Protesting the overruling by federal judges of state medical marijuana laws, critics recently descended on the doorstep of the Warwick outpost of the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Similar protests organized by Americans for Safe Access, a non-profit group concerned with ensuring access to medical marijuana, took place in 54 other US cities earlier this month. DEA raids of state medical hemp repositories in northern California triggered the protests.

Thomas Angell, president of the University of Rhode Island's Hemp Organization for Prohibition Elimination (HOPE), wasn't thrilled by the turnout for the Warwick protest, but he still believes it was worthwhile. "At least local DEA agents know we're here," he says. Angell and his cohorts attempted to deliver "cease and desist" orders to stop federal involvement in states' medical marijuana proceedings, but were rebuffed by the DEA at every turn. According to Angell, "We were basically surrounded by seven agents who wouldn't accept our order."

In other cities, similar protests created more of a buzz. In Washington, DC, people chained themselves to the front of the Justice Department and 10 were arrested. According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles natives, many of whom are plagued with chronic illnesses, are participating in an "open-ended hunger strike and encampment" in response to the DEA's actions.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), pot's medical uses are manifold. According to NORML's Web site, marijuana is a drug that can provide "pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia."

The DEA, not surprisingly, is one of the most vocal opponents of medical marijuana. According to the agency's Web site, "There are over 10,000 scientific studies that prove marijuana is a harmful addictive drug. There is not one reliable study that demonstrates marijuana has any medical value." The site goes on to say, "Medical marijuana has been promoted for "compassionate use" to assist people with cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. Scientific studies show the opposite is true; marijuana is damaging to individuals with these illnesses. In fact, people suffering with AIDS and glaucoma are being used unfairly by groups whose real agenda is to legalize marijuana."

Issue Date: June 27 - July 4, 2002