Pubdate: Wed, 4 Nov 1998 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1998 Reuters Limited. Author: Mahmoud Kassem MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUPPORTERS LAUD ELECTION VICTORY WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (Reuters) - U.S. doctors on Wednesday lauded voter support for initiatives legalising marijuana on the ballot in six states and the District of Columbia, claiming the government misjudged the popular mood. "Two years ago General Barry McCaffrey said the victory of medical marijuana in California was a fluke. McCaffrey has been proved wrong once again" said Dr. Bill Zimmerman, executive director of Americans for Medical Rights. McCaffrey is the federal government's anti-drug czar. Over 55 percent of voters approved measures legalising the use of marijuana for medical purposes in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Zimmerman said voters also backed similar measures in Colorado and Washington, D.C., but election officials have not released those results. Exit polls showed that 69 percent of voters backed the proposal in the District, while the Colorado measure got 61 percent backing. Dramatic conflicts between state and federal drug policies in recent years have hampered the distribution of marijuana through co-operative medical marijuana clubs. In Oakland, California the city council declared a medical state of emergency when a marijuana co-operative was given a closure order on October 20 by federal authorities. Doctors campaigning for medical marijuana shrugged off government concerns that medicinal marijuana is unscientific and damages brain, heart and immune systems. "Every drug has serious consequences. A thousand people die from aspirin every year. All drugs are dangerous" said Dr. Rob Killeen. Voters in California approved a pioneering ballot initiative in 1996 legalising marijuana for medical uses. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry