Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 Source: Daily World Aberdeen (WA) Author: Scott Mills In response to the article published on Dec. 23, 1996 (B-5) "Feds to punish doctors who prescribe marijuana." The current DEA chief and drug czar are continuing the standard policy of lying to the public and subverting the law to reach the goals. The actions by the DEA against laws passed in Arizona and California leads the U.S. closer to a police state than ever before. The majority of voters in these two states passed legislation to allow the compassionate use of marijuana by seriously ill people when prescribed by Doctors. Backers of Proposition 215 -- including many influential medical officials and organizations -- say marijuana relieves nausea and stimulates the appetite of patients who are wasting away with cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses. The measure was designed to make cultivation, sale and possession of marijuana legal for certain medical purposes, and it included specific protections to assure that doctors would not be punished for their recommendations. The Justice Department chooses not to challenge these laws in court because they might lose, so the DEA and drug czar plan to subvert the will of the voters and prosecute the professionals that are trained to diagnose and prescribe medication. The voters obviously no longer have a voice in state policy and law especially when their voice is contrary to those that are currently in power. When the citizens of a country can no longer pass laws that are upheld by law enforcement a totaltarian police state can not be far off. General McCaffrey may call it Anarchy, but our founding fathers had a different name for it: DEMOCRACY. Scott Mills