THE ANTIQUE CANNABIS BOOK Chapter 3 - (2nd Edition) CENSORED MEDICAL STUDIES

WAR ON DRUGS:
Barr was originally a strong supporter of the War on Drugs, . . . .While in Congress, he was a member of the Speaker's Task Force for a Drug-Free America.   This task force was established in 1998 by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich to "design a World War-II style victory plan to save America's children from illegal drugs." . . . .Barr advocated complete federal prohibition of medical marijuana.   In 1998, he successfully blocked implementation of Initiative 59 — the "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998" — which would have legalized medical marijuana in Washington, D.C.   The "Barr Amendment" to the 1999 Omnibus spending bill not only blocked implementation of Initiative 59, but also prohibited the vote tally from even being released.   Nearly a year passed before a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union eventually revealed the initiative had received 69 percent of the vote.   In response to the judge's ruling, Barr simply attached another "Barr Amendment" to the 2000 Omnibus spending bill that overturned Initiative 59 outright.   The Barr Amendment also prohibited future laws that would "decrease the penalties for marijuana or other Schedule-I drugs" in Washington, D.C.   This preemptively blocked future attempts by Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) to reform marijuana laws in DC via the initiative process.   In March 2002, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down this portion of the Barr Amendment as being an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.   Barr's response to the ruling was defiant:

“Clearly, the court today has ignored the constitutional right and responsibility of Congress to pass laws protecting citizens from dangerous and addictive narcotics, and the right of Congress to exert legislative control over the District of Columbia as the nation's capital.
— Bob Barr, March 28, 2002 ”

The federal government later prevailed on appeal, reinstating the Barr Amendment just in time to thwart MPP's initiative 63 -- "The Medical Marijuana Initiative of 2002" -- which had already qualified for the November 2002 ballot.   In 2009, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives voted to lift the ban against a medical marijuana initiative, effectively overturning the Barr Amendment.

Barr would later reverse his position on medical marijuana, joining MPP as a lobbyist five years later.   In a June 4, 2008, interview with Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report, Barr confirmed that he now supports ending marijuana prohibition, as well as the War on Drugs for which he once vehemently fought.   In 2009, he was hired by the MPP to lobby to successfully overturn the amendment that he authored.

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