Pubdate: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL) Copyright: 2005 The Advertiser Co. Contact: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/customerservice/letter.htm Website: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088 Note: Letters from the newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Authors: Jannell McGrew, and John Davis Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MARIJUANA BILL BACKER HOPEFUL A bill to legalize medical marijuana may be in jeopardy as the May 16 legislative deadline draws near. The House Judiciary Committee, on a voice vote Wednesday, shipped the proposal to subcommittee. Some lawmakers are questioning whether the measure is dead -- at least for this legislative session. Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, said she still is working to keep the bill afloat. "We plan to have it back on the calendar next week," she said. There are only six days remaining in the 2005 regular session. Hall's bill would legalize the use of marijuana for the seriously ill and dying. The state lawmaker said she wished the state had promoted such a law years ago. Hall's son was diagnosed with AIDS in 1989. She said he suffered from pain and loss of appetite. She believes medical marijuana could have afforded him some relief. "I just think it's a means of having some compassionate care and providing an alternative to patients," Hall said. Under Hall's proposal, patients could obtain legal marijuana upon the recommendation of their doctor. "This is a medical issue," Hall said. "It is not a criminal issue." Janet Johnson, diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and with AIDS in 2002, does not endorse legalizing marijuana. She says she is taking three types of AIDS medications. "I don't see what legalizing marijuana will do for us," she said. "An addict would just have more freedom to get the drug. I have a problem with addiction, so for me, that would not be a good thing." Some lawmakers, including Rep. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, have said they would be willing to entertain the measure if patients were required to obtain the medication through pharmacies. He said he does not support allowing someone to grow pot in his back yard. "That bill is so open to abuse," Brewbaker said. "The bad could outweigh the good." State Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville, believes there are more viable alternatives, such as Marinol, the pill form of marijuana. "I understand the need for it, but I think there are sufficient medications now, that it's not needed," Gipson said. "I just can't see Alabama approving the legalization of pot. Let's face it, we still are having battles approving booze in some parts of this state." In other action Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee acted on Brewbaker's proposed Alabama Starvation and Dehydration of Persons with Disabilities Prevention Act. The measure, which would give parents or children, present or former health care providers, and state agencies the power to go to court in order to block the removal of a feeding tube, was sent to a subcommittee for more study at the lawmaker's request. The representative introduced his bill after Terri Schiavo's husband won a court order to remove her feeding tube over her parents' objections. In the high chamber's only committee meeting Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would set up a procedure to release old and sickly inmates. Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, voted to send the measure to the full Senate. According to Ross, the release of the old and infirm from Alabama's prisons would help relieve overcrowding. The Alabama prison system, at almost double its designed capacity, is one of the most overcrowded in the nation. Releasing the sick and elderly could, at best, free up about 300 beds. If passed, the new law would apply only to inmates "who do not constitute a danger to themselves or society." According to Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett, taking out hundreds of sick inmates could save the system money on medical care. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom