NO BIG DADDY

With the threatened closing of the cannabis buyers clubs in northern
California, the government is yet again sending the message that it
considers the will of the people little more than a minor irritation and
that it has little or no regard for that which has been voted in by a wide
margin of the voters of California.

The federal government is dramatically overstepping its bounds by violating
the intent of the voters. Washington does not know best, and we don't need
"big daddy" government second-guessing our decisions.

The government's denial of marijuana as a medicine has created this
situation. Marijuana should not be in schedule I of the federal Controlled
Substances Act. It is a safe and effective drug that should be available to
the seriously ill.

With the closure of clubs, patients will be forced into the criminal
underground market. This is dangerous and adds great burdens to people who
are already suffering. The clubs were a safe haven, the illegal market is
dangerous, but even more dangerous is a government that no longer listens
to its citizens.

MARK GREER
Executive director The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. Porterville
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FEDERAL INTIMIDATION

As the U.S. Department of Justice prepares to close several cannabis buyers
clubs in California, an important question must be raised: Who benefits
from this policy? Not the patients who use marijuana; they will only lose
their medicine. Not the voters of California, who watch their
self-determination being callously ignored. Not the taxpayers who foot the
bill for the antics of federal officials, as well as wasted police time,
since officers will once again be required to arrest medical-marijuana
buyers caught at street markets. Only a handful of people (including
marijuana dealers, lawyers, and law enforcement officials) gain anything
from this action, but that is not necessarily because they are cronies of
the Justice Department.

Instead of offering protection to the American people, the federal
government is practicing intimidation. The Department of Justice is telling
sick people, voters, and taxpayers around the country that they better not
mess around with federal regulations, no matter how arbitrary or stupid,
for the rules are more important than citizens themselves.

STEPHEN YOUNG
Roselle, Ill.