by Bob Barr

About the author: Bob Barr, a former attorney, is a U.S. Representative from the seventh district of Georgia and serves on the House Judiciary Committee.

In 1998, as the Reagan presidency and its successful "Just Say No" campaign were coming to a close, drug legalization advocates decided it was time for a change in tactics. With drug abuse rates actually dropping for the first time since the drug revolution began, and a White House strongly committed to fighting mind-altering drugs, the legalization movement faced a choice: become irrelevant, or camouflage its true goals in order to move its agenda forward. The movement chose for its disguise "Medical" marijuana.

As UCLA Public Policy Professor Mark Kleiman told the New York Times in June 1999, "[m]edical marijuana was chosen as a wedge issue several years ago by people...