cannabisnews.com: Attorney General Sidesteps Pot Issue 





Attorney General Sidesteps Pot Issue 
Posted by FoM on January 15, 2001 at 17:55:58 PT
By Ucilia Wang, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat
State Attorney General Bill Lockyer touted his civil rights efforts but said little about the controversial North Coast issue of legalizing marijuana during his visit Sunday to Ukiah for a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and a Democratic Party fund-raiser.Dashing the hopes of some members of the audience, Lockyer didn't mention Measure G, a Mendocino County initiative that calls for legalization of the personal possession and use of marijuana. The measure passed with 58 percent in November.
In only a few sentences at the fund-raiser, Lockyer summarized his support for the state medical marijuana law. Then he moved on to other topics, such as the environment, elder abuse and crime prevention.Afterward, Lockyer said he sees Measure G as a way to fill the gaps in the state medical marijuana law passed four years ago. But he emphasized he doesn't have much power to address the disagreements surrounding how marijuana law should be carried out."I think people are looking at the wrong direction for guidance," said Lockyer, adding that it's up to the Legislature to clarify the law. "It's more of a medical issue than a law enforcement issue. I am not competent to give medical advice."Richard Johnson, acting chairman of the Green Party, which spearheaded the Measure G campaign, said Lockyer danced around the issue and isn't enforcing the medical marijuana law."The Democratic Party has a blind spot when it comes to marijuana issues," Johnson said.What Lockyer did emphasize at the fund-raiser and later at the King event was his achievements in enforcing civil rights law.Using statistics on the disparities in income, life expectancy and homicide rates between white and black people, Lockyer talked about his creation of a civil rights enforcement unit when he took office two years ago and the community forums he has held throughout the state on hate crimes.He pointed out that the unit, with seven attorneys, is the largest in the country."I want to run the Department of Justice, not the Department of Just Us," said Lockyer, winning laughter and applause from the audience at St. Mary of the Angels Church, where the King celebration took place.Organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Committee, an independent community group, the celebration included performances by adult and youth choruses, essay readings by students and taped speeches by the famed civil rights leader."He died doing what he thought was right and ended up saving a lot of people pain," said Lauren Simmonds, an eighth-grader from St. Mary's School who read her essay about King in front of the audience.The event also honored a mother and her daughter for their work in feeding the needy.Birdie Marabel, 76, began offering food out of her home to whoever needed help 20 years ago. The charity work grew in size and was moved to the Ukiah Senior Center. When Marabel suffered a stroke eight years ago, her daughter, 58-year-old Lillian Brandon, took over."My mother never turned anybody down. She used to clothe and feed them, and she instilled that in me," Brandon said.Note: Lockyer's speech at Democratic fund-raiser in Ukiah stresses civil rights record, not marijuana bill. You can reach Staff Writer Ucilia Wang at 462-6473 or e-mail: uwang pressdemocrat.comSource: Press Democrat, The (CA) Author: Ucilia Wang, The Press DemocratPublished: January 15, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Press Democrat Address: Letters Editor, P. O. Box 569Santa Rosa CA 95402 Fax: (707) 521-5305 Contact: letters pressdemo.com Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Forum: http://www.pressdemo.com/opinion/talk/ Feedback: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/letform.html Related Articles:Mendocino County OKs Pot Growing and Smokinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7600.shtmlMendocino Co. First in US To Decriminalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7593.shtml
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