LIBERTARIAN, CIVIL-RIGHTS ACTIVIST ADVOCATE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA AT U.
FORUM

Civil-rights activist and perennial candidate Ken Larsen teamed up
Thursday with Libertarian Richard Mack, who is running for governor,
to rail against the government and push for the legalization of marijuana.

At a forum sponsored by the University of Utah Libertarian Party and
held at the university, both men said that pot has medicinal value and
should not be denied to people with painful illnesses, such as
multiple sclerosis, AIDS and glaucoma.

"Marijuana is medicine. The war on medical marijuana is just as phony
as the war on Iraq," Larsen said.

Dan Reuter, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency in the
Denver field office, which includes Utah, said there is no need to
legalize pot for medical reasons because there are pharmaceutical
drugs on the market that contain synthetic THC, the active ingredient
in marijuana. One such drug, called Marinol, helps enhance appetite
and curb nausea, he said.

"Because there are pharmaceutical forms of marijuana, the arguments
for legalizing smokable marijuana are moot," Reuter said. "The
legalizers have a hidden agenda they want to bring out: They want
someone to legitimize a smokable marijuana lifestyle."

Smoking may be a more reliable form of delivery, however, for people
suffering from nausea and vomiting who are unable to swallow and hold
down a pill, Larsen said. And it provides relief more quickly, he
added.

Reuter said pot can be addictive and damage the lungs despite
widespread notions that it is harmless "kiddy dope."

Larsen and Mack both said they don't advocate smoking pot
recreationally, but they believe people should have the right to make
that decision without governmental intervention.

"I think the recreational use of marijuana, drinking and smoking are
stupid," said Mack, a former Arizona lawman and failed candidate for
Utah County sheriff who described himself as a devout Mormon. "But the
stupidest thing in the world is we support a government that is in
charge of keeping us from being stupid."

Mack worked on the Nevada campaign last year that sought to legalize
marijuana possession (up to three ounces per adult) and to allow
seriously ill patients to obtain marijuana at a lower cost than
nonmedical users. Called Question 9, the measure was defeated 61
percent to 39 percent.

Eight states have laws protecting patients who possess and grow
marijuana with their doctor's approval: Alaska, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.