Marijuana Policy Project:

GROUP SAYS DRUG CZAR VIOLATED LAW

Walters Accused of Campaigning Against Question 9

WASHINGTON -- A pro-marijuana group accused White House drug czar John
Walters on Wednesday of violating Nevada and federal laws by urging voters
to oppose legalization of small amounts of the drug.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which initiated the Nevada ballot question
that Walters opposed, filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special
Counsel, an independent federal investigator and prosecutor.

The complaint accuses Walters of committing the violations when he traveled
to Nevada in July and October to speak against legalization.

The group also is urging Nevada election officials to fine Walters for not
filing a state-required expenditure report of his activity on Question 9,
which sought to legalize the possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana.

"We want to keep the federal government from campaigning for all ballot
measures," said Robert Kampia, executive director of the Washington-based
Marijuana Policy Project, which had dispatched an operative to Nevada to
organize the pro-legalization campaign.

Question 9 was defeated 61 percent to 39 percent on Election Day.

A White House spokesman for Walters, who is head of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy, dismissed the accusations as "laughable," and said the
Senate-confirmed appointee was only doing his job.

"It's a Cheech and Chong interpretation of the law," spokesman Tom Riley
said. "Part of the job description is to fight against drug legalization."

The complaint filed with the special counsel accuses Walters of violating
the Hatch Act, passed in 1939 to restrict the political activity of federal
employees. The marijuana reform group called for Walters to be stripped of
his post and barred from further government service.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Special Counsel Elaine Kaplan said political
appointees are subject to the Hatch Act but it might take months for an
understaffed Hatch Act division to get to the specific complaint. The
spokeswoman, who declined to be named, said more than 200 Hatch Act
complaints are pending for three attorneys to handle.

Dane Waters, president of the Virginia-based Initiative and Referendum
Institute that analyzes ballot measures, said the complaint could lead to
precedents on the proper role of federal officials in state initiative
campaigns. He said it was unusual that the drug czar actively opposed
marijuana questions put before voters in Nevada, Arizona and Ohio.

"It's OK for the federal government to educate people," Waters said. "But
many people felt the drug czar crossed the line when he began advocating a
certain vote."

Kampia said his group's complaint was limited to Walters' activities in
Nevada because that was the only state where the Marijuana Policy Project
was involved.

The Marijuana Policy Project does not plan to pursue a complaint against
Drug Enforcement Administration head Asa Hutchinson, who spoke against
marijuana legalization during a Nevada appearance this summer.

"We have a clear case against the drug czar," Kampia said.

Kampia also sent a letter to Susan Bilyew, Nevada deputy secretary for
elections, demanding Walters be fined the maximum $5,000 for failing to
file a state campaign report.

Steve George, a spokesman for Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller, said
investigators will have to determine whether state election law applies to
Walters as a presidential appointee.

"This is an unusual situation," George said. "We'll have to look at how the
statutes stand for this particular case. Federal law may supersede Nevada
state law."

One Nevada campaign law advocate said he would not expect state officials
to fine Walters.

"His job is to try and keep the federal government drug laws enforced,"
said Paul Brown, Southern Nevada director of the Progressive Leadership
Alliance. "This flies in the face of that."