I would hope he would be an example for Republicans in Congress." Aides said Mr. Bush does not support legalizing marijuana for medical use.

But his position supporting state self-determination opens the door to medical marijuana use in some places. President Clinton and most Republican lawmakers, by contrast, oppose all state medical marijuana legalization laws, saying they could lead to abuse.

But Mr. Clinton -- in a move philosophically in tune with Mr. Bush -- has said Republicans in Congress went too far in seeking to block the District of Columbia's medical marijuana ballot initiative, which won 69 percent support last year.

The president recently vetoed the district's $4.7 billion budget approved by Congress, in part because of a provision to overturn the medical marijuana law. "For us, that's an issue of local control," of not "micromanaging local government," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert. The veto was not about the merits of the issue, he said.

Among the Republicans leading the charge against the district's law are GOP House leaders and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Bush supporter and chairwoman of the District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee. The district should not be "a haven for marijuana use, even for medicinal purposes," Ms. Hutchison said on the Senate floor.

"I don't think we should take an illegal drug and allow it to be legalized in our capital city." Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved medical marijuana laws, giving the issue prominence in key Western states.

Mr. Bush, campaigning for president in Seattle on Saturday, told reporters he felt certain that such a move was "not going to happen in Texas."

The state has no direct referendums or voter initiatives. Although addressing the states' rights issue, Mr. Bush didn't comment directly on the District of Columbia issue.

His position of opposing the medical marijuana but saying states should decide is unique among presidential contenders, Mr. Thomas said.

Staff writer Wayne Slater in Austin contributed to this report.

THE MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT'S ANALYSIS:

George W. Bush is the second most supportive presidential candidate. George W. Bush's comment in support of states' rights on medical marijuana makes him the second most supportive presidential candidate. His position puts him in favor of H.R. 912, the states' rights medical marijuana bill currently pending in Congress.

Please see:
http://www.mpp.org/912alert.html

Unfortunately, Governor Bush was also responsible for signing into law a bill that prevents local communities in Texas from enacting their own medical marijuana policies.

Please see:
http://www.mpp.org/2states.html

The most supportive declared candidate is Pat Buchanan. During the last presidential campaign, Pat Buchanan was asked, "Would you support the medical use of marijuana?", in an interview in the North Carolina newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, on July 29, 1995 (page 12C).

He responded, "If a doctor indicated to his patient that this was the only way to alleviate certain painful symptoms ... I would defer to the doctor's judgement."

Buchanan made a similar statement in Iowa when confronted by one of the eight patients who can legally use marijuana nationwide. Donald Trump, who is considering a bid for the Reform Party nomination, would be the most supportive candidate if he formally declares his candidacy, in that he has come out in the past in favor of marijuana "decriminalization," thereby opposing the policy of jailing sick or healthy marijuana users.

Unfortunately, Bill Bradley, a former marijuana user, recently said he wouldn't change the medical marijuana laws now, thereby endorsing the status quo of arresting and incarcerating seriously ill people. And there is little hope that Al Gore, also a former marijuana user, will be much better.

Vice President Gore, who has been with the Clinton administration for more than six years, has not separated himself from the views of the administration, which has waged the most vicious war on medical marijuana users of any presidential administration. Barry McCaffrey, the Clinton administration's drug czar, is an extremist on this issue.

An interesting juxtaposition of quotes: "We concluded that there are some limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses."

Institute of Medicine Principle Investigator
John Benson, M.D.
at IOM's 3/17/99 news conference see:

http://www.mpp.org/science.html

"Smoked dope is not medicine ... I think it's a crock."
-- Barry McCaffrey, Albuquerque Journal, 10/8/99

HOW TO SUPPORT THE MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: