MEDICINAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE QUALIFIES FOR FALL BALLOT

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - An initiative to legalize medicinal use of marijuana
was certified Thursday for the state's November general election ballot.

Initiative 692 would allow people who are dying or suffering from
debilitating illness to grow and smoke marijuana if it is prescribed by a
doctor.

The initiative relied on paid signature-gatherers and was certified by the
secretary of state as having the required 179,248 of registered voters.

The marijuana initiative was pushed by Dr. Rob Killian of Tacoma after last
year's defeat of a far broader drug legalization initiative.

In 1996, voters in California and Arizona approved ballot issues legalizing
marijuana for medical use, but Arizona's lawmakers blocked it. The federal
government considers medical marijuana illegal and has prosecuted its use
in California.

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Checked-by: Mike Gogulski