SMITH CRITICIZED ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA POSITION

Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th, is good on senior issues.

He is good on veterans' issues.

He is a congressman who stands up against abortion because he is
pro-life.

These are things that I hear all of the time.

So what would happen if a senior citizen who was a military veteran
who attended right-to-life rallies got cancer and wanted to use
medical marijuana?

He would be a bit out of luck.

I saw Smith on television a couple of days ago saying that, "the polls
clearly show that the public is pro-life."

He complained that John Kerry sides with the minority on that
issue.

It appears that Smith thinks a politician should not endorse public
policy that goes against the will of the majority.

Smith knows that a recent CNN/Time Warner poll showed that 80 percent
of the American people think that seriously ill and dying Americans
should have the right to medical marijuana.

When you put all of that together you would think that Smith would
practice what he preaches and listen to the majority on a
life-and-death issue such as medical marijuana, but he doesn't.

He refuses to even schedule appointments to discuss medical
marijuana.

He doesn't value a person's right to life after they are born as much
as he values their rights before they are born.

Smith thinks that the federal government should continue the fight
against states that have medical marijuana laws.

He supports the Drug Enforcement Agency's closing of its legal state
medical marijuana dispensaries, leaving seriously ill patients to die
in needless discomfort.

Smith met my wife Cheryl Jan 15, 2002, when we showed up at a
meet-and-greet he was having in Howell Township.

He saw that Cheryl had all but lost her battle with multiple sclerosis
and that she couldn't move her arms or legs.

He saw that Cheryl was in pain and listened as she explained that
eating marijuana relieved her pain, but she hadn't been able to have
any for quite a while.

He saw that she didn't have much time left and he promised to schedule
an appointment to discuss medical marijuana further, but never did.

Cheryl died a year ago.

Smith outlasted her.

To quote Bob Dylan, "How many deaths will it take till he knows that
too many people have died?"

For Smith, the answer is obviously not blowing in the wind.

The answer is simply, more than Cheryl's.

JIM MILLER

Silverton