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TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Editor:

The California Supreme Court has unanimously confirmed that Proposition 215 really does what voters wanted it to do: Protect seriously ill medical marijuana users from arrest.  Because the vast majority of marijuana arrests and prosecutions are carried out under state law, this represents a huge victory for patients.

The next step in protecting Californians who need medical marijuana to help them battle AIDS, cancer, and other terrible diseases must come at the federal level.  The Drug Enforcement Administration's raids on medical marijuana dispensaries -- often conducted over the vehement objections of local officials -- have threatened the health and well-being of thousands of seriously ill Californians who depend on these dispensaries for a safe, reliable supply of medicine.  Congress can put a stop to this by enacting H.R.  2592, the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act, sponsored by U.S.  Rep.  Barney Frank, D-Mass.

Congress will face another critical decision on medical marijuana shortly: The voters of Washington, D.C., will consider a medical marijuana initiative this November, and "drug war" ideologues in Congress have begun a move to block it before the vote even takes place.  Californians need to let their representatives know that they care about this issue, and they want the federal government to respect the will of the voters.

BRUCE MIRKEN

Washington, D.C.