January 1998
Affiliate News: District of Columbia
Legalizing medical marijuana in DC would be like "putting a stick in the eye of the drug warriors right in their own backyard," said Daniel Smith, Chair of the DC Libertarian Party.So he joined with AIDS activists, patients' rights organizations, Greens, and Democrats to help put Initiative 57 -- which would protect doctors and patients from marijuana prosecution -- on the ballot.
Although the coalition gathered more than 17,000 signatures by the December 8th deadline, Smith said it may not be enough to survive validity challenges.
"Nevertheless, if we can keep even one suffering AIDS patient out of the clutches of drug czar Barry McCaffrey, this initiative is worth fighting for," he said.
