MEDICAL MARIJUANA

In the interview David Broder describes in his Nov. 11 column, Drug
Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson told the Christian Science
Monitor his agency just takes the laws Congress passes and enforces them.

I'm sure Hutchinson believes he was acting properly when he gave the
go-ahead for three recent DEA raids on cannabis clubs in California despite
our state's law that makes medical marijuana legal. Hutchinson believes
that last spring's Supreme Court decision in the Oakland Cannabis Club case
gives him free rein to bust dispensaries in the eight states that have
approved medical marijuana.

House Resolution 2592 is being debated in the House of Representatives. It
would codify a state's right to decide on the legality of medical
marijuana. If we're going to prevent further outbreaks of the lawlessness
that these DEA raids exemplify, we need to urge our legislators and
president to pass and sign HR 2592.

JANE MARCUS, Palo Alto, Calif.