Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jun 2005
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact:  http://www.ptconnect.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/244
Author: Devlin Barrett, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL POT ADVOCATES WANT BAN ON ARRESTS

Lawmakers Want to Force House Vote on Prescribed Marijuana Use

WASHINGTON - Advocates for medical marijuana hope a recent setback in
the Supreme Court will boost their strength in Congress, and lawmakers
from California and New York plan to force a House vote on the issue
today.

Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach/Long Beach, and Maurice
Hinchey, D-N.Y., have long supported allowing patients to use
marijuana in states where it can be legally prescribed by a doctor.
They will offer an amendment to a spending bill today that would bar
federal authorities from making arrests in such cases.

"This is a responsibility Congress should face up to," said Hinchey.
He said the court's decision is a call for legislators to act.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 6 that federal drug laws trump
medical marijuana statutes in 10 states, allowing federal authorities
to prosecute people who smoke marijuana for pain relief on
recommendation of their doctors.

Under a voter-approved law, California allows people to smoke
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation; New York does not.

After the decision, federal officials said their focus has been on
criminals engaged in drug trafficking, not the sick and dying.

Medical marijuana advocates, including the two California women who
brought the case, say the decision only puts more pressure on Congress
to craft a caring policy for those who want to treat their health
problems with marijuana.

And California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has in the past
supported pot use by the sick, said the ruling means "it is now up to
Congress to provide clarity."

In the past two years, the Hinchey and Rohrabacher amendment has
mustered only about 150 of 435 votes in the House, and even its
boosters concede there is little chance of passage today.

"I believe that there is strong sentiment in Congress that would be in
support of such a measure. However, in this climate of a Bush
administration I'm not holding my breath," said San Francisco
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.

Mirkarimi planned to introduce a board resolution today calling on
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, to formally
organize Democratic caucus support for the measure.

Pelosi's spokeswoman, Jennifer Crider, said Pelosi backed the
amendment and was talking to fellow lawmakers about it, but that
support for the measure wasn't a caucus position.

Opposition to Hinchey's amendment is being organized by Rep. Mark
Souder, R-Ind., who heads the House drug policy subcommittee.

Souder dismisses the effort as a political, not scientific, attempt to
gradually legalize marijuana. The lawmaker argues that if scientific
data supports marijuana as a pain medication, it should be studied and
vetted through the regular FDA process.

Hinchey dismisses such arguments. He said even if Congress isn't ready
to accept it, public opinion here has rejected past concerns about
marijuana usage leading to other forms of drug abuse.

Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports laws
allowing medical marijuana, said they hope to pick up about 10 votes.

"That would send a message to the Justice Department that there are
political consequences to their actions," said Piper. "If the Justice
Department realizes momentum is building on this amendment, they're
going to be less likely to go into states like California and arrest
people for medical marijuana."

The ten states with statutes that permit doctors to prescribe medical
marijuana are California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.

Associated Press Writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.
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