Pubdate: Thu, 27 Feb 2003
Source: Orange County Weekly (CA)
Copyright: 2003, O.C. Weekly Media, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ocweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/322
Author: Matt Coker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Note: The following article was the drug-policy related portion of Matt
Coker's weekly column "A Clockwork Orange."

SPLIFFIN' CONGRESSMAN

Clockwork hereby gives the Hacky-Sack Salute to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
(R-Huntington Beach), who had the cojones to lock arms with two Democrats
and sponsor legislation to keep medical-marijuana growers and suppliers out
of federal prisons. Drafted in response to the latest wave of federal
marijuana busts of compassionate users and suppliers, the bill would apply
to California and the other seven states with legalized medical cannabis.
The so-called "Surfin' Congressman" -- who, unlike Bubba, admits he inhaled
as a young lad -- possesses a "very strong libertarian streak," but he's
also personally invested in the issue. Speaking about the pain and suffering
his late mother experienced after hip surgery, Rohrabacher said, "I couldn't
help thinking, when I was in the hospital feeding her, what a travesty it is
that my mother, who's lived such a good life, would be denied marijuana if
it could actually help her." However, don't hold your breath too long after
draining that bong load: an even farther-reaching bill Rohrabacher
co-authored with Barney Frank in 2001 never got out of committee -- and that
Congress wasn't even dealing with a war, a free-falling economy or the
promotion of an evil Republican agenda.
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk