RESULTS OF D.C. MARIJUANA VOTE KEPT SECRET PENDING COURT ACTION

Voters made their choices, machines counted ballots, but the results of the
District's medical marijuana initiative must remain secret to comply with
rules passed by Congress, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics decided
yesterday.

Tabulated yeas and nays on Initiative 59 could not be announced because of
the legislative action, the board concluded. Congress had barred the
District from spending money to carry out any ballot initiative that would
legalize drugs or reduce penalties for drug use, possession or sale.

And Congress was watching yesterday. Hill staff members called to learn how
ballots were being counted, said Kenneth McGhie, elections board general
counsel. To make sure the results remained unknown and Congress was not
defied, he said, workers whited-out the numbers.

With ballots printed and computers programmed to count them, what would the
cost be of announcing the result?

"Very, very minimal," McGhie said.

The fate of Initiative 59, which would permit patients to use marijuana
with a doctor's recommendation, now rests in U.S. District Court, where
supporters are demanding that the vote be honored. McGhie said the
elections board may seek court guidance as early as today. Until then, it
will take no further steps.

"Ever mindful of its primary role of insuring a fair and honest election,
the board is reluctant to enter into a political dispute with Congress,"
elections board Chairman Benjamin Wilson said in a prepared statement.
"However, the board must have direction from the court."

An exit poll funded by Americans for Medical Rights, which sponsored
medical marijuana initiatives in five states and supported Initiative 59
with mailings, concluded that the measure would be approved by a
significant margin.

The poll surveyed 763 voters. Twelve percent of them did not cast a vote on
the initiative. Of those who did vote, 69 percent said they voted for it.
The poll's margin of error was 3.6 percentage points.

Supporters of the ballot measure were angered by what Congress did.

James Millner, spokesman for the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which helped
sponsor the ballot measure, called the congressional action an "assault on
democracy." He said yesterday, "It's Congress looking at a group of people
- -- citizens of the District of Columbia -- and saying, 'Your vote doesn't
matter.' People who oppose this initiative also should be angry about this."

At an East Capitol Street precinct, 10 of 12 voters said they voted in
favor of the initiative. Margaret Loewinger sees the matter in personal
terms. "I've seen death and dying too closely. I've watched my dad suffer
from cancer," said Loewinger, 51, who works at the Kennedy Center and the
Library of Congress. She favors "anything that can be done to improve the
quality of life. I'm not concerned that it's going to confuse our
policemen's jobs."

David Vaughan, a 28-year-old federal government analyst who opposes the
measure, said, "I don't want to go down that slippery slope of allowing
illegal drugs to be legal."

Activists gathered 17,000 signatures to put the issue on the District
ballot, only to learn that Congress wanted the measure killed. Rep. Robert
L. Barr Jr. (R-Ga.), a former prosecutor, sponsored the ban on spending as
an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on Friday, asking U.S.
District Judge Richard Roberts to prevent Congress from voiding the
election results. The complaint cites the First Amendment in asking the
court to order the election board to certify the results.

Supporters say Initiative 59 is designed to help residents afflicted with
diseases such as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma. It would permit people to use,
cultivate and distribute marijuana if recommended by a doctor. A doctor's
prescription would not be necessary.

The measure also would require the city to provide for the "safe and
affordable" distribution of the drug to Medicaid patients and other needy
residents who qualify.

Checked-by: Richard Lake