TREND TOWARDS APPROVAL OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

On Nov. 2, Montana voters overwhelmingly said yes to medical
marijuana. Medical marijuana passed at 63 percent, the largest margin
of victory yet for a statewide medical marijuana campaign, making
Montana the 10th state to pass laws protecting medical marijuana users
under state law. To me this says three things: Montanans care and are
compassionate about the suffering of our citizens; it is time for the
federal government to stop arresting medical marijuana users and their
caregivers; and finally the tide is turning in our nation's war on
drugs.

Seventeen out of 20 marijuana policy reform initiatives passed
throughout America, including many designed to stop arresting
nonviolent recreational marijuana users.

Drug Czar John Walters continued his scramble to denounce marijuana
decriminalization, but nobody is listening.

More and more, our federal government has become overwhelming and
scary.

Thanks to the civil rights atrocities following Sept. 11, Americans
now know to think for themselves instead of letting our government
make decisions for us. We can only hope that President Bush keeps his
word and let states decide the medical marijuana issue "as they so
choose" without the federal government interfering with the will of
the people and prosecuting medical marijuana patients.

I encourage everyone to get involved, help out, and let our government
know it is not OK to spend our tax dollars prosecuting individuals
based on the chemicals they put inside their own bodies.

Adam Jones

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy

Educators for a Sensible Drug Policy

Billings