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Medical marijuana on 7 U.S. ballots
Patients say pot eases painIn this story:
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, October 30) -- Is marijuana a helpful medicine for the desperately ill, or a scheme hatched by drug pushers hoping to harvest a new generation of addicts? Those opposing views will compete at the polls next week as voters in six states and the District of Columbia consider limited legalization of marijuana.
Voters in Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state and Washington D.C. will decide whether physicians, under certain conditions, can prescribe marijuana as a treatment for patients. In addition, a ballot measure in Arizona would require heroin, LSD, marijuana and certain other drugs to be authorized by the federal government before they could be prescribed as medicines. He smokes pot legallyWhile California and Arizona in 1996 passed their own state marijuana initiatives, they were effectively quashed by federal suits aimed at keeping marijuana subject to national narcotics laws.
The group Americans for Medical Rights is spending more than $2 million to turn the tide back in favor of medical marijuana. The California-based organization argues that patients who smoke marijuana to relieve pain, control nausea or boost their appetites should not be made into criminals. Stockbroker Irv Rosenfeld smokes 12 marijuana cigarettes a day and doesn't consider himself a criminal. One of just eight people in the United States allowed to smoke marijuana legally, he was grandfathered into a now defunct federal program providing marijuana for medical purposes. In Rosenfeld's case, the marijuana eases the pain from a disease that attacks his joints. "To me, this is the most important aspect to life," he told CNN.
He's far from alone, according to pro-medical marijuana activists. "There are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of patients in the United States who could benefit from the medical use of marijuana," says Bill Zimmerman of Americans for Medical Rights. The group is funded in large part by three multimillionaire philanthropists, New York financier George Soros, Cleveland insurance magnate Peter Lewis and Phoenix educator-entrepreneur John Sperling, all of them opposed to federal government anti-drug policies from both Republican and Democratic administrations. 'Surrender our children to addiction'On the other side of the issue are critics who say the medical marijuana movement promotes drug abuse and criminal behavior by ushering young people into what one judge has called "the kindergarten of the drug industry". "Those who would surrender the war on drugs surrender our children to addiction," says Gilbert Gallegos, president of the Fraternal Order of Police. The opposition also includes three former presidents who have joined the White House in urging voters to reject legalized marijuana for medical use. "These initiatives are not based on the best available science," wrote George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford this week in a "Dear Fellow Citizens" letter that closely parallels the Clinton administration's stance. The letter was requested by Barry McCaffrey, the White House director of drug control programs, who dismisses the pro-marijuana camp as trying to weaken America's anti-drug resolve.
"Let's have none of this malarkey on marijuana smoking by cunning groups working to legalize drugs," McCaffrey said. Good medicine?Americans for Medical Rights insists its purpose is humanitarian and the ballot measures for medical use are not a stepping stone to legalizing marijuana. But in the government's view, there is no official proof to back the contention that marijuana can help ease symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases. "Smoked marijuana has not been tested (by the government)," says Dr. Don Vereen, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "We must keep an open mind about drugs with medical purposes, (but) before you vote, ask yourself: 'What other medicines do you smoke?' Smoked marijuana damages the brain, heart, lungs and immune system." While McCaffrey insists that "American medicine is the best in the world for pain management," the claim rings false for pro-medical marijuana groups in California. They have fought a long and ultimately unsuccessful battle to implement Proposition 215, the 1996 state law which allowed seriously ill people to use marijuana when advised to do so by their doctor. Under relentless federal assault in the courts, the marijuana supply clubs that sprang up to provide people with the drug have been forced to close. The last, in Oakland, shut its doors this month -- leaving its 2,000 "clients" with little option but to turn to street dealers for the drug. But even if voters support the propositions next week, the fight won't end there. Should the initiative in Washington D.C. be approved, Congress has moved to block it from becoming law. And the Justice Department has given every indication it will oppose implementation elsewhere. But for Rosenfeld, the questions of health and pain are far more basic. "Without this medicine, I would not have near the life that I have now. And I would have to become a criminal." Correspondent Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report. MORE STORIES:Friday, October 30, 1998
• Paula Jones plans to renew negotiations with Clinton, lawyer says • Report: ambassador made sex advance • Lobbyist gave illegal contributions to Espy's brother • Lewinsky, Tripp might not testify • Americans pick smiley face stamp • Gov. Whitman blasts feminist groups for sticking with Clinton
• White House goes after Gingrich • Voters get their say on ballot initiatives • Begala says election about "ideas" not "insults" • New York Senate race an old-fashioned street fight • A lot of gold in California Congressional race • Medical marijuana on 7 U.S. ballots • Democrats hopeful on governor's races • Clinton inspires campaign apologies • Who votes in a mid-term election • Michigan may not pass assisted suicide • Late campaigning too late in Oregon • Missouri to vote on slots measure • Gambling disputes on many ballots • South Carolina governor's race too close to call • Democrat Davis takes lead in California governor's race • GOP pits Democrat against Democrat • Poll gives Illinois senator hope • Alaska GOP wants election delayed • Scandal an issue in California race • Clinton seeks votes in Florida, New York • Alabama governor faces uphill battle • Labor officials, governor's aides face campaign charges | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
