BILL WOULD BAN PROSECUTIONS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON -- Seated and steadied by her husband's hand, Angel Raich's
eyes welled up with tears at the mention of her son.

"He's 19 and tomorrow night he'll be going into the U.S. Army," she
said.

Raich is thankful she has lived to see him grow up. She wasn't always
sure she would.

Since she won her case against former U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft in 2002, Raich has become a public face for the legalization
of medical marijuana.

The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prohibited the
Bush administration from prosecuting Raich and her suppliers, who grow
about 8 pounds of cannabis each year for her at no charge. They all
live in California, which legalized medical marijuana in 1996 through
a statewide referendum.

On Tuesday, Raich was in Washington to support an amendment to an
appropriations bill that would prohibit the Justice Department from
spending taxpayer money on medical-marijuana prosecutions in states
that allow its use.

"It is an absolute waste of public funds," Raich said. "They will be
prosecuting us like criminals even though we're sick."

Reps. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.,
proposed the one-sentence amendment Tuesday in response to last week's
Supreme Court ruling that deemed it constitutional for Congress to
prohibit the cultivation and use of medical marijuana in California
and the 10 other states allowing such activity.

"It is a travesty for the federal government to step in and override a
state law that would permit this activity," Rohrabacher said. "The
people of the states have a right to make this decision."

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and
Washington have legalized medical marijuana. All except Hawaii and
Vermont held statewide votes on the measure.

Raich, who said she has been ill since adolescence, suffered an
allergic reaction in 1995 to birth control. Since then, she's been
diagnosed with a multitude of medical conditions, including an
inoperable brain tumor.

Restricted to a wheelchair in 1996, Raich was not able to keep down
any synthetic drugs. Her doctor then recommended medical marijuana,
which Raich said has restored her appetite and helped her manage
chronic pain.

"It has restored my mobility," she said. "When I get out of the bed
in the morning, I can't move without cannabis."

Critics say the younger generation might have a hard time
distinguishing between the medical use and the illegal use of marijuana.

"You just need to be open with kids about everything in life," said
Raich, who also has a 16-year-old daughter.

The measure's sponsors also acknowledged the fight against the culture
created by the recreational use of marijuana.

"The decision-making surrounding this drug has been clouded by other
consideration," Rohrabacher said. "It's time to leave the '60s behind."