Pubdate: Mon, 16 Jan 2006
Source: Daily News, The (Newburyport, MA)
Contact: http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/ntother.pl?submitletter
Copyright: 2006 Essex County Newspapers, Inc
Website: http://www.newburyportnews.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/693
Author: Edward Mason, Staff writer
Cited: Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts http://www.dpfma.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)

LAWMAKERS CONSIDER MEDICAL MARIJUANA 	

NEWBURYPORT - Scott Mortimer uses marijuana to relieve crippling 
lower back pain that has tortured him since he was a teenager, 
following an operation to correct a spinal defect.

Muscle relaxants left Mortimer, 37, lethargic. Prescription pain 
relievers, including opiates, caused severe stomach bleeding. 
Grasping for an alternative, Mortimer began using marijuana in 1995. 
Although the cannabis relieves his agony, he has taken on a new 
burden: fear of arrest.

"You don't want to add legal problems to dealing with a serious 
illness," Mortimer said. "I shouldn't have to break the law to get relief."

Mortimer's worries might end this year.

Massachusetts could become the fourth New England state to legalize 
medical marijuana under a plan before state lawmakers.

On the heels of Rhode Island's recent approval of medical marijuana 
use, lawmakers here are pushing a measure, with the support of some 
Newburyport-area legislators, that would allow doctors to prescribe 
marijuana. Backers say people who suffer from debilitating pain and 
chronic diseases should be able to gain relief without fear of 
arrest, something 11 states have approved.

But the initiative faces high hurdles. It is opposed by the Romney 
administration. Local lawmakers, aware of the plague of opiate 
addiction in the Merrimack Valley, want to ensure access to medical 
marijuana is airtight. Also, marijuana use - even under a doctor's 
care - is illegal under federal law, and the Supreme Court holds that 
permissive state laws are trumped by the federal prohibition.

Under the Massachusetts proposal, authored by Brookline Democrat Rep. 
Frank I. Smizik, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health would 
certify patients using or growing marijuana, also called cannabis, 
for medicinal purposes. The state would issue identification cards to 
patients and also would designate a single caretaker who could handle 
or grow marijuana for a disabled patient.

Patients would be limited in how much marijuana they could use and 
grow. Doctors would be restricted in the types of afflictions they 
could prescribe cannabis for, including HIV/AIDS, severe pain and 
nausea, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.

Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien, D-Andover, whose district includes part of 
Georgetown, is a co-sponsor of the bill and one of several North of 
Boston lawmakers who have expressed support for the proposal. She 
opposes legalizing marijuana for recreational use but thinks it can 
help those with serious illnesses.

"I feel very strongly that there are people who have chronic 
illnesses or pain for whom this seems to bring some measure of 
relief, and they don't respond to alternatives for pain relief," 
L'Italien said. "Why wouldn't we want those folks to have relief and 
some quality of life?"

L'Italien's argument resonates with many area legislators, especially 
those who have family members or friends who have suffered from 
long-term ailments.

For Rep. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, her mother's losing 
battle with lung cancer cemented her support for legalized, 
government-regulated, medical marijuana. Stanley said toward the end 
of her life her mother might have found relief from marijuana.

State Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, said he would support the 
bill if changes were made. He wants to see marijuana dispensed in a 
controlled manner, similar to other prescribed drugs.

"I may have a problem if people are allowed to grow it," he said. 
"The question is, where are you going to put controls on it- You 
don't know if children can get at it."

The issue of decriminalizing marijuana - not just for medical 
purposes - has been raised locally before.

In the 2002 election, voters in towns represented by Costello, 
Stanley and L'Italien - including Newburyport, Amesbury, Georgetown, 
Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury - backed a 
non-binding ballot question to "decriminalize" marijuana. Advocates 
want marijuana possession treated the same way as running a red 
light, where a ticket is given to offenders.

The vote instructed Costello, Stanley and L'Italien to file 
legislation to make marijuana possession a civil offense, and vote in 
favor of it. None of them filed such a bill.

The debate over legalizing marijuana for medical use kicked up when 
Rhode Island became the third New England state - along with Maine 
and Vermont - to pass a medical marijuana law. The Rhode Island law, 
passed over the governor's veto, lets people grow up to 12 marijuana 
plants or buy 2.5 ounces. Medical marijuana users must register with 
the state and get a photo identification card.

With the New England states, 11 states allow marijuana to be grown 
and used for medicinal purposes. The other states are Alaska, 
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Even with the state laws, marijuana use and sale can be prosecuted 
under federal law. The Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts says fear 
of prosecution makes it difficult to know how many use marijuana to 
cope with long-term pain and disease. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake