Pubdate: Fri, 28 Mar 2003 Source: Denver Business Journal (CO) Contact: 2003 American City Business Journals Inc. Website: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2875 Author: Gary Storck BLOWING SMOKE AT MARIJUANA OPPONENTS It is good to read that Colorado's medicinal marijuana law is working as planned ("Medical marijuana registry attracts applicants," March 21-27). The apparent success of the program is a far cry from the dire and hysterical picture painted by the group, Coloradans Against Legalizing Marijuana and other opponents, including The Denver Post, which campaigned against Amendment 20 in the 2000 elections. Readers may also recall that sick and dying Coloradans had to wait two extra years to get Amendment 20 on the ballot, thanks to the inept practices of the late Vikki Buckley, who was secretary of state in 1998 and who presided over the measure's ballot exclusion. But in the end, Buckley's inexcusable behavior only delayed the inevitable, and now Colorado patients have legal access to this beneficial herb. With the Denver Medical Society now saying that doctors' concerns have faded and they now are comfortable in understanding what they can and cannot do under the law, it seems that Colorado voters who overwhelmingly supported this compassionate measure have been proven right. Colorado's success stands a shining beacon for other states looking into similar laws, like medical marijuana supporters here in Wisconsin. Gary Storck Madison, Wis. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom