ACTIVISTS ACCUSE 'DRUG CZAR' OF ILLEGAL CAMPAIGNING

WASHINGTON - A group supporting marijuana legalization filed a federal
complaint Wednesday against the White House's drug policy director,
alleging that he violated the law by campaigning against a Nevada marijuana
ballot initiative in November.

The compliant, lodged with the US Office of Special Counsel (OSC), accuses
Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John Walters with breaking
a law preventing federal officials from using their office to campaign for
or against state ballot initiatives.

It accuses Walters of visiting several Nevada cities on October 10 and 11,
2001, and advocating for the defeat of a marijuana legalization initiative
there during press briefings and television appearances.

Walters' office dismissed the complaint, calling it a political stunt and
maintaining that the director, President Bush's chief advisor on drug
policy, acted within the law.

A federal law known as the Hatch Act prohibits federal officials from using
their offices to influence elections.

The ballot measure, which failed 61% to 39%, would have decriminalized
possession of less than 3 ounces of marijuana by adults.

The OSC is a independent agency set up to investigate whistle-blower
complaints and alleged wrongdoing by administration officials.

Officials found guilty of Hatch Act violations can be permanently removed
from office or suspended for not less than 30 days, according to the OSC
Web site.

"We want him out of the picture. We want him excommunicated from the
federal government forever," said Robert D. Kampia, executive director of
the Marijuana Policy Project, the group that filed the complaint.

The complaint cites press reports quoting Walters in Nevada commenting
directly on the marijuana initiative, calling it a "con" and "insulting to
the voters of the state."

"Walters used the authority and influence of his official title to its full
advantage," the complaint alleges.

Steve Fox, an attorney for the Marijuana Policy Project, said that OSC told
him their initial investigation would take 2 to 3 months.

The group also complained to Susan Bilyew, the Nevada Deputy Secretary for
Elections, that Walters had not filed election expenditure reports
detailing political activities as state law requires.

ONDCP spokesperson Jennifer DeVallance called the complaint "nothing more
than a cheap political stunt."

DeVallance said that Walters made 15 visits to 10 states in the months
before the November elections, some which had marijuana initiatives on the
ballot and some which did not.

DeVallance also said cited the 1998 federal legislation creating ONDCP,
which requires the director to "take such action as necessary" to oppose
attempts to legalize illicit drugs.

"When he goes out and does morning news shows, he talks about the fact that
legalization efforts are a bad idea," she said.

Kampia said that the instructions do not give the director permission to
violate the Hatch Act and other federal laws.

A statewide initiative similar to Nevada's failed in Arizona failed in
November, as did an Ohio initiative calling for drug treatment and not
incarceration for users of cocaine and other drugs.

Voters approved some local drug initiatives in Massachusetts, California,
and Washington, including one directing San Francisco city officials to
begin growing marijuana for medical use in violation of federal drug laws.