion," Lockyer said. "We all have opinions, and policy makers are full
of them. But having a legal opinion requires a certain kind of discipline.
And trying to motivate and manage and be a good team leader for 5,000 is a
very challenging task as well."

Checked-by: Pat Dolan