Ex-Presidents Rail Vs. Marijuana

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three former presidents -- George Bush, Jimmy Carter and
Gerald Ford -- are urging defeat on Election Day of referendums in several
states to legalize marijuana for medical use.

``These initiatives are not based on the best available science,'' the
three former presidents wrote in a ``Dear Fellow Citizens'' letter
Wednesday that closely parallels the Clinton administration's stance.

In remarks earlier this week, Barry McCaffrey, the White House director of
drug control programs, asserted that marijuana initiatives on the ballot in
Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia would
prejudge clinical research to determine the safety of marijuana use by AIDS
patients.

``Prejudging that research through a political process would be
irresponsible,'' McCaffrey said.

In their letter, which was requested by McCaffrey, the three former
presidents said the state ballot measures ``undercut our national
commitment to ensuring that medicines are proven to be safe and effective
by the Food and Drug Administration before being approved for use by the
public.''

``Ignoring science does not promote good medicine and is not in our
national interest,'' they wrote.

Under the state measures, marijuana would be made legal only for persons
suffering from one of a short list of specific ailments. Measures in
Alaska, Oregon and Nevada would establish state registries of patients
entitled to use it. In Alaska and Oregon, patients could get identification
cards to avoid arrest.

The laws would require patients to get a doctor's recommendation that
marijuana will help one or more of a list of illnesses that includes
cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain, seizures and muscle spasms. Advocates
hope the initiatives' narrow focus on medical applications will appeal to
voter compassion and evoke images of solace, of pain eased, of appetite
restored and of nausea quieted.

Recent polls in Alaska, Oregon and Washington show most voters support the
measures; in Nevada it appears to be a close call.

A ballot measure in Arizona would require heroin, LSD, marijuana and
certain other drugs to be authorized by the FDA before they could be
prescribed as medicines. Polls indicate that measure is trailing.

Checked-by: Richard Lake