A JOINT A DAY KEEPS ILLNESS AWAY?

Californian Seeks Utah Pot Law

Searching for someone to sponsor a bill to legalize marijuana for medical
use, Dennis Robert Peron has written letters to every member of the Utah
Legislature.

No one has responded yet, Peron said Monday during a rally on the Capitol
steps.

But the 55-year-old Californian -- who in 1996 drafted a similar bill in
his home state -- believes Utah will eventually join nine other states that
allow people with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other diseases to use
marijuana to alleviate pain and nausea.

Calling it a fight for democracy, Peron said: "I hope to empower a lot of
people."

Meanwhile, Peron is fighting criminal charges in Cedar City, where he and
two friends were vacationing in November when they were busted for pot
possession.

"We brought our message to Utah kind of accidentally," quipped Peron, who
is to be arraigned today before 5th District Judge Robert Braithwaite.

Allegedly found in possession of nearly a pound of marijuana at a Cedar
City motel, Peron and his two companions -- 37-year-old John Entwistle and
19-year-old Kasey Conder -- are each charged with third- degree felony drug
possession with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A conviction on the felony carries a possible prison term of up to 5 years.

Peron and Entwistle say they have used marijuana to cure their alcoholism.
Conder said he uses it for depression. The three carry documents signed by
California medical doctors approving their use of the drug. Peron said he
plans to bring the doctor who prescribed marijuana for him to his
preliminary hearing.

Reed Morrill, who drove from Ogden to attend the rally, said he has treated
his depression with marijuana for 20 years by smoking about "a joint a
day." He said he prefers marijuana to prescription medications, which make
him drowsy.

"I did get my medication [marijuana] today," Morrill said.

California's law, Proposition 215, allowed those with medical permits to
obtain marijuana if they "grow their own" or establish unregulated "clubs"
where marijuana can be procured without resorting to street purchases of
black market pot.

Peron founded San Francisco's Cannabis Cultivation Club and runs a 20- acre
farm, of which about 1 1/2 acres is under marijuana cultivation.

Entwistle, who emphasized that the co-op neither buys nor sells marijuana,
said they produce enough for about 100 patients.

Peron claimed medical marijuana patients don't get high from using the drug.

"They become normal when they smoke marijuana," he said.

Utah prosecutors say a May 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidated
existing state medical marijuana laws, and prevents the creation of a Utah
law. The high court's decision held that there is no exception to federal
laws that forbid medical marijuana use.

But Peron insists the fight is far from over.

"States have a right to regulate things, otherwise why have states?" he said.

Meanwhile, Peron said there has been no enforcement crackdown in California
or other states that have legalized medical marijuana use.

"Are they going to haul cancer patients to jail?" he said. "I don't think so."

The May 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing marijuana for medical
use reversed a 1999 ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruling medical necessity can be a legal defense in marijuana cases.

The federal government triggered the case in 1998, seeking an injunction
against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative and five other marijuana
distributors, including Peron's co-op.