Despite his promise that his religious views would not interfer with upholding the law, even if he disagreed with that law, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memo to the DEA that "...controlled substances may not be dispensed to assist suicide". He continued:

"Pain management, rather than assisted suicide, has long been recognized as a legitimate medical purpose justifying physicians' dispensing of controlled substances. There are important medical, ethical, and legal distinctions between intentially causing a patient's death and providing sufficient dosages of pain medication necessary to eliminate or alleviate pain."

Apparently, the voters of Oregon can't be trusted to make their own decisions or perhaps are morally deficient. I have yet to hear about the investigation into the anthrax hoax scares perpetrated on abortion clinics, despite Ashcroft's promise to vigorously pursue and prosecute any such hoaxes as domestic terrorism. Why am I not surprized?