DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE BACKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO -- Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich said Thursday that if
elected president, he would issue an executive order legalizing the use of
medical marijuana "as an act of compassion and expression of humanity."

"If a doctor makes that determination, or the patient asks for it, I think
it ought to be permitted," Kucinich, who is campaigning in California, said
in a telephone interview. "I've talked to too many people who have had
family members suffering from terminal illness who feel it would provide
them the most relief from pain and suffering."

Kucinich is the only Democratic candidate to state his support for
legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Such use is legal in
California and seven other states, but federal law prohibits the use of
marijuana for any purpose.

"My office would be involved in not only overturning the law, but in
facilitating the use of medical marijuana as an act of compassion and
expression of humanity," the Ohio congressman said.

Northern California has been the setting for several high-profile raids on
medical marijuana clinics by federal law enforcement officials in recent
months. The state's voters approved a measure in 1996 allowing the drug to
be used for medical purposes, but drug enforcement officials say federal law
takes precedence.

At an appearance in San Francisco Wednesday, Kucinich's rival, Sen. John
Edwards of North Carolina, said that as president he would not change the
existing law but would set up a commission to study the medical effects of
the drug.