Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 Source: Register-Guard, The (OR) Copyright: 2001 The Register-Guard Contact: http://www.registerguard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/362 Author: The Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) NOTED DOCTOR ADMITS TO EUTHANASIA AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - French Health Minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted Wednesday as admitting that he had practiced euthanasia on dying patients and urging the decriminalization of marijuana in France. Kouchner, a founder of the Nobel Peace prize-winning aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, told the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland that he had ended the lives of patients during wars in Lebanon and Vietnam. The minister said he took it on himself to end the lives of suffering patients, and said the practice was secretly done often in France. But he did not say he himself had practiced euthanasia in France, where it is illegal. Kouchner was named health minister - a post he held in the past - after he ended in January an 18-month term as head of the U.N. administration in Kosovo, the Yugoslav province controlled by the United Nations and NATO. He has long been a proponent of humanitarian aid, and the group he founded - known in English as Doctors Without Borders - provides relief in conflicts around the world. When Kouchner was asked if he had ever practiced euthanasia, the minister looked surprised and replied: "Oh, yes, I have done that, even without it being asked of me," the newsweekly reported. He also admitted that he had used marijuana and said he would like to regulate its use in France. He said cannabis is less dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager