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                              December 3, 1996
                Rhetoric Mounts Over Medical Marijuana Issue
      December 3, 1996, Washington, D.C.:  Voter-approved initiatives in
California and Arizona regarding medical access to marijuana are not only
garnering national headlines, but also the ire of various federal and state
officials.  Most recently, the initiatives were the subject of a Senate
Judiciary Committee hearing at which federal elected officials and
representatives from law enforcement reaffirmed their opposition to the
notion of medical marijuana and warned of the potential for similar
initiatives to crop up in other states.
      "[This ballot measure] begins a road to destruction of people's lives
in this country," said Sen Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), one of only three senators who
attended the hearing.  Kyl called the Arizona and California drug-law reform
campaigns classic examples of "bait and switch" tactics and alleged that the
voters in those states were "deceived" by proponents.
      "The contention that the public was duped is absurd," countered
Marvin S. Cohen, who testified on behalf of Arizonans for Drug Policy
Reform.  "Voters knew exactly what they were doing on November 5."
      "Rather than accept the outcomes of the initiatives as a mandate that
Americans want access to medical marijuana for the seriously ill, some
elected officials on both the state and federal level are in a state of
denial," charged NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre.  "It is more
convenient for them to claim that voters were somehow misled by initiative
proponents rather than to acknowledge that they are out of step with their
constituents.  The voters of America strongly favor allowing seriously ill
patients to use medical marijuana."
      Since the initiatives' passage, there has been considerable public
speculation as to whether the federal government will target physicians and
patients who comply with the new state laws.  To date, no specific
recommendations have come from the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP).  Both Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey and Drug Enforcement Administrator
Thomas Constantine testified that federal law prohibiting cultivation and
possession of marijuana remain in full force despite the states' actions.
Constantine also threatened that the federal government could "take both
administrative and criminal actions against doctors who violate the terms of
their DEA drug registrations that authorize them to prescribe controlled
substances."  However, both officials also admitted the federal government
lacks the manpower to enforce the federal marijuana laws on a wide scale
within the states.
      The California initiative says that, "Patients or defined caregivers,
who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment recommended by a
physician, are exempt from the general provisions of law which otherwise
prohibit possession or cultivation of marijuana."  It further provides that,
"Physicians shall not be punished or denied any right or privilege for
recommending marijuana to a patient for medical purposes."  The Act does not
supersede state legislation prohibiting persons from possessing or
cultivating marijuana for non-medical purposes.  California voters approved
the measure by a vote of 56 to 44 percent.
      Proposition 200 in Arizona, known as the "Drug Medicalization,
Prevention and Control Act," is broader than California's measure and would
essentially "medicalize" Arizona's drug policy.  The Act calls for
mandatory, court supervised treatment and probation as an alternative to
incarceration for non-violent drug users and provides expanded drug
treatment programs.  It also permits doctors to prescribe controlled drugs
such as marijuana to patients suffering from serious illnesses such as
glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and AIDS.  Arizonans voted in favor of
the initiative by a vote of 65 to 35 percent.
      Fallout from the ongoing medical marijuana debate has quickly
branched out to other states.  In Ohio, lawmakers have threatened to repeal
a 1995 provision that provides patients with an "affirmative defense" in
court if they can prove they were using marijuana under the prior written
order of their physician.  NORML activists in Ohio lobbied the state
legislature for nearly two years on behalf of the measure which took effect
on July 1, 1996.  To date, no medical marijuana users have had to utilize
the new law.
      "If it is repealed, there is every reason to believe that the voters
will get a chance to put the law back on the books in 1998, through an
initiative," said Dave Fratello of Americans for Medical Rights (AMR), which
sponsored the successful Proposition 215 campaign in California.  "Our group
will work with local patients' rights advocates and medical groups to
examine the options if repeal happens."
      Northcoast NORML President John Hartman, who lobbied for the
provision, is hopeful that such action will not be necessary.  Currently, he
is mobilizing citizens to urge legislators to keep the present law.
      Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Chief State's Attorney John M. Bailey
warned Monday that a similar referendum regarding medical access to
marijuana could develop in that state as well.  "People who are promoting
legalizing drugs will be coming into Connecticut," he told the press in
reference to the successful Arizona and California campaigns.  Ironically,
Connecticut already has a law on the books that allows physicians to
prescribe marijuana to patients suffering from glaucoma or cancer
chemotherapy.  Because of apparent conflict with federal law and the fact
that the state measure fails to make provisions regarding a legal supply of
marijuana, the law has never been used.
      "It is somewhat presumptuous for the Connecticut State Attorney
General to claim that medical marijuana reformers will be coming to his
state, specifically when Connecticut is one of the few states that already
has a law on the books allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana," said St.
Pierre.  "I am unaware of any current plans by medical marijuana proponents
to target Connecticut."
      "The outpouring of national debate and public sympathy regarding
medical marijuana since the election has been tremendous," said NORML
Publications Director Paul Armentano.  "The American people have spoken and
our state and federal officials have an obligation to listen, not to plot
against them."
      For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.  For further information about medical
marijuana initiatives, please contact Dave Fratello of Americans for Medical
Rights @ (310) 394-2952.  For further information about Ohio's medical
marijuana laws, please contact John Hartman of Northcoast NORML @ (216)
521-9333.
     ATTENTION:  NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WILL BEGIN A THREE-PART SERIES TONIGHT
   EXPLORING THE MARIJUANA ISSUE.  THE SERIES IS ENTITLED "GOING TO POT?"
                                   -END-
   MORE THAN 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 ... ANOTHER EVERY 54
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