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Walter Cronkite on the Drug War

Epilogue by Walter Cronkite at the close of ""The Drug Dilemma: War or Peace," The Cronkite Report, June 20, 1995:
Every American was shocked when Robert McNamara, one of the master architects of the Vietnam war, acknowledged that not only did he believe the war was, "wrong, terribly wrong," but that he thought so at the very time he was helping to wage it. That's a mistake we must not make in this 10th year of America's all-out War on Drugs. It's surely time for this nation to stop flying blind, stop accepting the assurances of politicians and other officials, that if we only keep doing what we are doing, add a little more cash, break down a few more doors, lock up a few more Jan Warrens and Nicole Richardsons, then we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Victory will be ours. Tonight we have seen a war that in its broad outline is not working. And we've seen some less war-like ideas that appear to hold promise. We've raised more questions than we've answered, because that's where the Drug War stands today. We're a confused people, desperately in need of answers and leadership. Legalization seems to many like too dangerous an experiment; to others, the War on Drugs, as it is now conducted, seems inhumane and too costly. Is there a middle ground? Well, it seems to this reporter that the time has come for President Clinton to do what President Hoover did when prohibition was tearing the nation apart: appoint a bi-partisan commission of distinguished citizens, perhaps including some of the people we heard tonight, a blue-ribbon panel to re-appraise our drug policy right down to its very core, a commission with full investigative authority and the prestige and power to override bureaucratic concerns and political considerations. Such a commission could help us focus our thinking, escape the cliches of the Drug War in favor of scientific fact, and more rationally analyze the real scope of the problem, answer the questions that bedevil us, and present a comprehensive drug policy for the future. We cannot go into tomorrow with the same formulas that are failing today. We must not blindly add to the body count and the terrible cost of the War on Drugs, only to learn from another Robert McNamara 30 years from now that what we've been doing is, "wrong, terribly wrong." Goodnight.
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In The Trenches

Press Release: U.S. Congress Ends Decade-Long Obstruction of D.C. Medical Marijuana Law

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JULY 16, 2009

U.S. Congress Ends Decade-Long Obstruction of D.C. Medical Marijuana Law

Medical Marijuana Law Passed in 1998 May Finally Be Implemented

CONTACT: Dan Bernath, MPP assistant director of communications, 202-462-5747 ext. 2030

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House today passed legislation that removes a decade-old provision that has prevented Washington, D.C., from implementing the medical marijuana law passed by 69 percent of capital voters in 1998.

     Known as the Barr amendment, the provision has forbidden the city from extending legal protection to qualified medical marijuana patients and has been derided by advocates for years as an unconscionable intrusion by the federal government into the District's affairs.

     "Today represents a victory not just for medical marijuana patients, but for all city residents who have the right to determine their own policies in their own District without federal meddling," said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. "D.C. residents overwhelmingly made the sensible, compassionate decision to pass a medical marijuana law, and now, 10 years later, suffering Washingtonians may finally be allowed to focus on treating their pain without fearing arrest."

     Although Congress had passed the Barr amendment every year until now, the provision came under greater scrutiny after the high-profile case of Jonathan Magbie, a D.C. quadriplegic man who died in prison in 2004 from lack of medical care after being convicted for using marijuana to treat his pain.

     "Had the District been able to implement its medical marijuana law when it passed in 1998, Mr. Magbie may well be alive today – and free to treat his pain as he and his doctor saw fit," Houston said. "Perhaps now nobody in the District will ever have to suffer as he and his family did simply for using the medicine that works best for them."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

In The Trenches

Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana Wins Annual Award by National Sociology Organization

For Immediate Release: Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana wins annual award by national sociology organization Contact: Michele Smith Koontz (SSSP Administrative Officer) at 865-689-1531 or [email protected] WAMM Wins Award The national organization of sociologists, "The Society for the Study of Social Problems," has named the California medical marijuana organization, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, as the recipient of its 2009 Social Action Award. WAMM, which is a small patient-caregiver cooperative in Santa Cruz, California, has collectively grown and given away millions of dollars worth of cannabis to seriously and terminally ill people since the early 1990s. The organization is strictly not-for-profit. The $1,000 Social Action Award will be presented to WAMM at the SSSP annual dinner in San Francisco on Saturday August 8th at 8 p.m. The organization is the subject of a recent ethnography by Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb, Dying to Get High: marijuana as medicine (New York University Press 2008): http://www.dyingtogethigh.net
In The Trenches

Americans for Safe Access: July 2009 Activist Newsletter

City Loses Suit, Pays ASA $139,000 in Legal Fees

Garden Grove Tried to Avoid Returning Cannabis to Patient

A California city's refusal to return less than $200 worth of cannabis to a qualified patient has now cost them at least a thousand times that. And they had to return the cannabis anyway.

As part of a settlement to resolve their unsuccessful challenge to the state's medical marijuana law, Garden Grove officials wrote a check for $139,000 in attorneys' fees to Americans for Safe Access, who represented the patient. That money is in addition to what the city spent fighting the case, estimated at in excess of $100,000.

"It's unfortunate that the City of Garden Grove felt it necessary to spend more than a quarter of a million dollars challenging a patient's right to his medicine," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford. "Hopefully, other local officials will now do better upholding medical marijuana patients' rights under the law."

When officials in Garden Grove said they would not return the eight grams of cannabis seized from Felix Kha in June 2005, ASA filed suit. All charges against Kha had been dismissed because he was able to show that he is a qualified patient under state law, but city officials argued that returning his medicine would require them to violate federal law.

In a landmark decision, a superior court disagreed and ordered the city to return the cannabis to Kha, but Garden Grove appealed. A state appellate panel also found in favor of Kha, ruling that, "it is not the job of the local police to enforce the federal drug laws."

City officials then asked first the California Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the decision, but both refused to review the case.

"This settlement is a huge victory for patients that underscores law enforcement's obligation to uphold state law," said Elford. "Better adherence to state medical marijuana laws by local police will result in fewer needless arrests and seizures. That protects patients from hardship and avoids wasting resources."

Back to Top

ASA Suit Gets County to Issue Cannabis ID Cards

Others Face Legal Action if Calif. Program Not Adopted

Medical cannabis patients in Solano County will soon be able to obtain California state ID cards to protect them from wrongful arrest or seizure of their medicine, thanks to legal action by ASA.

The 3-2 vote by the county's supervisors comes five months after ASA filed suit to force them to implement the card program, and one month after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider another county's challenge to state medical marijuana law.

"Solano had come to the end of its legal rope, with no recourse but to obey state law," said Joe Elford, ASA's chief counsel. "More than twelve years after the passage of California's medical marijuana law, it's time for local officials to respect the legal rights and protections afforded patients."

Some local officials have argued that the federal prohibition on all marijuana use prevented them from complying with California's medical marijuana law. In 2006, San Diego County brought that argument to court in a closely watched case that was also litigated, in part, by ASA. The challenge was rejected first in superior court than at the appellate level. The California Supreme Court refused to review the case in 2008, and last month the U.S. Supreme Court also declined to hear it.

At time the lawsuit was filed in January 2009, Solano was one of 12 counties refusing to comply with California's 2004 Medical Marijuana Program Act, which mandates that counties make available voluntary ID cards to qualified medical cannabis patients and their caregivers.
According to the Department of Public Health, 52 of California's 58 counties are now issuing cards or have plans to do so. Officials in the six remaining counties—Colusa, Madera, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, and Sutter—have received notice from ASA that they face litigation unless they comply.

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California Senate Resolution Asks for Change on Federal Medical Cannabis Policy

While the Obama Administration has promised a new policy on prosecuting medical cannabis cases, California state senators are telling Washington they want to see new law.

Senate Joint Resolution 14, introduced by Mark Leno (D-SF), asks Congress and the President to do more than just end federal raids, intimidation, and other interference with state medical marijuana laws. The resolution asks that the federal government establish a comprehensive policy that ensures safe and legal access for patients as well as allow them a medical defense to federal marijuana charges. It also asks them to actively encourage clinical research on the therapeutic use of marijuana.

The resolution is consistent with ASA's national strategy to enact nationwide protections for patients and advance scientific research to fully unlock the therapeutic potential of cannabis.

"The U.S. is poised for a fundamental overhaul on medical cannabis policy," Said Don Duncan, ASA's California Director. "Our legislative strategy is diverse and multi-faceted, with success on any one of our goals likely to have profound, domino-like policy implications."

ASA is mobilizing its grassroots base of almost 40,000 members in sixty chapters and affiliates to change federal policy. In 2009 and 2010, ASA's efforts will be geographically targeted, and SJR 14 is an important part of that strategy.

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Congress Considers Bill to Protect
Medical Marijuana Patients

Law Would Allow Prescription, End Federal Obstruction

A bipartisan bill that would dramatically transform federal policy on medical marijuana is before the House. The bill seeks to change the classification of marijuana from a Schedule I drug, defined as having no medical value, to a Schedule II drug, which could be prescribed like other medications. Known as the "Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act" or HR 2835, the act would also prevent interference by the federal government in any state or local medical marijuana program.

The bill, introduced by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) along with a dozen other members, is similar to legislation introduced in previous Congressional terms.

"We're hopeful that the Obama Administration's new policy on medical marijuana creates the right political context for passing this important legislation," said Caren Woodson, ASA's Government Affairs Director. "It's time for the federal government to acknowledge marijuana's medical efficacy and develop a comprehensive plan to provide safe, consistent access for the hundreds of thousands of Americans that benefit from its use."

In addition to rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), HR 2835 would provide federal legal protections for all qualified patients and caregivers in states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, as well as any entity authorized under local or state law to distribute medical marijuana.

In addition to the Frank bill, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) has asked for clarification of the Obama Administration's policy in language he added to the appropriations bill that funds the Department of Justice.

"It's imperative that the federal government respect states' rights and stay out of the way of patients with debilitating diseases such as cancer who are using medical marijuana in accordance with state law to alleviate their pain," Rep. Hinchey said in a statement.

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Rhode Island is Third with Patient Access Program

The Rhode Island legislature this month overrode Governor Donald Carcieri's veto to establish "Compassion Centers" for distributing cannabis to qualified patients.

By votes of 65-0 in the state House and 35-3 in the Senate, state lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the creation of three state-licensed, non-profit centers. The first will be operational within 7 months, the other two within a year after that.

The Obama Administration's new policy of not interfering in state medical cannabis programs has given state officials more options for ensuring access. New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill similar to Rhode Island's, and a ballot initiative in Maine will give voters a chance to allow dispensaries there, come November. California's legislature codified the legal status of patient collectives back in 2004, and New Mexico has licensed a non-profit medical marijuana producer and has plans for more.

"It's heartening to see states implementing distribution systems for patients who can't grow medical marijuana themselves," said Caren Woodson, ASA's Government Affairs Director. "What's needed now is for the federal government to work in harmony with these states to ensure access for patients."

The bill in Rhode Island was backed by the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, a group comprised of patients, advocacy groups, and healthcare providers, including the state Medical Society and Nurses' Association.

In The Trenches

Save the date for MPP's 15th anniversary gala

Dear friends:

When MPP was founded in January 1995, medical marijuana was illegal in all 50 states. Since then, 13 states have legalized medical marijuana, with Michigan becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Michigan voters passed MPP's ballot initiative with 63% of the vote. By the time of MPP's 15th anniversary in January 2010, we expect medical marijuana to be legal in 15 states (with New Hampshire and New Jersey becoming the 14th and 15th states).

At the same time, marijuana possession is now decriminalized in 13 states, with Massachusetts becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Massachusetts voters passed MPP's ballot initiative with 65% of the vote. By the end of next year, we hope that marijuana will be decriminalized in 15 states (with Rhode Island and Vermont becoming the 14th and 15th states).

We think all this is worth celebrating. Will you join us in toasting these successes?

MPP's 15th Anniversary Gala

Date: January 13, 2010

Reception from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Dinner from 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Location: Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Tickets will go on sale in August, but please mark your calendar now.

By the way, we're currently putting together the event's host committee, so if you'd like to publicly declare your support of MPP as a host of the event, please contact MPP's Sara Cannon at (202) 462-5747, ext. *2020 or [email protected].

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

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