Pubdate: Fri, 11 Mar 2005
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Cited: Raich v. Ashcroft ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Cited: Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (www.wamm.org)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Sam+Farr
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Dana+Rohrabacher
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Angel+Raich
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Montel+Williams

CONGRESSMAN FARR IMPRESSES MEDICAL-POT ADVOCACY GROUP

Well, Farr out.

U.S. Rep. Sam Farr's efforts in the nation's Capitol on medical
marijuana policy has garnered the Central Coast congressman an honor
from a national advocacy group.

Farr, D-Carmel, is set to be honored by the Marijuana Policy Project
when it celebrates its 10th anniversary May 4 in Washington, D.C.

"He has stood up and taken the lead," said Bruce Mirken, the
organization's spokesman. "When someone has taken the lead, we think
they deserve some recognition."

While California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996 to allow
medical marijuana, the federal government continues to categorize pot
as illegal under any situation.

That conflict has been the basis of Farr's work on the issue.

"We do an awful lot of denying people a chance at hope based on
political mores," Farr said Thursday, noting the honor has been the
source of some ribbing from congressional colleagues. "It is a states'
rights battle. What we're trying to say is if states pass these laws,
the federal government ought to recognize them."

Farr, along with U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach,
introduced a resolution in 2003 that would have allowed for a
medical-necessity defense in federal marijuana cases.

The measure failed to make it to a floor vote. Farr said he is mulling
whether to resubmit the bill, but he knows that may be an uphill
battle with a conservative Republican-controlled Congress and a GOP
president.

"It's sort of an exercise in futility with this administration," he
said.

Farr also condemned the September 2002 Drug Enforcement Administration
raid of the Davenport garden operated by the Santa Cruz area
cooperative Wo/Man's Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

"He's reflecting what is going on in his district," Mirken
said.

Also to be honored at the May 4 gala will be talk show host Montel
Williams, who uses marijuana to treats multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Another honoree will be Angel Raich, a California medical marijuana
user who now has a case before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging
whether the federal government has authority to regulate medically
used pot where money is not exchanged and therefore not an interstate
commerce issue under the Constitution.

A West Coast version of the gala is planned in Los Angeles for May
9.

The Marijuana Policy Project works to remove criminal penalties for
marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana
medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of
their doctors.

For more information, visit www.mpp.org.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake