LOCKYER TO BACK MEDICAL MARIJUANA

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 - priorities that bear little
resemblance to those set by his Republican predecessor, Dan Lungren,
during his two terms.

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

As his 10th priority, Lockyer promises to focus on legalizing the use
of medical marijuana in the wake of Proposition 215, the 1996
initiative that was intended to allow seriously ill patients grow and
use marijuana for pain relief with a doctor's recommendation.

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. "That means
cooperating with local communities if they have different approaches.
So San Francisco would be different than Kern County," Lockyer said.

The issue highlights one of the bigger differences between Lockyer and
Lungren.

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.

"I think (Lungren) was overly zealous in continuing to oppose (Prop.
215), even after the people had adopted it," Lockyer said. "I joke
that there are days when I thought Dan had a copy of "Reefer Madness'
at home."

Issues aside, perhaps the most noticeable change between his hand ling
of the job and Lungren's 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
accused Lockyer of trying 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.

While Lockyer will have many unresolved issues to face, including
50,000 ongoing lawsuits and criminal appeals, among the biggest will
likely 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. 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.

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.

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 $25million 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: Patrick Henry