However anyone feels about the results of the presidential race, Nov. 2 was a banner day for marijuana policy reform: nationwide, 17 of 20 initiatives won, including a huge win for medical marijuana in the state of Montana. Less noticed by the national media were the results from key legislative contests that should scare the daylights out of politicians who oppose commonsense reforms. The bottom line: Even "social conservative" voters are ready to make substantial changes in our marijuana laws. California, which has led the nation in establishing sensible marijuana policies, must continue to show the way. [continues 665 words]
Chicago Police Sgt. Tom Donegan has provoked a useful debate by suggesting that people possessing small amounts of marijuana should be fined rather than arrested and jailed. Donegan's idea is a useful step that doesn't go far enough. In fact, a strong factual and scientific case can be made that the best way to reduce the harm associated with marijuana is to junk our current policy of prohibition and replace it with a system of common-sense regulation. That's not as radical an idea as it may seem. Such a system has been in place in the Netherlands for nearly three decades and is working well. In Alaska, where the courts have ruled that the state constitution gives citizens the right to possess small amounts of marijuana in their homes for personal use, voters will shortly decide on a ballot measure that would pave the way for a system of marijuana regulation in that state. [continues 532 words]
On September 10, White House Drug Czar John Walters called for "a national debate" about marijuana policy. The Marijuana Policy Project hopes he meant it. As soon as Walters' offer to debate was reported in the September 17 Seattle Weekly, we faxed the following letter to his office: John Walters, Director Office of National Drug Control Policy, The White House Dear Mr. Walters, I was pleased to hear that in your Sept. 10 news conference in Seattle, you said, "The real issue is, should we legalize marijuana? Let's have a national debate about that." [continues 586 words]
On July 23, the U.S. House of Representatives had a chance to protect from arrest patients who have a medical need to use marijuana. Tragically, the House failed to do so. Fortunately, more than half of Colorado's House delegation voted to protect these vulnerable citizens. Only Reps. Scott McInnis (R-Grand Junction), Marilyn Musgrave (R-Loveland), and Joel Hefley (R-Colorado Springs) failed to do so. An amendment proposed by Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) would have prevented the U.S. Justice Department and its Drug Enforcement Administration from interfering with state medical marijuana laws by raiding and arresting patients and caregivers. This moderate proposal would not have forced any state to allow medical marijuana if it doesn't want to. It would simply have required the DEA to respect the wishes of those states that have chosen to protect seriously ill patients from arrest. [continues 458 words]
On May 22, the state-federal conflict over medical marijuana heated up, as Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich defied White House pressure and became the first Republican governor to sign a medical marijuana bill. Meanwhile, on June 4, a federal court in California is scheduled to sentence Ed Rosenthal to at least five years in federal prison for the crime of providing medical marijuana to seriously ill people. Rosenthal was convicted on January 31 of growing marijuana, but he was convicted by a jury that heard only half the story. When the jurors discovered the crucial facts that had been withheld from them, half of them took the extraordinary step of publicly renouncing their own verdict and apologizing to the man they had just convicted. [continues 469 words]
As a graduate and former student body president of Penn State University, I wasn't surprised to see the U.S. Department of Education's recent finding that more students were arrested in 2000 for drug offenses at Penn State than at any other college or university in the country. Penn State is not alone in its foolishness, however. The report shows that 11,276 campus drug arrests were made in 2000, a 10 percent increase from 1999. And, according to the school officials cited in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education Jan. 23, most of those arrests were for marijuana. [continues 162 words]
On March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case addressing whether medical marijuana distributors may offer a "medical necessity" defense in federal court. The Court's ruling in U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative cannot overturn California's medical marijuana law. In the case, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the September 13, 1999 decision of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which permits entities to distribute marijuana if they can prove that their clients are seriously ill and have a legitimate medical need for the substance. [continues 103 words]
To the editor: On March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case addressing whether medical marijuana distributors may offer a "medical necessity" defense in federal court. The court's ruling in U.S. vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative cannot overturn Maine's medical marijuana law. In the case, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Sept. 13, 1999, decision of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which permits entities to distribute marijuana if they can prove that their clients are seriously ill and have a legitimate medical need for the substance. [continues 99 words]
Patients should not be arrested for using medical marijuana if they have their doctors' approval. This is what 73 percent of Maryland voters believe, according to an article distributed by Capital News Service, which was published in your newspaper. . This well-written article didn't mention that cancer and AIDS patients who are arrested for even the smallest amount of med-ical marijuana face one year in a Maryland prison and a $1,000 state fine, as well as one year In a federal prison and a $10,000 federal fine. [continues 191 words]
One word was conspicuously absent in Robert DuPont's op-ed "Medicine - -- Not Pot": "arrest." At present, it is a federal crime for seriously ill people to use medicinal marijuana, even if their doctors approve. Patients are being arrested and jailed for obtaining and using their medicine. Last month, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) said, "We concluded that there are limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses." DuPont lists IOM's recommendations for short-term use but neglects to mention that IOM also urged the government to create compassionate-use programs for patients with long-term needs. IOM does not want patients to be arrested. Why is DuPont hiding the whole truth? [continues 76 words]
As an update to Robert Scheer's Nov. 17 Column Left, "The Drug War Isn't About Combating Use," it is worth noting that the FBI's new annual crime report shows that 695,201 people were arrested for marijuana in the United States in 1997--87% of these for simple possession. This means that more Americans were arrested for marijuana in 1997 than in any other year in U.S. history. This is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources. [continues 60 words]
