[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1176-E1177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NARCOTIC DRUGS
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HON. MARK E. SOUDER
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 29, 2000
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the countless mothers,
fathers, families, and individuals whose lives have been devastated by
illegal drugs to introduce legislation to federally nullify movements
in the states to legalize the use of narcotic drugs illegal under
federal law.
It is undisputed that narcotic drugs devastate our families and rot
our communities literally to the core through addiction and crime.
Earlier this week, we passed the Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations
bill that provided literally hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to
fight drugs and drug-related crime, and we are finalizing action on
$1.3 billion in assistance to our allies in Colombia, where agents of
the Colombian National Police are dying in numbers to keep them off of
our streets in America.
Directly defying our efforts as a Congress and a nation, a small
group of well-funded activists have engaged in deceptive, back door,
efforts that pretend to legalize drugs under state law that are banned
under federal law. These activists hide behind the myth of so-called
``medical'' use of marijuana and other drugs, despite the facts that
there is no scientific proof that smoked marijuana provides any real
medical relief, and that the active ingredient in marijuana is
available in pill form.
[[Page E1177]]
Increasingly, however, they have abandoned even this pretense, and made
clear that their goal is the legalization or decriminalization of
narcotic drugs.
One activist called it the ``leaky bucket strategy . . . legalize it
in one area, and sooner or later it will trickle down into the
others.'' The bucket is now leaking faster.
The Governor of Hawaii just signed into law state legislation that
purports to allow the ``medical'' use of marijuana, even though it's
still illegal under federal law. Five states have enacted laws by
ballot initiative that purport to allow so-called ``medical'' use of
marijuana under state laws: Alaska, California, Maine, Oregon and
Washington. In furtherance of that strategy, pro-drug activists are now
attempting to pass ballot initiatives for the November elections in six
states to virtually decriminalize marijuana by removing criminal
penalties for its use in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Massachusetts, and Michigan.
These initiatives have already given us such Alice-in-Wonderland
moments as the ``nation's first bed and breakfast inn catering to
medical marijuana users'' in Santa Cruz, California. This
``establishment'' was featured in People magazine with a smiling couple
holding marijuana plants in front of their home, which is said to
contain cannabis-themed tiles on the sidewalk, and hemp curtains and
towels. That really sounds like a ``medical'' facility to me. We've
also seen the bizarre decision by the Oakland City Council to declare a
``public health emergency'' after a court closed the city's medical
marijuana club, and the issuance of photo ID cards supposedly allowing
marijuana use by the Arcata, California police chief.
But this is all an illusion--states can't permit marijuana use,
because it's illegal under federal law. The legalization initiatives
mislead the public into breaking federal law and directly counter
congressional policies against drug use and the provisions of the
federal Controlled Substances Act. Today, I am introducing legislation
to stop this charade once and for all, with the support of my
colleagues on the Speaker's drug task force and others, including Task
Force Co-Chair McCollum, Chairman Mica of the Drug Policy Subcommittee,
Chairman Gilman, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Myrick, Mr. Foley and
Mr. Baker.
Federal law is ordinarily assumed to preempt contrary state laws.
However, the Federal Controlled Substances Act does not contain an
express preemption clause, and currently has language stating that the
intent of Congress is not to occupy the entire field of regulation of
narcotic drugs. In light of the state initiatives, federal courts could
potentially interpret the language of state efforts to regulate
narcotics as legally harmonious and proper. In fact, one federal
district judge has already argued in non-binding language that Congress
intended federal law to regulate drug trafficking, and not ``medical''
marijuana use.
My bill will remove any potential loophole or ambiguity by clearly
declaring that it is the intent of Congress for federal law to
supersede any and all laws of states and local governments purporting
to authorize the use, growing, manufacture, distribution or importation
of any controlled substance which differs from the provisions of the
Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and
Export Act. It would also expressly declare such state and local
enactments as null and void. If enacted, the bill would decisively
prohibit federal and state judges from giving any effect to drug
legalization initiatives and legislation, and send an equally clear
message that Congress will not tolerate backdoor efforts to legalize
narcotic drugs.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is not my bill--it belongs to our mothers,
fathers, families and our communities. It has strong support from
numerous community groups and coalitions, narcotics activists, and
tireless anti-drug advocates, who have worked closely with my office in
drafting this bill. I would particularly like to acknowledge and thank
Joyce Nalepka of America Cares, who first raised this important issue
with me. I look forward to working with the anti-drug community to pass
this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting and
passing it.
[From People Magazine, June 12, 2000]
Joint Venture--When Pot's Prescribed, the High Way Leads to the
Compassion Flower Inn
At the Compassion Flower Inn in Santa Cruz, Calif., there
are smokers--and there are smokers. Cigarette smokers are
banished to the front porch. Smokers, on the other hand, may
feel they've died and gone to pot. Cannabisthemed tiles adorn
the sidewalk outside. Curtains, linens and towels are made of
hemp. And . . . say, what is that funny smell, anyway?
The five-bedroom bed-and-breakfast, just a stoner's throw
from the beach, exists as a safe--and perfectly legal--haven
for people who smoke marijuana for medical reasons. ``Motel 6
guests probably smoke it quietly in their rooms,'' says
Andrea Tischler, 57, who with her partner, Maria Mallek-
Tischler, 46, opened the inn in a restored Victorian in
April. ``This is more out of the closet.''
Guests who show up hoping to be provided with marijuana go
away disappointed; the Compassion Flower is strictly BYOP.
And, as required by California law, a doctor's note is also
necessary. Tischler, who grew up in Chicago, and German-born
Mallek-Tischler, a couple since 1979, have been pot-
legalization activists since the 1980s in San Francisco. ``We
had a lot of friends with AIDS,'' says Tischler. ``They were
taking AZT, and marijuana seemed to bolster their appetite.''
Out in the sunshine-soaked ``toking area,'' a new arrival,
Scott Byer, 53, of Clearlake, Calif., who smokes to ease
spinal pain, has taken out a small porcelain pipe and is
filling it. He doesn't even have his room key yet.
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