Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2005
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: John Moreno Gonzales
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/montel+williams (Montel Williams)

MAKING PUSH FOR LEGALIZED POT

Talk-Show Host And Elected State Officials Deliver A Proposal To Allow 
Patients Access To Medical Marijuana

ALBANY - Television talk-show host and multiple-sclerosis patient Montel 
Williams lobbied yesterday for the legalization of marijuana for medical 
purposes, joining state lawmakers who say the intoxicant is a credible pain 
killer.

"New York needs to act now to make marijuana legally available for medical 
use," said Williams, a Manhattan resident who said he has been buying the 
drug legally through a state-sanctioned provider in California. "Every day 
that we delay is another day of needless suffering for patients like me 
across the state."

State Sen. Vincent L. Leibell (R-Patterson) and Assemb. Richard N. 
Gottfried (D-Manhattan) flanked the star, along with elected and health 
officials who outlined a proposal that would allow patients with 
life-threatening conditions to be prescribed the drug by certified 
practitioners.

Their backing was reinforced by the support of Senate Majority Leader 
Joseph L. Bruno, who issued a statement late in the day saying he had met 
with Williams and medical experts and was convinced that a bill permitting 
medical marijuana use "in tightly controlled instances" must be passed 
before the legislative session ends next month.

Under the proposal, now being debated in health committees in the Senate 
and Assembly, a practitioner must determine that no other medication would 
be as effective for a patient as marijuana. Licensed nonprofit 
organizations would grow the drug under stringent oversight to guard 
against illicit sale. Additionally, a patient's possession of the drug 
would be limited to 2.25 ounces and it could not be used in a public place.

Despite the safeguards, opponents of the proposal yesterday characterized 
Williams as a renegade, and said the proposal was designed to lead to more 
expansive legalization of the drug.

"Here we have a person who is breaking the law trying to set policy," Mike 
Long, chairman of the Conservative Party of New York State, said of 
Williams. He said many medical marijuana advocates are "looking to 
liberalize the use of marijuana."

Twelve other states now allow the medicinal use of marijuana, and the U.S. 
Supreme Court is expected to rule shortly on whether those laws are subject 
to a federal ban. Bruno's support for the proposal and what Gottfried 
called strong support in the Assembly means a bill could end up on the 
governor's desk.

Williams said yesterday that he met with Gov. George Pataki a month ago and 
the governor promised to re-examine what had been opposition to medical 
marijuana. Yesterday, the governor deferred his opinion to the New York 
State Department of Health, which advises the executive on the matter.

"We remain skeptical of the use of medical marijuana, but we continue to 
monitor the issue," said health department spokesman Bill Van Slyke.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom