PROP. 203 IS WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Editor:

Proposition 203 - the Medical Marijuana Initiative - is an important
Nov. 2 ballot decision. It allows for possession, growth, purchase and
use of marijuana for approved cardholders with a debilitating medical
condition.

But is that what it is really for, or is it the first step in
attempting to legalize marijuana in Arizona?

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) brought the initiative to Arizona.
The MPP is a Washington, D.C.-based organization whose mission
statement is to envision a nation where marijuana is legal.

Prop. 203 proposes to allow terminally or seriously ill patients to
use marijuana. Qualifying patients will register with the Arizona
Department of Health, thereby becoming cardholders, and will obtain
marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries or grow their own.

In states that have approved medical marijuana, such as California,
Montana and Colorado, most cardholders have more subjective illnesses
such as "pain." In Colorado these patients are in their 20s to 40s.
States with medical marijuana also have some of the nation's highest
addiction rates.

Prop. 203 is designed to prey on voters' sympathy for the terminally
ill and those with debilitating illnesses, when it is nothing more
than a vehicle to virtually decriminalize marijuana in Arizona by
creating legal barriers for law enforcement, prosecutors, courts,
state licensing entities, employers, schools and landlords.

Voters should to take a serious look at Prop. 203 and say
"no."

Lora Lee Nye

Prescott Valley