To the editor:

The U.S. House of Representatives will soon take a vote on whether the Drug Enforcement Agency can continue to spend federal tax dollars to target and arrest serious and terminally ill people who use marijuana legally in the 12 states where it is permitted.

This bill is commonly referred to as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment after co-sponsors Rep. Hinchey, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rohrabacher, R-Calif. It will not legalize marijuana or determine whether it has medical value. This is a vote about upholding states’ rights, and it’s about compassion.

Rep. Dennis Moore is the only Kansas congressman to vote in favor of the amendment. He stated in the Congressional Record last year, “I voted for this amendment because I do not believe that the federal government should be pre-empting state medical laws approved by either the state legislature or voter referendum.” He went on to say, “But this amendment has to do with compassion for people who are suffering from horrible pain or may be dying, and the ability of doctors in the states in which those people live to provide means by which their suffering can be relieved.”

The American Academy of Family Physicians, American Nurses Association, United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church are also on the record in favor of this bill.

Reps. Tiahrt, Boyda and Moran must be encouraged to vote in favor of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment. This is their opportunity to show Kansans they support states’ rights and have compassion for the serious and terminally ill.

Laura A. Green,

Lawrence