cannabisnews.com: Attorney General Urged to Investigate US Drug Czar










  Attorney General Urged to Investigate US Drug Czar

Posted by CN Staff on March 17, 2005 at 11:42:40 PT
For Immediate Release 
Source: Common Dreams 

Springfield, Illinois -- The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) today asked Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to investigate whether White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director John Walters violated the state's Lobbyist Registration Act when he lobbied against medical marijuana legislation last month. The law specifically requires any individual who lobbies the state legislature to register with the Illinois Secretary of State within two business days, which Walters failed to do.
On February 17, 2005, Walters appeared before the House Human Services Committee for the express purpose of opposing a medical marijuana bill proposed by Rep. Larry McKeon (D-Chicago), and his presence apparently persuaded the committee to reject the measure. In traveling to Illinois for this purpose, Walters was carrying out the requirements of Title 21, Section 1703(b)(12) of the U.S. Code, which provides that the ONDCP director "shall ... take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize" marijuana."This provision makes the drug czar unique among federal officials in that influencing state legislation is part of his job description," said Steve Fox, MPP director of government relations. "When he travels to a state to testify, he is not an expert; he is a lobbyist. Mr. Walters' duty to register is not just a legal requirement; it is a matter of fairness. In order to ensure that we were in full compliance with the law, MPP asked the Illinois Secretary of State's office whether Irvin Rosenfeld, who testified before the same committee, needed to register as a lobbyist. We were informed that he was required to register because MPP 'employed' him -- by paying him a stipend to cover time he took off from work to testify -- to lobby the legislature. Mr. Walters is employed by President Bush and the federal government to lobby, and he must be held to the same standard."The Lobbyist Registration Act requires "any person who, for compensation or otherwise, either individually or as an employee or contractual employee of another person, undertakes to influence executive, legislative, or administrative action" to register with the Illinois Secretary of State. (25 ILCS 170 (3)(a)(2)). "Nothing in the Lobbyist Registration Act exempts John Walters from its registration requirements," Fox noted, "and no legal doctrine prevents the State of Illinois from asking him to register."Complete Title: Attorney General Urged to Investigate U.S. Drug Czar's Lobbying White House Official Apparently Broke Law by Failing to Register MPP's letter to Madigan is available at: http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/complaints/MPPtoILAG.pdf Contact: Marijuana Policy Project Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications202-543-7972 or 415-668-6403Source: Common Dreams (ME)Published: March 17, 2005Copyright: 2005 Common DreamsContact: editor commondreams.org Website: http://www.commondreams.org/Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Medical Marijuana Users Look To Change Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20258.shtmlCommittee Rejects Medical Marijuana Proposalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20256.shtml

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