Reefer Madness

Adding to the strangeness is the fact that Ron Paul makes for such an unlikely "legalize it" poster boy. "The real irony of all this," Paul explains, "is because I'm -- if not the most -- almost the most outspoken proponent of legalizing the use for medical purposes. And I can honestly say I have never seen a person smoke marijuana. And I've never been in a room with it. And I hesitate to ever say that at Libertarian conventions, because I'm afraid that someone'll come up and break my record."

That alleged insularity doesn't necessarily go for his staff as a whole, though. In April, a 19-year-old intern got busted trying to smuggle weed and a pipe into the Republican's Capitol office. The young man promptly resigned.

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At last count, nearly a dozen states from Alaska to Maine had passed initiatives regarding the medical use of marijuana. In Texas, the most recent action was in February 2001, when Terry Keel, a state representative from Austin, introduced House Bill 513, which would have provided for "affirmative defense" -- a chance for those being prosecuted for marijuana to present evidence of medical illness as a means of defense. That Keel would be the one bringing this proposed legislation forward came as a surprise. The Republican had been a former assistant district attorney and sheriff in Travis County.

"I'm not saying that someone without those credentials couldn't have gotten it to the same point," says Shyra Darr, Keel's chief of staff, "but I think that got the attention of a lot of people who might not have taken it even remotely seriously otherwise."

Even so, whatever momentum Keel was hoping for dissipated quickly. The bill, which many believed wouldn't be carried by a sponsor in the Senate anyway, never even made it off the floor to a vote in the House. It's languishing in a committee to this day.

Efforts at the state level matter less, of course, because pot remains illegal at the federal level. For the past few years, Ron Paul has annually co-sponsored a "States Rights to Medical Marijuana" bill that would move the drug from schedule I (no accepted medical use) to schedule II (prescription only) of the Controlled Substance Act and would allow states to make the decision about legalization without federal interference. This proposal, along with a "Truth in Trials" affirmative defense bill, died in committee. The only vote that Congress has recently had on the issue has been for an appropriations amendment to withhold funds from federal agents going after patients who use marijuana legally under state law. This summer, for the second July in a row, the measure failed.

"I absolutely think that whenever one has the opportunity to have a recognized conservative lead the charge, you should always do it. It gives credibility; it gives cover," says Stroup.

Only the hard-liners' capitulating will likely bring progress. And while relying on the GOP to think straight on medical pot might be "kinda frightening," as one cannabis activist put it, it's probably the only chance they have.

"The fact that we are now getting a [California Republican] Dana Rohrbacher out front and a Ron Paul out front and a handful of others suggests to me that it's getting easier for Republicans to buck their party leadership," says Stroup. "And one of these days, the party leadership is going to decide this doesn't make sense."

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On the sleepy side of morning rush hour, with the sunrise carving deep, cool shadows from the downtown skyline, Clay Jones stations himself in front of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center and begins shouting.

"Call your representatives! Call your state senators! Call these people! End the madness! Make cannabis available medical -- we need it!" he yells, waving a stack of blue flyers at the crowds that walk past. "Ten states can't be crazy! Ten states have legalized it! Ten states say they have compassion for their people! They don't want 'em to suffer! If your mother had cancer -- if this was available for you, dammit, you'd break the law! You'd get it! We're not asking for carte blanche! We just want medicine!"

Only a cynic would deny Clay Jones his or her sympathies.

Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, recognizes that. He says the issue has been "clouded by a lot of the emotion involved."