Time: Wed Mar 12 21:37:51 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id TAA15298; Wed, 12 Mar 1997 19:55:09 -0700 (MST) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 20:12:54 -0800 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: MAP: Ariz. Sen. John McCain on Prop. 200 (fwd) <snip> >Mr. Scott Dykstra >84-128 Austin St. >Jamaica, New York 11415-2208 > >26 February, 1997 > >Dear Mr. Dykstra: > > Thank you for contacting me regarding my position on Arizona's >Proposition 200. I appreciate learning your views, as well as this >opportunity to share my perspective with you. > > As you know, Proposition 200 permits doctors to prescribe >controlled drugs such as methampehtamine, heroine, and marijuana, and >releases prisoners convicted of nonviolent drug crimes from jails and >prisons. > > I do not support Proposition 200, and I voted against it last >November at the polls. It is overly broad and appears to be an attempt >to legalize dangerous and addictive drugs in Arizona. Proposition 200 >conflicts with federal law, and I support efforts by the Clinton >Administration to enforce federal statutes through the Drug Enforcement >Administration and federal health care programs. > > While I recognize that terminally ill patients have a right to a >wide variety of treatments for pain, there are sufficient alternatives >currently available to crude marijuana. For instance, patients who >require THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) for pain relief or to >counter the effects of nausea can recieve this treatment now by >prescription through their physicians. > > I agree with the spirit of Proposition 200 insofar as it requires >violent felons who have committed violent crimes while under the >influence of controlled substances to serve 100% of their sentences. I >disagree, however, with the provisions which would allow nonviolent >offenders convicted of possession or use of a controlled substance to be >released from prison or granted probation and parole. Many of these >individuals are repeat offenders convicted of serious distribution >charges who have entered into plea agreements for lenient sentences. > > Additionally, I was very disturbed by the most recent survey >results from the University of Michigan and the Department of Health and >Human Services demonstrating a substantial increase in drug use among >our nation's youth over the last four years. Arizona's Proposition 200 >will only serve to exacerbate this alarming trend by sending a message >to kids that dangerous and addictive drugs are somehow okay or safe. > > Finally, I believe that the Proposition's provisions creating a >Parents Commission on Drug Education and Prevention can be a laudable >step in addressing the problem of increased drug use among children, and >that, outside of the underlying initiative, it may be helpful to persue. > > Thank you again for sharing your views with me. Please do not >hesitate to contact me further on this or any other issue of interest or >concern to you. > > > > Sincerely, > > > John McCain > United States Senator ======================================================================== Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S. : Counselor at Law, federal witness email: [address in tool bar] : Eudora Pro 3.0.1 on Intel 586 CPU web site: http://www.supremelaw.com : library & law school registration ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this ========================================================================
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