Drug czar rebuked in latest stop on anti-drug tour

Life on tour with Drug Czar John Walters sure is tough.

On November 17, Walters dropped into San Francisco for the latest stop on his 25 Cities Initiative, designed to coordinate with local leaders about urban drug use.

Much to his chagrin, he was greeted by dozens of protesters—organized by Americans for Safe Access—who were gathered across the street from Glide Memorial Church's drug recovery center. While speaking to people inside, Walters said that the government's war on medical marijuana could not end: "I can't make it go away by lying, by saying, 'It's OK, it's really medicine,' when it's not."

Perhaps Walters would have learned more about medical marijuana if he had participated in the forum at Glide Memorial Church that was being held after his talk. Unfortunately, he declined to participate. To read more about Mr. Walters' misadventures, click here.

On November 18, Walters addressed the American Public Health Association's conference. Apparently he was not aware of the APHA resolution supporting medical marijuana.

According to MPP's Bruce Mirken and Alexis Baden-Mayer, who attended the conference, when Walters finished speaking about the dangers of marijuana—to a chilly reception—he left without participating in the standard Q and A session. This was another opportunity that Walters could have used to learn about medical marijuana.

Not all was bad for Walters, though. Walters' visit clearly affected the normally medical marijuana-friendly San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan. After meeting with Walters on Monday, Hallinan said the drug czar's reaction to Proposition S (which requires the city to study cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana) showed that the city should move cautiously in implementing the ballot measure.

MPP would like to thank both Americans for Safe Access, for organizing the protests, and the people of APHA, for having a compassionate and sensible position on medical marijuana. Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please check /CA often for all of the latest happenings in marijuana policy in California.