409 H Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
For Immediate Release
August 10, 1997
contact Steve Michael at 202.547.9404
McCaffery doublespeak on Medical Marijuana
Washington, DC — Drug Czar General Barry McCaffery condemned efforts by local DC AIDS activists circulating petitions for Initiative 57, in an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. Initiative 57, sponsored by the AIDS group ACT UP Washington, would protect seriously ill patients and their providers from criminal prosecution in the use of marijuana for medical treatment.
States Initiative 57 organizer, ACT UP's Steve Michael, who is HIV positive, "McCaffery is flat out lying when he characterizes ACT UP members as drug-legalization king-pins. The Drug Czar has no business involving himself in health policy."
The National Institutes of Health released last week a preliminary report confirming the efficacy of marijuana in the treatment of certain medical conditions, including nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite among AIDS sufferers, cancer patients undergoing chemo and radiation therapy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and other illnesses. Activists hailed the NIH report, which calls for further studies. Meanwhile, ACT UP organizers for Initiative 57 are pushing ahead with the signature gathering effort to protect patients from incarceration.
"It isn't a question of whether marijuana should be used as medicine. The question is, should we jail the seriously ill in the name of public safety?"
Michael adds, "Decisions regarding medical treatment are best determined within the doctor-patient relationship."
Officials within McCaffery's office admit that they have not yet reviewed the legislative text of Initiative 57, which explicitly prohibits the nonmedical use of marijuana. The local, all volunteer effort has received no backing from those who financed similar measures passed by voters in California and Arizona last year. However, billionaire publisher Malcom 'Steve' Forbes Jr. launched an $150,000 media campaign against Initiative 57.
Volunteers have until December 8 to gather approximately 16,700 signatures of DC voters in order to place Initiative 57 on the DC ballot.
ACT UP's Steve Michael was one of the many protesters arrested last week advocating for democracy and self determination for District residents. "The ballot initiative process is one of the few democratic tools remaining for DC residents" Michael adds.
For further information on Initiative 57, including the legislative text and list of supporters, contact ACT UP Washington at 202.547.9404.
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