Arizona Bill Guts Legalized Drug Initiative
Policy: Measure says FDA must approve pot, LSD and heroin before they
are prescribed. Backers of initiative say will of voters is violated.

By ERIC BAILEY

In a setback for supporters of marijuana as medicine, Arizona
lawmakers agreed Tuesday to virtually gut a controversial
druglegalization initiative resoundingly approved by the state's
voters in November.
State lawmakers approved a measure that requires Food and
Drug Administration approval of marijuana or any other illicit drug
before it can be prescribed as allowed under Proposition 200.
Gov. Fife Symington has been pushing to nullify Proposition 200
and plans to sign the bill, his spokesman said.
Along with California's Proposition 215, which legalized medical
use of marijuana, the Arizona initiative helped launch a nationwide
debate on the efficacy of pot and a reassessment of the federal
government's longrunning war on drugs.
The Arizona measure, approved by voters by a 2to1 margin,
went considerably further than California's: legalizing pot and all
other Schedule I drugs for medical use, requiring that offenders
receive therapy instead of incarceration and calling for the release of
about 1,200 inmates serving time for narcotics violations. Besides
marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Administration puts heroin, LSD
and methamphetamine on Schedule I.
The portion of the ballot proposition that would have permitted
the release of imprisoned drug offenders was curtailed by state
lawmakers a few weeks ago. Under an emergency measure already
signed by the governor, drug offenders will be released only if the
state Board of Executive Clemency decides they pose no danger to
society. The cases of fewer than 200 such inmates will be reviewed
by the board.
Although wildly popular with the electorate, Proposition 200 ran
into trouble at the statehouse, where many lawmakers felt voters
had been duped by a slick campaign during last fall's election.
Backers of the initiative said they plan to sponsor a similar
proposition in 1998 along with an initiative to prohibit the
Legislature from undercutting the will of the voters. In California, the
state Constitution prohibits the Legislature from tampering with
ballot measures approved by voters, but Arizona law contains no
such provision.
"This just keeps the pot boiling as far as I'm concerned," said
John Sperling, a chief backer of the Proposition 200 campaign.
"This has made the whole war on drugs an issue. I think the fact that
our opponents struggle and scream and howl is all for the good."
Sam Vagenas, one of the chief backers of Proposition 200, said
passage of the new bill showed blatant disregard for the will of the
voters.
"There's no doubt they're gutting the will of the people. I think in
1998 voters will pay them back for their arrogance," he said.
But foes of Proposition 200 were crowing. In Washington, the
vote was lauded by a spokesman for Barry McCaffrey, the White
House national drug policy director. "The Legislature of Arizona has
taken a very responsible course of action," said Bob Weiner,
spokesman for the White House national drug policy office.
The arguments over the bill split both parties in the Legislature.
The Arizona House of Representatives approved the bill 3224 in
March. Tuesday's 1713 vote in the state Senate came after a
debate that focused on whether its authors were seeking to thwart
the will of the people as expressed at the polls last fall.
Republican Sen. John Kaites, one of the bill's sponsors, denied
that was the case, saying he believes voters were deprived of
complete information about the measure and thus "weren't entirely
sure what they were voting on."
"The bottom line is, this was not strictly a medical marijuana
measure," Kaites said. "This was a medical heroin bill. . . . And if
we're going to allow for the medicalization and use of heroin, it
ought to go through a testing process first to see if there are any
legitimate medical uses."
He acknowledged that while the FDA is studying marijuana and
may find it possesses benefits for the sick, the agency is unlikely to
ever validate the medical use of heroin, LSD or methamphetamine.
Kaites said the legislative action was necessary to counter what he
called "a blatant attempt to move toward legalization of many drugs
here in Arizona."
"The proponents wrap this up as an innocent medical marijuana
bill, but it was much, much more than that," Kaites said. "To me,
this is something that other states need to be very concerned about."

Other lawmakers, however, said Tuesday's action smacked of
legislative arrogance.
"The people of this state knew exactly what they were doing,"
said state Sen. Ruth Solomon, a Democrat. "They clearly knew the
war on drugs is failing. And they wanted people who are critically ill
to be allowed to get relief with a drug that helps."

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