MARIJUANA CAMPAIGN WOULD HALT OREGON BILL

By Ashbel S. Green, of the Oregonian Staff

The wealthy businessmen and professional political consultants who
persuaded Arizona and California voters last year to liberalize
marijuana laws have turned their attention to Oregon.

Their target is a bill passed by the 1997 Legislature that would
recriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Formed less than one month
ago, Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement claims to have raised about
$100,000 for a referendum effort to overturn the law. And with an
Ooem?/oe0ooming, a spoelpman says the organization has gathered the
49,000 signatures needed to block the law from going into effect the
next day and to put it before voters in November 1998.

"Quite a change for the Oregon marijuana initiatives," said Bill
Zimmerman, a California consultant who is working on the referendum.

Indeed, the effort marks a sharp departure from a decade of ragtag,
futile attempts to legalize marijuana in the state. Five initiative
efforts have failed to reach the ballot in the past decade. The last
measure to go before the voters, in 1986, failed by a 31 ratio.

The new effort also puts Oregon in the middle of a national political
debate about U.S. drug policy.

Businessmen Peter Lewis, John Sperling and Geroge Soros, who largely
bankrolled the campaigns last year in California and Arizona, have
contributed much of the money raised in Oregon.

All three have said the war on drugs is a failure and a huge waste of
tax dollars. They have spent millions of dollars of their own money on
initiatives that would change the nation's drug policy.

The change in Oregon's pot politics is best exemplified by a split
between two rival referendum groups. The first group, headed by several
of Oregon's veteran marijuana activists, claims to have gathered about
28,000 signatures. That's far short of the 48,841 needed to be turned in
to the Oregon secretary of state's office by Oct. 3.

In July, when the referendum effort started, the local activists asked
the California campaign for help, but not everyone agreed on tactics. In
late August, Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement split off, claiming
it needed to run the type of mainstream campaign that succeeded in
convincing California and Arizona voters that marijuana had legitimate
medicinal uses.

"We're not out to sing the praises of marijuana or work for its
legalization, as most of the people involved in Oregon (marijuana)
politics have been for the past several years," said Zimmerman, who ran
the campaign in California last year. "We are trying to do something a
lot less dramatic than that."

In Oregon, that means convincing voters that locking up pot smokers is a
waste of money, he said.

Not surprisingly, the first group feels maligned and betrayed by a group
they invited to Oregon to help.

"I don't think it was a proper characterization that we were hippies or
potheads or whatever," said Jon Zimmer, a chief petitioner for the
original referendum effort.

Still, Zimmer acknowledges that his group is struggling.

"Things could be better," he said. "I was not happy with the way things
turned out."

Meanwhile, Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement claims to be cruising.

"We're on track," said Todd Olson, a chief petitioner. "Our goal is to
get 80,000 (signatures). We want to be sure. I think we're over what's
required now."

Olson emphasizes the local connections of his group. He is legislative
aide to Rep. George Eighmey, DPortland. The other chief petitioner is
Michael Rose, who was active in the last marijuana measure that made it
to the ballot in 1986 and failed decisively.

"This is a local coalition, too," Olson said.

But the national money and professional campaigns are intimately
involved.

Lewis, an Ohio businessman, and Sperling, an Arizona businessman, gave
heavily to the Arizona and California campaigns. Both have contributed
to the Oregon campaign, and an initiative on Washington's November
ballot that would legalize marijuana for medicinal use.

Also involved is Soros, the billionaire financier who was on the cover
of Time magazine recently for a story about the controversial causes he
supports.

Soros, according to a spokesman, has pledged $50,000 to the Oregon
campaign.

Money from Soros, Lewis, Sperling and others fueled the Arizona and
California campaigns. Lewis and Sperling have given most of the $750,000
raised by a Washington medicinal marijuana measure, while its opponents
have raised just $11,000, according to the latest campaign filing
reports.

As in Oregon, the latest Washington initiative has largely excluded the
long term activists.

"The grassroots organizations still seem to exist," said Tim Killian,
campaign manager for Citizens for Drug Policy Reform, which is pushing
the Washington medicinal marijuana measure.

"There are some players nationally who are taking an active role. And
they're not necessarily going through the grass roots."

In Oregon, the attempt to repeal the recriminalization law may not
be the only marijuana measure on the 1998 ballot. Zimmerman said the same
national figures are interested in putting a medicinal marijuana bill on
the ballot, too.

That campaign also is likely to leave behind many of the oldtime
activists, Zimmerman said.