This Week in History 2/27/04 February 29, 1996: In his State of the Union address, President Clinton nominates Army General Barry McCaffrey, a veteran of Vietnam and Desert Storm, as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Two days later, the appointment is confirmed by the Senate without debate. McCaffrey had been head of the US Southern Command (SouthCom) which provides military backup for US policy in Latin America -- a policy long linked with chronically ineffective and corrupt drug enforcement. March 1, 1915: The Harrison Narcotics Act goes into legal effect, beginning prohibition of drugs. March 1, 1999: The advice columnist Abigail Van Buren in her popular column Dear Abby said, "I agree that marijuana laws are overdue for an overhaul. I also favor the medical use of marijuana -- if it's prescribed by a physician. I cannot understand why the federal government should interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, nor why it would ignore the will of the majority of voters who have legally approved such legislation." March 5, 1995: Lester Grinspoon, MD, one of America's leading medical marijuana authorities, visited London and took part in a live debate on BBC television. The topic was "Should marijuana be legalized?" In less than half an hour, over 137,000 phone calls came in, of which 90 percent were in the affirmative.