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   . . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to marijuana
                                prohibition.
                               July 17, 1997
      Drug-Law Reform Advocates Turn In Twice The Signatures Necessary
                        To Resurrect Proposition 200
          July 17, 1997, Phoenix, AZ:  Provisions allowing doctors to
prescribe marijuana to seriously ill patients and mandating that individuals
convicted of the personal possession or use of a controlled substance not be
sentenced to jail may again become law in Arizona.
          The controversial proposals, approved by voters last November by a
nearly 2-1 margin, were repealed by the Legislature this spring.  Backers of
the initiative, operating under the moniker The People Have Spoken, filed
referendums in May opposing the Legislature's changes.  Yesterday, they
turned in approximately 200,000 signatures of registered voters to the
Secretary of State's office, nearly twice the number required to put the
Legislature's action on hold, pending a citizen vote in November 1998.
          If the signatures are verified, a process that will take almost
one month, the original provisions will be allowed to take effect.
          "The people are livid about what the Legislature did," Dr. Jeffrey
Singer, co-chairman of The People Have Spoken, told The Arizona Republic.
"Voters made a decision on the issue and [lawmakers] are trying to thwart
the will of the people."
          "Let the Legislature try to claim that Arizona voters were somehow
'duped' again," said NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, referring to
allegations made by some state officials this spring.  "The overwhelming
turnout on this signature drive to reinstate the guidelines of Proposition
200 clearly demonstrates that Arizonans want access to medical marijuana for
the seriously ill and do not believe in arresting and jailing non-violent
drug offenders."
          For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul
Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.  For additional information, please
contact Sam Vagenas of The People Have Spoken @ (602) 222-6639.
    Former Presidential Candidate Funds Campaign Opposing Washington D.C.
                        Medical Marijuana Initiative
          July 17, 1997, Washington, D.C.:  Americans for Hope, Growth, and
Opportunity (AHGO), a political advocacy organization headed by former
Republican presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, announced that it will fund a
campaign opposing a Washington D.C. medical marijuana initiative.
          "[District] children are being targeted by twisted drug
predators," Forbes claimed, referring to backers of a proposal to permit
seriously ill patients to use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.
"AHGO is launching [a] radio campaign, issuing a memo to Congressional
leaders, and working with local leaders and anti-drug coalitions to mobilize
public opinion against this very serious threat," he said.
          The district's Initiative 57 would legalize the possession and
cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes under a physician's
supervision.  Members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP), a
national AIDS advocacy organization, filed the initiative earlier this year
after interim Council Chair Charlene Drew Jarvis and U.S. Attorney Eric
Holder proposed legislation to stiffen penalties for the possession of
marijuana.  "We should not make criminals out of sick and dying people who
are simply trying to improve the quality and quantity of their lives,"
ACT-UP spokesman Steve Michael explained.  Presently, thousands of AIDS
patients in the district use marijuana medicinally to combat the effects of
the wasting syndrome and nausea.
          The language of the initiative is based upon a successful
California campaign exempting medical marijuana patients who possess a
doctor's recommendation from state prosecution for marijuana possession or
cultivation.  Federal law currently forbids any physician from legally
prescribing marijuana for any illness, including glaucoma, cancer
chemotherapy, spasticity disorders, or AIDS wasting syndrome.
          "This is a shockingly misguided effort by Mr. Forbes that reflects
a total lack of compassion for those less fortunate," said NORML Executive
Director R. Keith Stroup.  "Whatever one may feel about the 'War on Drugs,'
denying an effective medication to seriously ill and dying patients should
never be part of it.  Mr. Forbes' conduct is shameful."
          Backers of Initiative 57 must gather 16,763 valid signatures by
December 8, 1997, to qualify for the September 1998 ballot.  Proponents are
hoping to gather the bulk of the signatures on July 22 when district
residents vote in a special election for Council Chair.
          For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup of
NORML @ (202) 483-5500 or Steve Michael of ACT-UP @ (202) 547-9404 for more
information.
    White House Says Weld Ambassadorship Will Move Forward Despite Senate
                      Objections Over Medical Marijuana
          July 17, 1997, Washington, D.C.:  President Clinton announced that
he will nominate Gov. William Weld as ambassador to Mexico despite criticism
from Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) that the governor is not "ambassador quality"
because he supports legal access to medical marijuana.
          "The president is going to stand up and fight for Gov. Weld,"
White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters on Wednesday.  "He intends
to proceed with the nomination of Gov. Weld as U.S. ambassador to Mexico."
          Sources close to Helms responded that the senator would block
Weld's appointment.  Helms, whose Foreign Relations Committee must approve
all ambassadorial nominees, has openly criticized Weld for his support of
the use of marijuana as a medicine.  Tolerance toward the use of medical
marijuana could make Weld unsuitable to be an ambassador of a major drug
producing and trafficking nation like Mexico, Helms told reporters in June.
Helms is a co-sponsor of federal legislation that would sentence physicians
who recommend the medical use of marijuana up to eight years in prison.
          Weld signed legislation last year reinvigorating a statewide
program that would distribute marijuana to certified patients who suffer
from serious illnesses like glaucoma and cancer.  The bill also creates an
"affirmative defense" of medical necessity for some patients who use medical
marijuana.  Earlier this year, Weld publicly stated that he has "no problem"
with the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
          For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre of
The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751 or NORML Mass/Cann @ (617) 944-2266.
  Award Winning Teacher, Hemp Proponent Fired By Kentucky School Officials
          July 17, 1997, Simpsonville, KY:  Donna Cockrel, an award-winning
elementary school teacher who became immersed in controversy after bringing
Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson to her class to speak about industrial hemp
in May 1996, was fired by Shelby County Schools Superintendent Leon
Mooneyhan on Tuesday.
          In a letter from Mooneyhan attained by the Lexington
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