Vote was `mistake,' says past drug czar
By Shaun McKinnon

PHOENIX Arizonans who voted to allow the medical use of marijuana and
other drugs made a mistake and should let the Legislature fix it, former
drug czar William Bennett said yesterday.

``It's not a great heretical act to say people make mistakes,'' Bennett
said. ``I think the people who voted for this made a mistake. It's not
the only mistake that was made in November. It's a free country. It
happens.''

He said proponents of Proposition 200 crafted a slick advertising
campaign that obscured the facts and duped many people into supporting a
dangerous initiative.

``That this initiative passed is a scandal,'' he said. ``It's also
understandable given the promotion and advertising that were used. Many
of us would have been taken in.''

As for voters who believed they understood what they were doing: ``They
were wrong,'' Bennett said.

His remarks drew scorn from one of Proposition 200's chief proponents,
who said Bennett and others were in denial over the failure of their war
on drugs.

``The people have spoken,'' said Sam Vagenas, who helped organize the
group Arizonans for Drug Policy Reform. ``They made all these points
before the election it just didn't take. I think it is a smoke screen
for their gutting of the will of the people.''

Proposition 200 passed by a 2to1 ratio, garnering more than 800,000
votes, Vagenas said. That should convince opponents that Arizonans knew
what they were doing and don't want anyone trying to secondguess them,
he added.

Bennett, President George Bush's drug czar and Education Secretary under
President Ronald Reagan, appeared at a news conference with Maricopa
County Attorney Richard Romley to lobby for a bill in the Legislature
that would blunt many of Proposition 200's provisions.

Romley and others are enlisting Bennett, federal drug czar Barry
McCaffery and possibly even President Clinton in a lastditch attempt to
save House Bill 2518, which is struggling in the Senate as the
legislative session nears an end.

The bill would require approval from the federal Food and Drug
Administration before a physician could prescribe marijuana or any other
Schedule I drug, such as heroin, LSD or PCP.

Proposition 200 allowed such medical uses for seriously ill or dying
patients. The initiative mandated treatment for first and secondtime
drug offenders and made nonviolent offenders already in prison eligible
for parole.

The Legislature has passed bills limiting prisoner releases and
restricting treatment and probation to offenders willing to participate
in such programs.

Sen. John Kaites, RGlendale, said requiring physicians to wait for FDA
approval before prescribing drugs is reasonable. ``We think that this
legislation is clearly within the spirit of Proposition 200. It does not
thwart the will of the people,'' he said.

Kaites said he has 11 votes in the Senate for HB2518 and he's working on
finding the other five he needs to send the bill to the governor.

Bennett called on ``my Republican friends'' in the Senate to help pass
the bill.

``Republicans need to understand this is a constitutional republic in
which we live,'' he said. ``People are owed the best judgment of their
elected officials.''

Vagenas called Bennett's intervention ``a fullthrottle thwarting of the
will of the people,'' and said Arizona voters aren't going to stand for
it if it continues.

Proposition 200 proponents have said they are considering launching an
initiative effort that would allow voters to block the Legislature from
making any changes to a ballot measure for at least three years.

``I think the bottom line is that voters believe the war on drugs is a
failure,'' Vagenas said. ``People like Bennett and Romley who are the
generals in this war have failed and they are just making excuses for
their failure.''