LOOKING FOR TIERNEY TO SUPPORT MARIJUANA REFORM BILL

To the Editor:

As an advocate for the reform of the marijuana laws, I am disappointed with
the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court holding the intrastate
activities of Angel Raich and Diane Monson to be within the reach of federal
authorities.

The decision is not all bad news for marijuana law reform. The
majority acknowledged that marijuana is an "extraordinarily popular
substance" with an "admittedly enormous demand for recreational use."
The majority also accepted marijuana's medicinal use as bona fide.

The majority opinion then suggests that marijuana should be
rescheduled so it can be used as medicine and expresses hope that "the
democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these
respondents, may one day be heard in the halls of Congress."

Just this past May, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, with
bipartisan support, reintroduced the States' Rights to Medical
Marijuana Act. Now assigned bill number HR 2087, this bill has gained
more co-sponsors each time around. HR 2087 proposes rescheduling
marijuana under federal law so that citizens in states that wish to
legalize the medical use of marijuana could do so without fear of
federal prosecution and states could actually provide medical
marijuana to patients who qualify under state law.

Last session, five of Massachusetts' 10 representatives signed on as
sponsors, but John Tierney, D-Salem, was not among them. Even though
he has yet to sign on, he has twice voted, along with eight other
members of the Massachusetts delegation in the House, in favor of
prohibiting the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere
with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws.

I urge your readers to let Congressman Tierney know you want him to
support HR 2087.

STEVEN S. EPSTEIN Esq.

Georgetown