Pubdate: Fri, 18 Feb 2005
Source: Courier News (Elgin, IL)
Copyright: 2005 The Courier News
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/1200
Website: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/
Author: Mary Massingale, Copley News Service
Cited: Irvin Rosenfeld http://www.medicalcannabis.com/press/Irvin_Rosenfeld.htm
Cited: Office of National Drug Control Policy (www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov )
Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Irvin+Rosenfeld
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Larry+McKeon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

WITNESS INVESTIGATED AFTER MEDICAL MARIJUANA TESTIMONY BEFORE PANEL

SPRINGFIELD -- Irvin Rosenfeld on Thursday expected to do his moral
duty by testifying before Illinois lawmakers on the benefits of
smoking marijuana for a painful genetic bone disorder.

He didn't expect to be detained by Illinois Secretary of State Police
for bringing in his tin of about 150 federally approved joints.

Call it an example of "show and tell" gone bad.

The 51-year-old stockbroker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., appeared in
front of the House Human Services Committee in support of House Bill
407. Sponsored by Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, the proposal would
legalize marijuana use for residents with debilitating medical
conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS.

Committee members rejected HB407 on a 4-7 vote, with opponents
questioning how law enforcement officials could contain such a program.

Federal law prohibits possession of the cannabis plant, but the U.S.
Supreme Court will rule this year on whether federal officials can
prosecute individuals who use medical marijuana. Ten states allow
marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes.

Rosenfeld is one of seven patients nationwide allowed to legally use
marijuana for medicinal purposes under a now-closed federal program.
Every 25 days, he picks up a tin of 300 marijuana cigarettes provided
by the federal government via his local pharmacy. Smoking 10 to 12
cigarettes a day for the past 33 years -- 22 1/2 years with the
approval of the White House -- has kept his bone tumors under control
and managed the constant pain.

He told committee members he wanted to help give others the same
relief he gets from smoking marijuana.

"When you have a disabling disease, it sucks," Rosenfeld said. "You
want to make something good come out of something bad."

It was about to get worse.

After his testimony, Rosenfeld was detained by two secretary of state
police officers stationed in the committee room. Extra security had
been requested by the U.S. Marshal's Office for the earlier appearance
of John Walters, the White House "drug czar."

The officers walked Rosenfeld through a commonly used tunnel
connecting the Capitol with the office building housing the committee
room, using a wheelchair when Rosenfeld complained of ankle pain. He
was detained in a Capitol basement substation while officers called
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to verify his story.

"He is in fact one of seven who are federally exempt," said Brad
Demuzio, director of the Illinois Secretary of State Police.

McKeon, a former Los Angeles police officer who also is HIV positive,
criticized the officers for taking it upon themselves to investigate
Rosenfeld when they had heard his testimony about his marijuana use.

"I find that disgusting and offensive," McKeon said.

Demuzio said his officers were justified in the 30-minute detainment.

"When you have a tin with 300 marijuana cigarettes and you walk into
the Capitol and you tell us you have a federal exemption, you have to
investigate," Demuzio said.

The incident upstaged the earlier appearance of Walters, who serves as
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Walters told lawmakers that marijuana abuse and dependency accounts
for 60 percent of rehabilitation treatment sought nationwide and can
often lead to methamphetamine abuse.

"This is not your father's marijuana," Walters said. "This is not your
marijuana when you were in college, if you are a baby boomer. You are
suffering under 'reefer madness' madness if you think it is."

The federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana
for medical use. A 1978 Illinois law allows participants in federally
approved research projects to use medical marijuana, but that law has
never been implemented.

McKeon, however, said he would continue with the proposal, and
suggested setting up a teleconference among law enforcement officials
in Illinois and the 10 states with medical-marijuana laws to further
the debate.

"I'm going to proceed with this legislation, period," McKeon
said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake