RULING MAY PUT MARIJUANA MEASURE ON BALLOT

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- A federal judge here has overturned a law
prohibiting residents of the city from circulating or voting on a ballot
initiative to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

As a result, a measure that would legalize the cultivation, possession, use
and distribution of marijuana for seriously ill patients whose doctors
recommend it could be put on the ballot as early as November.

The judge, Emmet G. Sullivan of District Court, ruled on Thursday that the
law barring circulation of the initiative was unconstitutional.

"There can be no doubt that the Barr Amendment restricts plaintiff's First
Amendment right to engage in political speech," Judge Sullivan wrote in his
ruling.

The legislation that prohibited city officials and residents from
considering the legalization of marijuana was called the Barr Amendment
after its sponsor, Representative Bob Barr, Republican of Georgia. It
prevented the city from using public money to pursue the initiative.

Mr. Barr said the court had "ignored the constitutional right and
responsibility of Congress to pass laws protecting citizens from dangerous
and addictive narcotics."

But Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, an
advocacy group that was a plaintiff in the case, said the "ruling strongly
affirms the notion that Congress's power over the District of Columbia has
limits."

A spokesman for the Justice Department said it had not decided whether to
appeal.

Last year, proponents of the medical use of marijuana sued the federal
government and the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics
seeking an injunction that would bar enforcement of the law.

The legislation was enacted by Congress in 1998 after a similar marijuana
initiative had been placed on the ballot and set off a dispute over home
rule for the city.

The medical marijuana initiative could be on the ballot this year if 16,000
signatures are collected and certified by July 5. Voters backed the
initiative four years ago, with 69 percent approving it.

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington
have removed criminal penalties for seriously ill patients who use and grow
marijuana with the approval of their doctors.