SMOKIN' MAD

As a third-year law student, I was outraged last month when I read the
article last month ("Smokin' medicine," cover story, Feb. 8) about
James and Lisa Masters. I expect more intelligent actions from
government officials.

A number of seriously ill patients, many of whom have cancer and other
debilitating diseases, have turned to medical marijuana only as a last
resort and upon their doctors' recommendations. Many patients have no
other way to get their medicine than with the aid of caregivers.
Targeting caregivers harms patients by forcing them to look to
strangers for their medicine.

It's hard to feel safe when there are actual criminals out there.
Instead of cracking down on the truly dangerous element of society,
our law enforcement and judicial officials are expending government
resources to make sure that those who are sick and dying, and their
caregivers, are behind bars.

Denver District Attorney Greg Long said in the New York Times on March
2 that prosecutors do not generally pursue cases in which the drug
being sold is marijuana for certified medical use. Failure to follow
that sensible path harms innocent people trying to obtain their legal
medicine.

Fifty-eight percent of Coloradoans voted in 2000 to protect medical
marijuana patients through the establishment of Colorado
Constitutional Amendment 20. Current polls show 70 to 80 percent of
Americans now supports these patients' rights. The misuse of
government resources to target the Masterses is directly against the
will of Colorado voters.

I can only hope that prosecutors come to their senses and dismiss the
case against the Masterses.

Jessica Spangler

Denver