norml17 - Page 23
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The court in _ construed this m support finding that article 1, §
7 of the state constitution to provides greater privacy fights than the fourth
amen&ment to the U.S. Consti_tion. 89
This subject was covered under the general discussion, page 12, above.
It seems likely that, just as the federal supreme court found a "penumbra" of
privacy rights under unrelated enumerated fights, so the state court could look
at the broad and paramount concern for personal fighl_s set out in the state
constitution, and find a fight to be treated "reasonably," or "not arbitrarily," in
the matter of a citizen forced to endure physical suffering, physically
preventable, but legally prol_bited to no benefit to the state.
CONCLUSION
Marijuana is a naturally occurring plant which provides unique and
inexpensive relief to people suffering from a variety of serious, often life-
threatening diseases. Tbds conclusio_ is supported by a massive and growing
body of scientific knowledge, by the government's own exhaustive fact-
finding process, and by my own horribIe experiences.
By far the most likely route to legalization for medical use is the
election of leaders with a sense of compassion. That seerr_ to have
happened, in the form of president-elect Bill Clinton. ,At the federal level, he
(as president) may change the law with the stroke of a pen, because the law is
made and enforced by an executive agency. (The sound you hear is the
founding fathers spinning m their graves.)
A second approach would be to have the state legislature amend
current laws -- it would only take the addition or delefion of several down
words in the appropriate statutes. While Washington also has an
administrative agency overseeing the drug laws, the legislature itself
determines which drugs are placed in wbSch categories Making marijuana
"prescribable" could be done with the sound of a rrmjofity of "eye" votes and
a signature by the governoro Tits will become more and more "politically
acceptable" as facts concerning the drug's therapeutic value become more
widely known. Sadly, the facts will become widely known at least in part
_9 Jd at 66, 67.
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