Marijuana Policy Project

Refuses to Disclose Money Spent Opposing I-148

HELENA, MONTANA — The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has refused to report how much money it spent campaigning against I-148, the medical marijuana initiative passed by Montana voters last November. The refusal came in the form of a letter sent by ONDCP General Counsel Ed Jurith to Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Gordon Higgins on April 1.

In the letter, Jurith claimed that Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns was "immune" from Montana's campaign finance law "as a federal officer acting within the scope of duties, including speaking out about the dangers of illegal drugs." Burns traveled to Montana on October 6, 2004, to campaign against the measure, but failed to report campaign expenditures as required by Montana law. At a stop in Billings, Burns was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that passage of I-148 would "help our kids get addicted to drugs." The Helena Independent Record headlined its story about Burns' trip, "Drug Czar Stumps Against I-148."

Higgins wrote to Burns on March 7, noting that ONDCP had previously claimed exemption from Nevada's campaign finance laws. The letter sought further explanation than ONDCP had provided to Nevada, specifically asking Burns for "information about the scope of your responsibilities as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy that may lead you to claim immunity," to be provided in writing by March 23. Instead of providing such explanation, Jurith repeated, virtually word-for-word, the terse language of ONDCP's 2003 refusal to obey Nevada campaign laws.

"The drug czar's office has moved from ignoring the law to actively defying it," said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which supported I-148. "Claims that Burns was just doing his job by speaking out about the dangers of marijuana are absurd and insulting. He campaigned against I-148 overtly and energetically, most likely spending many thousands of dollars of the taxpayers' money in the process. All we ask is that he follow the law and play by the same rules we had to obey. U.S. Supreme Court precedent makes clear there is no reason for Burns to be exempt from Montana campaign laws, just as his driver isn't exempt from Montana traffic laws."

With more than 17,000 members and 150,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana — both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, see http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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