Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jun 2005
Source: Day, The (CT)
Copyright: 2005 The Day Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.theday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293
Author: Susan Haigh
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

SENATE TAKES UP MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGISLATION

Hartford -- The state Senate was debating a bill Friday night that
would fully legalize the medical use of marijuana for debilitating
illnesses such as AIDS and cancer.

Proponents said they've heard from physicians that smoking the illegal
drug can reduce everything from severe pain and nausea to seizures and
persistent muscle spasms.

"I view it as throwing out just one oar to someone who is drowning in
a sea of disease," said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, who had opposed
medical marijuana for the first 11 years of his 13-year Senate career.

He said constituents changed his mind when they told him of their
experiences using the drug.

If the bill passes, it would mark the first Connecticut Senate vote on
the legislation. In 2004, an amendment allowing chronically ill
patients to grow and use marijuana passed the House of Representatives
but never received a Senate vote.

Opponents questioned whether it was proper for the legislature to
consider legalizing the medical use of marijuana because the bill has
both scientific and medical ramifications.

"Are we the appropriate body to decide that?" asked Sen. William
Nickerson, R-Greenwich. "I suggest that we are not."

Connecticut already has a medical marijuana law on the books, one of
the first in the nation. Under the 1981 law, a doctor can prescribe
the illegal drug to relieve nausea associated with chemotherapy and
eye pressure from glaucoma.

But the law is unworkable because, under federal law, a physician who
prescribes marijuana can be sent to prison and risks having his or her
medical license revoked. That's why no prescriptions for marijuana
have been issued since the law was approved.

Under the current bill, the Department of Consumer Protection could
license physicians to certify a patient's use of marijuana for
treatment of various debilitating conditions without fear of arrest or
prosecution.

A patient with such a certification could then legally cultivate and
grow up to four marijuana plants for personal use. The bill does not
spell out how the patient would obtain marijuana seeds, but allows
them to do so legally.

The patient would need to register with the Department of Consumer
Protection within five days of receiving the certification. There
would be a $25 fee.

According to the bill, a "debilitating medical condition" means
cancer, glaucoma, HIV-AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis,
damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, epilepsy, cachexia or
wasting syndrome.

Eleven other states have some form of medical marijuana law on the
books, said Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the
legislature's Judiciary Committee.

He said a University of Connecticut poll last year found 83 percent of
state residents support legalizing the medical use of marijuana.

"They know that it can provide relief to people in their darkest
hours," McDonald said. 
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