DIVERGENT VIEWS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUE

The American Civil Liberties Union applauds San Diego's civic
leaders, especially Councilwoman Toni Atkins, for standing up for the
city's ill and vulnerable citizens who need medical marijuana. In
filing a brief in support of our lawsuit, which defends the state's
medical marijuana laws against the county's unfounded attack, the
City Council sided with science, medicine, common sense, compassion
and mainstream American feelings on this subject.

County supervisors are defying the will of the voters by refusing to
implement California's medical marijuana law - the Compassionate Use
Act - which allows patients with serious conditions such as cancer
and AIDS to use the drug to relieve their chronic symptoms.
Supervisors are denying its citizens access to healing medical
treatment and a right to legal protections simply because they live
in a county that refuses to implement state law. Most other counties
in the state have long since implemented the measures voters approved
in 1996 and 2003.

It is encouraging to see that the City Council, the mayor and the
city attorney - representing the lion's share of the county - are
supportive of preserving the right of individuals, in conjunction
with trusted medical professionals, to chart their treatment course.

As executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties,
we believe that seriously ill Californians should be free to access
scientifically proven medical options without government interference
based on ideology

Kevin M. Keenan

San Diego