Source:   Oakland Tribune
Contact:    Wed, 21 Jan 1998

LET GOVERNMENT RESPECT THE LAW

I WISH to express my great concern over the recent federal indictments of
the six cannabis buyers' clubs in Northern California. My initial response
is this question: Why is the federal government wasting my tax dollars
prosecuting rich people? And further, why is the state attorney general
committing resources that could otherwise be used to combat the growing
number of hate crimes?

It would behoove these officials of law enforcement to remember that the
California Compassionate Use act of 1996 is now state law. It is the sworn
duty of the state and county officials to enforce these laws. If the state
has a dispute with the officials of the buyers' club, then they have not
yet offered specific alternatives to dispensing medical marihuana.

As a means of dispensing medical marijuana to legitimate medical patients,
the buyers' clubs offer an excellent means of implementing the act. They
are locally based, self-sufficient and very carefully check and monitor all
their members. Moreover, they buyer's club doesn't cost the tax payers
anything.

It makes no sense whatever for the officials of the state of California,
nor the federal government to make war on rich people. This is the fact --
availability of medical marijuana is now a legally passed state law, and
the officials are sworn to uphold its statutes.

John Davis
Oakland