Pubdate: Sat, 09 Feb 2002
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM)
Copyright: 2002 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Contact:  http://www.sfnewmexican.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/695
Author:  Deborah Baker, The Associated Press

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DIES IN SENATE PANEL

Gov. Gary Johnson's proposal to legalize medical marijuana died in a Senate 
committee Friday, and its sponsor said it's unlikely to be revived.

"We don't have the time," said Sen. Roman Maes, D-Santa Fe.

The 30-day legislative session ends Thursday. The measure died in the 
Judiciary Committee on a tie vote, with opponents objecting that it would 
conflict with federal law and expose New Mexicans to federal prosecution.

The bill would have required the Health Department to create a program 
under which qualified patients could use marijuana to relieve pain or other 
symptoms of their debilitating illnesses, including cancer, AIDS and glaucoma.

"The people who will use this in its intended way are going to die, and 
they're going to die soon," said Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque. "I 
think it comes down to mercy and to individual freedom."

A year ago, the same bill passed the same committee and was approved by the 
full Senate. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court barred a private group in 
California from distributing medical marijuana.

And the administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration said 
in a recent letter that the bill authorized activities that would be 
contrary to federal law.

Marijuana for medical use would have to be grown, distributed and possessed 
in violation of federal law, said DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson.

Clifford Rees, assistant general counsel for the Health Department, said it 
was "very unlikely private patients will be prosecuted by the federal 
government."

The bill required the department to decide where to obtain the marijuana 
and how it would be dispensed to patients.

The office of Attorney General Patricia Madrid said in its analysis of the 
legislation that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling did not address the 
production and distribution of marijuana by a state.

New Mexico could argue that Congress did not have the authority under the 
federal Commerce Clause to regulate that conduct, the attorney general also 
said.

"I don't think the Legislature ... ought to be enacting laws to provide 
test cases," Sen. William Payne, R-Albuquerque, said.

Another opponent, Sen. Ramsay Gorham, R-Albuquerque, complained there were 
no firm projections of how much the program would cost.

The Johnson administration is asking lawmakers to cut Medicaid for children 
to save money, but "suddenly has money to fund a pot farm," she said.

Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, a doctor, said the bill would "give 
physicians one more tool to help patients."

Komadina voted for the bill, along with McSorley and Sens. Manny Aragon, 
D-Albuquerque; Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque; and Richard Martinez, D-Espanola.

Voting against it were Payne; Gorham; Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael 
Sanchez, D-Belen; Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales; and Sen. Lidio Rainaldi, 
D-Gallup.
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