STATES SET TO CONFRONT MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUE

Pressure is mounting against federal drug policy as five states prepare to
take on the issue of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use.

When voters in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington decide in
Election Day ballot measures whether to allow the drug to be smoked by the
sick, supporters say the government will have no choice but to notice.

"It sends an overwhelming message that the citizens of this country do not
support the illogical stance of the federal government in their denying of
medicine to patients who need it," said Tim Killian, campaign director for
Washington Citizens for Medical Rights.

The government considers marijuana a dangerous narcotic without proven
medicinal value, making it illegal for doctors to prescribe. But advocates
of the drug's use say that it can act as an appetite stimulant and
alleviate nausea for AIDS and cancer patients.

Each state's ballot proposals cover the same basic ground: The new laws
would allow doctors to "recommend" but not prescribe marijuana. And
patients who use it would be able to invoke a "medical necessity defense"
if arrested for possession of the drug. It gives the courts "a little more
latitude in letting people go," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director
of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"We don't want to persecute and imprison sick people," said Steve Hager,
editorial director of High Times magazine. "It's obvious that there's a
huge groundswell of public opinion to allow sick people medicine rather
than torturing them and putting them in jail."

Polls by newspapers and supporting groups indicate that the measures have
generally strong support, with as many as 60 percent of voters backing the
reform in some states. Popular backing for the issue is not a recent
occurrence. A Wired Magazine/Merrill Lynch nationwide poll of 1,400 adults
last year found that 62 percent supported "legalizing marijuana if it is
used strictly for medical reasons."

Activists hope the campaign will only spread from here. "Our eventual goal
is to force the federal government to reschedule marijuana as medicine that
can be prescribed by doctors," said Geoff Sugerman, campaign director of
Oregonians for Medical Rights.

But the White House shows no signs of budging. A statement from the
president's office of national drug control policy states that "smoked
marijuana has not been demonstrated by science to be a safe and effective
medicine." It does however note that the "existing scientific literature"
on the topic is being reviewed by the Institute of Medicine, which will
issue a report in early 1999.

"If the federal government wants to see this issue go away, then they have
the ability to immediately reschedule marijuana into schedule 2 and have it
be taken over by pharmaceutical companies" and pharmacies, said Killian.
Marijuana is currently classified as a "schedule 1" drug under the
Controlled Substances Act, along with drugs such as LSD and heroin.
Schedule 2 substances, which can be prescribed, include cocaine, methadone
and morphine.

Arizona's ballot measure differs from the others in that voters will decide
whether to accept changes made by the state legislature to the original
medicinal marijuana bill passed in 1996. The changes would effectively wipe
out the 1996 decision by making federal approval a condition for use of the
drug.

Movements in Colorado and the District of Columbia are currently embroiled
in court battles to have similar ballot questions count. In the District of
Columbia, the question will appear on the ballot and be counted, but
Congress passed an amendment to the District of Columbia's budget last week
which removes funding for the votes to be certified. A Colorado judge ruled
last week that not enough signatures were collected for votes on the
question to be tallied.

The epicenter of the current movement is in California, which, along with
Arizona, legalized medicinal pot in 1996.

The precedent set by California is one of continual clashes between the
state and federal officials. While the law allows for caregivers to provide
marijuana to their patients, problems arose when patients began designating
large-scale "buyers clubs" as their caregiver. Despite an organized system
where doctor's notes were kept on file for every patient, the clubs have
been systematically shut down by federal and state officials for violation
of federal law banning the distribution of narcotics.

The current movements vow not to fall into the same traps.

"We all learned from the California experience and we've tried to better
the process," Killian said.

All of the new proposals limit patients and caregivers to specified amounts
that they can grow. Alaska, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon would establish a
patient registry with ID cards for legal users and the District of Columbia
initiative would explicitly establish non-profit organizations that would
be allowed to distribute and grow medical marijuana.

Some groups are worried that increasing acceptance of marijuana, a drug
once labeled "the devil's weed" by anti-drug films in the '30s and '40s,
sends the wrong message to young people.

"When kids see more risk and less social acceptability in drugs, fewer
children will choose to use drugs," said a statement issued by the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "When the opposite occurs — when
children see less risk, and more social acceptability — more children are
willing to use drugs."

It has been suggested that such new laws would weaken law enforcement of
the recreational use of marijuana. Organizers such as Sugerman and Killian
say their strict regulations would prevent this from becoming a by-product
of their movement, but others clearly hope this will happen.

"I hope that we stop persecuting everybody for marijuana because it's a
complete waste of money," said Hager. "And it tramples on a lot of our
constitutional rights."

Checked-by: Richard Lake