BACKERS OF MEDICAL-MARIJUANA INITIATIVE ROLL OUT TV ADS

Backers of Initiative 692 - which would legalize medical uses of marijuana
in Washington state - have unveiled a $220,000 statewide television campaign
in the last week before the election.

And although opponents have raised only about $12,000, they are not unarmed
as voters decide on the issue for the second time in two years.

Although there is only a small local group opposing Initiative 692 -
including King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and state Lt. Gov. Brad Owen -
it is the beneficiary of a well-funded national anti-drug campaign operated
out of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. The deputy
director of the drug-control office, Donald Vereen, is scheduled to appear
at a news conference with local officials tomorrow to argue against using
marijuana as medicine.

Initiative 692 would legalize the use of marijuana by patients suffering
from a number of ailments. They include nausea associated with chemotherapy,
complications from AIDS, muscle spasms connected to multiple sclerosis,
glaucoma and certain kinds of intractable pain. The use would have to be on
the recommendation of a doctor, and the ballot measure would not authorize
the sale of marijuana, just the possession for medical use.

Unlike Initiative 685, which failed at the polls a year ago, this year's
initiative would apply only to marijuana and not to other drugs.

The local sponsor is Rob Killian, a physician who has recommended marijuana
for hospice patients, among others. His brother, Tim, is the campaign
manager. Rob Killian also was the leader of last year's measure.

But behind the state initiative is a national battle over drug policy.

Medical marijuana initiatives are also on the ballot in Alaska, Oregon,
Nevada, Colorado and the District of Columbia. Arizona, which legalized the
medical use of a broad array of drugs in a 1996 election, is voting on the
same issue again this year because of opposition in the state Legislature.

With the exception of Arizona and D.C., the campaigns largely are funded by
three wealthy backers: billionaire George Soros of New York, an
internationally known financier; John Sperling, of Arizona, the millionaire
founder of the University of Phoenix; and Peter Lewis, an Ohio insurance
executive. The three also were the main supporters of Initiative 685 in
Washington state last year.

With the money flowing through a California-based organization, Americans
for Medical Rights, they have contributed most of the $775,000 spent in the
state.

Contributions from the group include $330,000 in Colorado, $130,000 in
Alaska, $230,000 in Nevada and $295,000 in Oregon.

Newspaper polls show the issue ahead in all five Western states, with 60
percent majorities in four of the states, and with a narrow lead in Nevada.
Dave Fratello, spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights, said its private
polling shows similar numbers.

But countering the financiers is a concerted public-education effort from
the White House drug czar.

Although the White House is not supposed to spend its public-education
budget influencing the outcome of elections, Vereen, the deputy director of
the drug-control office, is appearing this week in four of the Western
states with marijuana measures on the ballot.

Vereen and his boss, drug czar Barry McCaffrey, held a news conference in
Washington, D.C., earlier this week to voice their opposition to medical use
of marijuana.

And their Internet Web site has an extensive listing arguing that marijuana
is an unproven medical technique that hasn't received full scientific
testing.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst