November 3rd, 1998 was a day of victory for patients around the country, and for all Americans seeking a more reasonable and humane drug policy, as voters in five states passed laws permitting the medicinal use of marijuana. Initiatives were approved by margins ranging from 7-20% in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State. In the District of Columbia, exit polls showed the initiative there passing by a landslide 69%, but Congress has barred the city from announcing the results. In Colorado, exit polls as well as (according to CBS News) the 67% of precincts that recorded the vote on Init. 19 showed the initiative passing by a comfortable margin, though results of a dispute between Init. 19's sponsors and the Colorado Secretary of State are still pending.
In 1996, the Arizona legislature told its constituents they had been "duped by the legalizers" into passing Prop 200. In 1996, the Federal government launched a war against doctors and patients in California who sought to implement Prop 215. The drug warriors called medical marijuana a fringe issue, a hoax, supported by a marginal element. But, as they say in Tucson, the people have spoken.
For the full rundown on the medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot in the November 3, 1998 elections, read DPF's report on our site. For a wrap-up on the vote, read this week's edition of The Week Online and DRCNN.
Click on the links below for up to the minute returns on all the initiatives (alternate sites are included whenever possible). DRCNet cannot guarantee the timeliness or accuracy of any results posted at these sites; comments and suggestions should be sent to the webmasters of the sites themselves. DRCNet congratulates the patients and activists, and voters who made election '98 a success!
WE WIN!
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