AN OPEN LETTER TO AG ERIC HOLDER

Dear Attorney General Holder:

The Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado's second largest daily
newspaper, respectfully joins four Colorado politicians who wrote to
ask that you rein in your Drug Enforcement Administration officers in
Colorado. They've acted with disrespect for the voters of Colorado to
undermine our state's constitutional right to buy, sell, produce and
consume medical marijuana. Their actions have undermined sincere
efforts by state and local politicians to achieve responsible medical
marijuana regulation

As you know, Colorado voters amended their state constitution in 2000
to allow for medical marijuana. That means law enforcement cannot
interfere with the lawful growth, distribution or sale of marijuana
intended for medical use.

This is common sense. A constitutional amendment to protect the
consumption of medical marijuana means nothing if law-abiding
citizens cannot grow, distribute and sell the plant for acquisition
by qualified patients with recommendations from licensed physicians.

Despite claims to the contrary, this is more than a matter of common
sense. Our constitution spells out the right to acquire, possess and
produce medical marijuana: "'Medical use means the acquisition,
possession, production, use, or transportation of marijuana or
paraphernalia related to the administration of such marijuana to
address the symptoms or effects of a patient's debilitating medical condition."

It doesn't get any clearer than that. In Colorado, constitutional law
specifically prohibits law enforcement from interfering with the
"acquisition" of marijuana. Acquisition of any good usually involves
a buyer/seller arrangement. To slightly alter a phrase coined by the
late economist Milton Friedman about free lunches: There ain't no
such thing as free medical marijuana. Most users must buy it.

The constitution prohibits law enforcement from interfering with the
acquisition, production, transportation and use of marijuana if the
product is even "related" to medical care.

Without the right to produce, distribute and sell alcohol we would
still have prohibition, which is forbidden by the United States
Constitution. Without the right to produce, distribute and sell guns,
the Second Amendment to the Constitution would be meaningless.
Therefore, attempts by authorities to pick apart Colorado's
constitutionally protected right to medical marijuana, looking for
loopholes created by make believe ambiguity, are dishonest. One does
not have a constitutional right to medical marijuana if federal
agents raid, threaten and arrest people who grow, distribute and sell
the product.

Mr. Holder, it was your office that released a memo Oct. 19 that
announced, in clear terms, the federal government's intentions to
respect medical marijuana protections in Colorado and other medical
marijuana states. The memo, penned by Deputy Attorney General David
Ogden to all U.S. Attorneys, states: Prosecution of "caregivers in
clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide
such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use
of limited federal resources." The memo says prosecution will
continue against "commercial enterprises that unlawfully (emphasis
ours) market and sell marijuana for profit..."

Again, our constitution specifically guarantees qualified patients
the right to use marijuana for medicinal reasons.It specifically
legalizes the acquisition (therefore sale) and production.

We can't have a state constitution that protects the right of medical
marijuana use, and a written policy from your office that expresses
respect for that right and rogue federal agents on a crusade to
undermine our constitution and the Obama administration's written
intention to respect state laws.

This request, respecting the written intentions of your office, comes
from a conservative/limited government editorial page that serves one
of the most conservative cities in the United States. A majority of
Coloradans -- conservatives, liberals and moderates alike -- are
mostly pleased with their state's medical marijuana law and the Obama
administration's written decision to respect it.

Please, Mr. Holder, call off these agents and let our state and local
elected officials work this out. Coloradans will respect you
immensely for doing so.

Respectfully,

Wayne Laugesen,

editorial page editor,

for The Gazette's editorial board