Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2003
Source: Baxter Bulletin, The (AR)
Copyright: 2003 The Baxter Bulletin.
Contact: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2860
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

ARKANSAS MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL REJECTED

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- A long-shot effort at legalizing marijuana for medical 
use went up in smoke in a House committee Tuesday.

The panel heard from Dr. Jocelyn Elders, the former U.S. surgeon general, 
who said people with serious illnesses should have the chance to use the 
treatment that works best for them, including marijuana.

"If you can have someone smoke a joint and not worry about being busted by 
the cops, it would be a real advantage," Elders said.

But members of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee 
expressed concerns about making the drug legal in certain circumstances and 
questioned why a prescription drug that contains a key ingredient in 
marijuana isn't enough.

The bill by Rep. Jim Lendall, D-Mabelvale, would make it legal for those 
who register for a program, after consulting with a doctor, to grow and 
keep small amounts of marijuana at their homes to treat their condition.

The bill would restrict legalized marijuana to help relieve the pain of 
cancer, AIDS and other "debilitating medical conditions."

Several residents told the committee about their health problems, ranging 
from cancer to complications of car wrecks, and spoke of the benefits that 
they say marijuana provides that prescription drugs do not.

Kendle Greenlee of Elkins said his knees were crushed in a work-related 
accident and that marijuana lessens the pain and is much cheaper than the 
prescription drugs he has used -- which at one point, he said, cost more 
than $1,000 per month.

He said removing the stigma and fear of using marijuana would help.

"We would not have to associate with criminals," he said. "We could 
associate with a pharmacist."

But critics said legalizing marijuana, even for limited use, would open the 
door for people to get addicted to harder drugs and tell the state's youth 
that drug use is acceptable.

"This bill would open the door to major problems with dangerous and toxic 
drugs," said Ken Fithen, associate director of the Arkansas Faith and 
Ethics Council. "It's the gateway drug. We're sending a very wrong message 
to our young people."

The committee also noted that changing the law still would not shield 
people from possible federal prosecution and worried about the burden the 
program would place on the state Health Department.

The bill failed on a voice vote. Lendall made a similar effort two years 
ago but the bill died in committee.