Pubdate: Sat, 06 Oct 2001
Source: Free Lance-Star (VA)
Copyright: 2001 The Free Lance-Star
Contact:  http://fredericksburg.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1065
Author: Hank Shaw
Referenced: http://www.reamsreeferendum.com

LIBERTARIAN WANTS MARIJUANA REFORMS

Libertarian Candidate For Lieutenant Governor Running On Referendum 
To Change Marijuana Laws.

RICHMOND--Gary Reams is no dope-smoking, tie-dye wearing stoner bent 
on toking up--legally--on the floor of the Senate of Virginia.

He just thinks state residents should be allowed to decide whether to 
change the laws on marijuana.

Reams, a 45-year-old telecommunications executive from Herndon and 
Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor, is as button-downed as 
either of his major-party opponents, Democrat Tim Kaine or Republican 
Jay Katzen.

And contrary to most media reports, Reams' self-styled "Reeferendum" 
is not just about legalizing marijuana.

"The message for this campaign is not on any specific model of 
reform," Reams said. "It's to get reform on the agenda of the General 
Assembly."

Virginia does not allow voters to create new laws through Election 
Day referenda, a process known as initiative and referendum. So Reams 
decided to become a walking referendum, and got more than 23,000 
Virginians to sign a petition that put him on the ballot Nov. 6.

While he does not oppose decriminalizing or even legalizing pot, 
Reams focuses on two specific reforms.

First, he wants to let Virginia farmers grow industrial hemp--a 
marijuana variant that contains none of the intoxicating drug THC. 
Farmers in other countries grow this strain of hemp to make 
high-quality rope and other fiber-based products.

Earlier this year, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bobby Orrock, 
R-Spotsylvania County, sponsored a bill asking the Rural Prosperity 
Commission to study ways to let farmers grow industrial hemp. That 
bill passed.

Legislatures in Maryland, Kentucky, Vermont, Minnesota, California, 
Hawaii, South Dakota and Montana also have approved similar study 
bills.

Reams also wants to resuscitate the state's existing 
medical-marijuana law, which lets doctors prescribe pot to seriously 
ill patients as a painkiller. The Virginia Nurses Association has 
endorsed this, he said.

Reams argues that marijuana is unjustly categorized as a "gateway" 
drug or as something stiffer than, say, gin or unfiltered cigarettes. 
Studies have shown it to be less addictive than either alcohol or 
nicotine.

He also argues that the so-called "war on drugs" has failed.

"It isn't doing what we wanted it to do," Reams said. "Both liberals 
and conservatives should be on board with [reforming the laws]. 
Prohibition is a big-government solution and it breeds a contempt and 
disrespect for the law."

Should pot be decriminalized, he said, government could regulate it, 
tax it and spend that money on needed services such as road-building 
or public safety--or drug-treatment programs.

The idea isn't so different from state-run lotteries or Virginia's 
monopoly on hard-liquor sales, Reams said.

"Why is it legal to drink a Bud but not smoke one?" he asked.

Reams chose the lieutenant governor's race as his platform because it 
is largely a ceremonial position. The lieutenant governor presides 
over the state Senate, breaks the occasional tie vote--and typically 
spends lots of time running for governor.

Reams promises not to run for any other office if he somehow gets 
elected. "I'm not promoting a political career," he said. "I'm 
promoting a platform."

Reams has raised a little more than $15,000 for his campaign thus 
far, and is not expected to carry more than 5 percent of the vote on 
Election Day.

That's fine with him. Reams merely wants people to vote for him as a 
way of showing major-party politicians that reforming marijuana laws 
should be a legitimate issue.

His lack of money doesn't help, however. Without cash to spend on 
advertising, Reams' said his message will have to spread through 
word-of-mouth.

He does have a Web site, though: reamsreeferendum.com.

""My biggest hurdle is exposure," he said. "We really are a 
grassroots campaign--excuse the pun."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh