Pubdate: Thu, 17 Oct 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Richard Perez-Pena

MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA GAINS SUPPORT

ALBANY - Flanked by terminally ill people who told tales of unrelenting 
pain, Tom Golisano today endorsed the medical use of marijuana, and lashed 
out at Gov. George E. Pataki for blocking a state program to provide the 
drug to patients.

"My approach to this issue is to return the discretion to the doctors, who 
are trained to make these decisions," said Mr. Golisano, the Independence 
Party candidate for governor. He charged that Mr. Pataki was opposed 
"because he is in the pocket of the big drug companies who stand to lose 
money if medical marijuana is made available."

Mr. Pataki's administration, like that of Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, has refused 
to put into effect a 1980 law letting severely sick people use marijuana, 
subject to a prescription and approval by a state board. Some doctors and 
patients say that in some cases, marijuana is more effective against pain 
than standard medicines, and it can combat the appetite loss that 
contributes to many seriously ill people's wasting away.

H. Carl McCall, the Democratic candidate, like Mr. Golisano, says he would 
activate the state program.

In the past, aides to Mr. Pataki, a Republican, have flatly said he opposes 
medical marijuana. Asked about it today at upstate stops in Saratoga 
Springs and Bolton Landing, the governor at first declined to give an 
opinion, saying only that "our medical professionals" did not think 
marijuana use was warranted.

When pressed, he said, "They have concluded that it is not justified at 
this time, that there are alternatives, and I support that conclusion."

Mr. Golisano continues to try to broaden his appeal, after spending most of 
the campaign wooing disaffected voters upstate by emphasizing the poor 
economy there. In recent weeks, he has proposed free or reduced tuition for 
public college students, and spoken out about issues like medical marijuana 
and easing the Rockefeller-era drug laws, issues that are more likely to 
appeal to voters in New York City.

"There's no question upstate the economy is the main thing on people's 
minds," he said. "As we move downstate, there's probably much greater 
concern about the Rockefeller drug laws."

Lisa Reiss, one of the people who joined Mr. Golisano today at the Albany 
Public Library, has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. She said her 
husband, who died from AIDS and cancer, "lasted a lot longer with the help 
of the marijuana."

"I've used it," she said. "It has eased a lot of my pain. I would use it 
again if it was legal."

Mr. McCall, casting about for an issue that will rescue his foundering 
campaign, called today for the Justice Department to investigate links 
between the Pataki administration and a company founded by, among others, 
Pataki campaign contributors. The company, CarePlus, has won a series of 
state contracts, despite poor performance ratings.

In a statement, Mr. Pataki's campaign manager, Adam Stoll, dismissed the 
entire McCall campaign as "hysterical and desperate."

A Quinnipiac University poll released today showed Mr. Pataki still holding 
a strong lead over Mr. McCall among likely voters, 47 percent to 31 
percent, while Mr. Golisano had his best showing yet in a public survey, 18 
percent.

Mr. McCall was in California today to raise money, forcing him to rely on 
surrogates to stump for him. In a series of news conferences around the 
state, his supporters unveiled his new television advertisement, one that 
accuses the governor of "trying to fool us again." It responds to a Pataki 
ad in which Mr. McCall appears to say that upstate school districts should 
get less money from the state, and says that, in fact, he would give more 
to those schools.

The events pointed up the difficulty Mr. McCall has had in making pointed, 
high-volume responses to the governor's attacks. In this case, the Pataki 
ad has been on the air for two weeks, largely unanswered, to devastating 
effect.

The Working Families Party, which supports Mr. McCall, today began 
broadcasting a separate ad, attacking the governor on education by 
parodying one of Mr. Pataki's.

The Pataki ad shows several children saying what they want to be when they 
grow up, including a girl who says she wants to be governor. In the Working 
Families version, when Mr. Pataki says he, too, wants to be governor, a 
large red "F" lands on the image of his face.
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