FIRST PERSON SINGULAR

Aaron Houston, Marijuana Lobbyist, Takoma Park

I think I have one of the coolest jobs in Washington. I'll call a
congressional office and say, "I'm calling from the Marijuana Policy
Project." And they say, "The Maryland Policy Project?"

"No, no. Marijuana."

I lobby to enact protection for medical marijuana patients and their
caregivers, primarily, and I also focus on the larger government's
war on marijuana. Believe it or not, I receive wonderful reception
from both the Democratic and Republican members of Congress. One
Democratic member told me about a year ago that I was doing the
Lord's work. He said, "Aaron, you're laboring in the vineyards." And,
less than a year ago, I was talking to a Republican member of
Congress, a very culturally conservative gentleman from the South,
who told me that he thought the libertarian side of him agreed with
us. He thought that these decisions about medicine, and patients
being able to use and have access to medical marijuana, did belong in
the hands of the states, but that he thought his district would
never support it.

Members of Congress, more than people might expect, take this issue
really seriously. A lot of members of Congress talk to me about their
family members who have had cancer or have had serious illnesses
where they've benefited from the use of medical marijuana. Because of
the kind of work I do, I think many people, including members of
Congress, regard me almost like a priest, in the sense that they are
willing to confess their marijuana use to me as if I were a priest,
as if they were in a confessional. Their own usage, patterns of it,
and what they believe about the policy. I'd say that it's true for
everyone from a bike courier on the street all the way up to members
of Congress. It's shown me -- and I had no idea before I started
working here --the number of people who actually have had
experiences with marijuana.

I think there's virtually no difference in what I do and what other
lobbyists do. The difference is in the issue.

- --Interview by Cathy Areu