MEDICINAL MARIJUANA FEDS' BIG TARGET

In California, Prop. 215 was passed in 1996, making it legal for people
suffering from AIDS, cancer and other serious diseases to use marijuana if
they have a doctor's prescription. But since 9/11, the war on drugs has
been subsumed by the war on terrorism.

In the last year, with the rationale that the drug trade may fund
terrorism, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has taken action against
more than 35 medicinal marijuana patients, cooperatives and providers in
California. The most recent incident in September pitted Santa Cruz pot
growers Michael and Valerie Corral, who run the Wo/Men's Alliance for
Medical Marijuana, against federal agents with assault rifles and ended up
with City Council members handing out joints on the steps of City Hall in
defiance.

"I think this whole panic over terrorism is creating a smoke screen under
which the DEA sees an opportunity to do what it wants, especially in
California with medical marijuana. There have been some pretty outrageous
actions while the public focused on Iraq and on 9/11," said Dale Gieringer,
director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Cannibus sativa and the hemp industry didn't come under fire until after
the repeal of alcohol prohibition. Pot became outlawed in 1937.

"A lot of people don't understand that this plant has been used for
thousands of years for food, fiber, medicine, fuel and also as a
sacrament," said David Jack, a resident of Angels Camp and a staunch
supporter of decriminalizing cannabis.

A 60-year-old retired social worker who spent his career in juvenile
probation in Santa Clara and with a 18-bed private nonprofit rehab facility
in Calaveras County, Jack also suffers an inoperable brain tumor.

"Since 1990, I have gone through 39 different medications to control
seizures with multiple side effects. Some have done damage to my liver,"
Jack said.

Now he eats pot in baked goods and uses a vaporizer to control severe
nausea and vertigo.

Three years ago, he co-founded Northern Lights Church in Wallace and
created a "congregational caregiver program" to provide marijuana others
with similar needs. In 2000, the church was raided by the DEA, plants were
seized, but no charges were brought against Jack.

"While I can still breathe and speak I will speak my mind," Jack said. "I
don't want to see our drugs laws as far more harmful than the drugs
themselves."

Dan Bava, the director of the San Joaquin County Office of Substance Abuse,
believes that the current laws do reflect the problem.

California has decriminalized marijuana to a degree. Possession is a
misdemeanor, but the cultivation (except for caregivers) or sale of pot is
a felony. Conviction could mean 16 months to five years in state prison.

"I think the drugs laws are in line with the problem," Bava said. "Medical
marijuana really needs to be in a controlled environment. Just to say, 'Oh
yes, it's a good drug and you can use it' -- no, I do think it does impair
judgment. It does do harm to a person."

Other developed countries have determined that prosecuting users is
overkill, considering the relative harm of the drug, compared to even
alcohol and tobacco, and are choosing to redirect the resources of their
police and courts.

Twelve U.S. states have enacted similar policies, but the Bush
Administration has made it clear, less states forget, that the federal
government has the upper hand.

Every year, U.S. taxpayers fork over $10 billion to fund the arrests of
more than 734,000 individuals -- more folks than are arrested for all
violent crimes, including murder, rape and assault, according NORML.

A recent poll by CNN and Time magazine published in the Nov. 4 issue of the
national weekly, says that 80 percent of Americans think adults should be
able to use marijuana as medicine, and 72 percent believe that recreational
users should be fined rather than jailed. In California possession of 28.5
grams or less is a misdemeanor with a $100 fine.