Peter Mcwilliams

Peter McWilliams, a best-selling author who advocated the medicinal use of marijuana, died Wednesday at his Laurel Canyon home after a long battle with AIDS and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. At his death, the 50-year-old McWilliams was awaiting sentencing in federal court on a charge of conspiring to possess, manufacture and sell marijuana.

Peter McWilliams, a best-selling author who advocated the medicinal use of marijuana, died Wednesday at his Laurel Canyon home after a long battle with AIDS and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. At his death, the 50-year-old McWilliams was awaiting sentencing in federal court on a charge of conspiring to possess, manufacture and sell marijuana.

The authors of best-selling books on achieving inner peace and harmonious relationships are now squared off in an acrimonious lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. John-Roger and Peter McWilliams co-authored two self-help series "Life 101," "Wealth 101," and other books, including "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought."

Peter McWilliams lives in a house overlooking Laurel Canyon with a view that stretches past the wooded hills all the way to the clustered towers of downtown. Frank Lloyd Wright called it the most inspirational site in Southern California, but it doesn't always feel that way to McWilliams. It has become a kind of prison for the 49-year-old writer-publisher who hasn't been out of it since February.

Peter McWilliams lives in a house overlooking Laurel Canyon with a view that stretches past the wooded hills all the way to the clustered towers of downtown. Frank Lloyd Wright called it the most inspirational site in Southern California, but it doesn't always feel that way to McWilliams. It has become a kind of prison for the 49-year-old writer-publisher who hasn't been out of it since February.

Federal drug agents Wednesday searched the home of a man who is writing a book about the medical use of marijuana and who has been questioned in connection with the arrest of a pot activist, authorities said. The activist, Todd McCormick, is awaiting trial on charges of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants. He was arrested July 29 in a rented Bel-Air home filled with more than 4,000 pot plants, which he said he was cultivating to treat his cancer.

Re "Agents Raid Home of Writer on Medical Use of Marijuana," Dec. 18: Makes you wonder what the Drug Enforcement Administration is really up to, when they begin raiding people's homes simply for writing about a view the DEA opposes. It certainly doesn't seem obvious that Peter McWilliams was some sort of international drug dealer--he smokes marijuana for medicinal relief and he's writing a book about his experience. Could the DEA have something else to protect other than the people from their own decisions?

"Peter McWilliams' Personal Electronics Book." Prentice Hall. Baffled about the world of VCRs, CDs, camcorders, etc.? Here's the most pleasant one-stop way to get rid of at least some of the confusion. McWilliams, noted for his breezy, trustworthy "Personal Computer Book," follows it up with an equally informative and very readable volume on electronic appliances.

Re "Activists Plead Guilty to Drug Charges," Nov. 20: By denying all effective avenues of defense to marijuana activists Todd McCormick and Peter McWilliams, U.S District Court Judge George H. King makes a public mockery of the justice system and its widely perceived view of fairness. Judge King may as well take this process to its preordained conclusion by saving the public expense of what will doubtless be a kangaroo trial and ordering the two defendants immediately arrested and jailed by default.

Re "Judge Denies AIDS Patient's Request for Marijuana," March 10: The decision of U.S. District Judge George H. King to refuse to allow Peter McWilliams the medical use of marijuana is unconscionable. King says he cannot allow, to a possibly dying man, "what amounts to a license to violate federal law." Yet the judge himself should know two things: 1) Necessity, as in life and death, is a common-law reason to violate many kinds of laws; and 2) the drug laws he is talking about blatantly and egregiously violate the 10th Amendment, not to mention every person's natural right to use medicine.

Federal drug agents Wednesday searched the home of a man who is writing a book about the medical use of marijuana and who has been questioned in connection with the arrest of a pot activist, authorities said. The activist, Todd McCormick, is awaiting trial on charges of growing more than 1,000 marijuana plants. He was arrested July 29 in a rented Bel-Air home filled with more than 4,000 pot plants, which he said he was cultivating to treat his cancer.

The authors of best-selling books on achieving inner peace and harmonious relationships are now squared off in an acrimonious lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. John-Roger and Peter McWilliams co-authored two self-help series "Life 101," "Wealth 101," and other books, including "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought."

In your July 21 editorial endorsement of the use of drug-sniffing dogs by the Los Angeles Unified School District, you say these "amiable" Labradors and golden retrievers "are trained to detect marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, alcohol, a few medications and gunpowder." Why not tobacco? By including the nonaddictive and relatively harmless marijuana and excluding tobacco, one of the most damaging and addictive of all drugs, the LAUSD sends a very clear message to kids: "Tobacco is less harmful than marijuana."

Sheriff's deputies said they searched a West Hollywood club that openly sold marijuana and arrested four men Monday on suspicion of possession of the drug for sale. The club purportedly sells the drug for medicinal purposes, but Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Robert Robert Stoneman said that as far as he knows, "selling marijuana is still illegal." Authorities identified the arrested men as Rusty Gygax, 24; Donald Howell, 28; Jeffrey Farrington, 27; and John Babji, 30.