Marijuana Policy Project accepts challenge to debate drug czar

The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project accepted a challenge Wednesday from federal drug czar John Walters to debate national marijuana policy, the project announced in a press release. MPP is working to reform national marijuana laws, particularly those that prohibit seriously ill people, including AIDS and cancer patients, from using the drug to ease the symptoms of their conditions. Walters issued the debate challenge during a September 10 press conference in Seattle, during which he denounced Initiative 75, a local ballot measure that would make the arrest and prosecution of personal marijuana possession the lowest priority for Seattle police and prosecutors. (Seattle voters approved the measure.) "We have been trying to debate John Walters since he took office, and he's refused every time," said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. "If our nation's drug czar is finally ready for an honest debate about marijuana prohibition, I'm ready to meet him anywhere, anytime."