Pubdate: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 Source: The Herald, Everett, WA Contact: Webpage: http://www.heraldnet.com I685: mercy measure or smoke screen? Backers say pot helps the sick; foes see dangerous prodrug slant By Dale Steinke Herald Writer A drug initiative being offered to voters as a way to ease the suffering of seriously ill patients would also release drug addicts from prison and water down current drug possession laws. Dr. Rob Killian, a Tacoma family physician and sponsor of Initiative 685, is also a former hospice director who invokes images of dying hospice patients to promote his cause. "This is a political statement that says, basically, if any drug has medical benefit it would be safely available for patients to use," Killian said of I685. "When you know there are some options available but you can't use them, it's very frustrating." Opponents of I685 say Killian's campaign is using voter sympathy for people in pain as a smoke screen for an effort to decriminalize drugs. The initiative would allow doctors to recommend for medical use what are now illegal drugs, including marijuana, heroin and LSD. It also would permit the release of an estimated 300 inmates serving for possession of the same drugs. Although it would deny early release for people convicted of a violent crime while using drugs, I685 could mean fewer people going to prison for drug possession, because first and secondtime offenders would get treatment, rather than jail time. Getting a a drug possession conviction in the first place, could be complicated, because prosecutors might have difficulty determining if someone had physician approval for drugs, said Jim Townsend, Snohomish County's chief criminal deputy prosecutor. It might even be possible for people to get physician permission after they've been arrested, he added. "It's going to make enforcement very difficult," Townsend said. "The real argument would be whether we should legalize drugs or not. It's a subterfuge." Many businesses, including Boeing, express worry about the effect the initiative's passage could have on their attempts to maintain drugfree workplaces. "We also have significant concerns with the way the bill is written. We believe it has too many loopholes," Boeing spokeswoman Sherry Nebel said. "Obviously, there's a safety concern not only with the manufacture of our products, but also in the workplace with the safety of our employees." Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who's made a career out of crusading against drugs, says the physician and the three out ofstate businessmen financing the initiative are corrupting children by trying to change the perception of marijuana's risk. Initiative 685 is based on an Arizona referendum approved nearly 2to1 by voters in 1996, only to get blocked by legislators. The measure would legalize possession of drugs by people who are seriously ill, if they get written recommendations from two physicians. The doctors also would have to be able to cite scientific research supporting use of the drug. Patients would still have to buy the drugs off the street, because cultivation, sale or transport of the weed would remain illegal. The initiative also doesn't define "seriously ill," or what "professional medical standards" doctors must adhere to when recommending such controlled substances. Owen says recommending that a patient get access to illegal drugs borders on malpractice. "Once the doctor makes the recommendation, the patient has to buy it on the street," he says. Killian is a University of Utah medical school graduate who runs an innercity health clinic in Tacoma. The divorced father of two sons said he smoked marijuana twice out of curiosity when he was younger. He acknowledged the legal and moral conflicts but said many doctors already quietly suggest that patients seek illegal drugs. Killian refers his patients to Green Cross, a Bellinghambased group that provides marijuana to people with AIDS, cancer and other diseases. As for conflicts with other laws, such as those barring the sale of drugs, Killian said passage would put more pressure on the federal government to approve medical testing of marijuana and distribution. Despite Killian's efforts to attract grassroots support, the initiative's $1 million campaign has been financed mostly by three men: New Yorkbased international financier George Soros, Arizona businessman John Sperling and Cleveland insurance executive Peter B. Lewis. They say the government is wasting billions of dollars in a vain attempt to stop drugs from coming into the country, and urge a medical rather than law enforcement approach to drug use. On the other side, magazine publisher and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes financed radio ads in August that blasted "powerful, radical special interests" for attempting to legalize dangerous drugs. The initiative has prompted a debate fueled by rhetoric and contradictory medical evidence. Some studies indicate marijuana is useful for such things as treating nausea after chemotherapy and restoring appetite in AIDS patients, while others suggest that smoking the weed may prime the brain for addition to cocaine and heroin. Most recently, a panel of experts led by a Georgetown University medical professor recommended that the National Institutes of Health finance studies of marijuana's medical value, and keep societal debate out of it. *Herald writer Mike Benbow and the Associated Press contributed to this story* ~~~~~~ Companion Associated Press Article Saturday, October 18, 1997 Initiative 685 details Here are details of Initiative 685, dealing with illegal drugs: What the ballot measure will say: "Shall penalties for drug possession and drugrelated violent crime be revised, medical use of Schedule I controlled substances be permitted, and a drug prevention commission established?" How it would work: People deemed seriously or terminally ill would be permitted to possess marijuana, heroin, LSD and other Schedule 1 drugs, those in the federal government's most restrictive category, if they obtain written recommendations from two physicians. Physicians would be required to exercise professional judgment and document that scientific research supports use of the drug in question. Anyone currently serving time for drug possession would be eligible for immediate release. Anyone convicted of drug possession in the future would be eligible for probation, instead of prison, and judges would have the option of requiring treatment. Anyone convicted of a violent crime committed while under the influence of illegal drugs would be required to serve a full prison term with no early parole. The governor would appoint a commission on drug education and prevention, backed by $6 million from the state general fund. Associated Press