Pubdate: Wed, 23 May 2007 Source: Hartford Courant (CT) Copyright: 2007 The Hartford Courant Contact: http://www.courant.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183 Author: Colin Poitras Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) STATE HOUSE PASSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL The state House of Representatives Wednesday passed a measure allowing seriously ill individuals to grow marijuana at home to ease their pain. The bill passed by a 89-58 bipartisan vote that was comprised of a unique coalition of supportive lawmakers, who appeared to be bonded by their own experiences with family members and friends suffering with chronic or terminal illnesses. Bill opponents said it sends the wrong message to young people that it is OK to use illegal drugs and that illegal drugs can be good for you. But Rep. Russell Morin, D-Wethersfield and a father of three, spoke of another message he wanted to send to his children by passing the bill. "The message I want to send to them is the message of compassion," Morin said. "We are not condoning illegal drug use. What this bill will do is show that we care." The bill is not limited to the terminally ill. It allows individuals with serious illnesses such as epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and HIV to grow up to four marijuana plants up to 4 feet high in the privacy of their homes if they obtain a doctor's prescription that it is necessary to ease their pain. A law already exists legalizing the use of marijuana in certain instances under a pharmacists prescription, but it has never been used because marijuana, as a natural organic product, is not stocked in dispensed in local pharmacies. Debate on the bill lasted more than six hours, the longest discussion of the current legislative session. Rep. Antoinette Boucher, R-Wilton, led the opposition. Boucher spend more than three hours arguing against the bill and was prepared to introduce more than 50 amendments in an effort to forestall its passage. She stopped at seven after seeing each one fail. "Despite being well-intentioned, this bill could be one of the most dangerous proposals to come before us in a long time," Boucher said. "It defies all logic and responsibility for us to go down this path when we are banning tobacco and second-hand smoke." "By passing this bill as it is written, we will be breaking the trust we have with our constituents to protect them," Boucher said. The bill now goes to the Senate, which must take action by the time the legislative session ends June 6 for it to have any chance of becoming law. A source in the 36-member Senate chamber said Wednesday that the Democrat-controlled body had yet to caucus on the bill, and he was unsure whether it would come up for a vote in the next two weeks. Even if the measure passes in the Senate it would still need Gov. M. Jodi Rell's signature to become law. Rell said Wednesday she has yet to take a position on the matter. "I have the same mixed emotions I had before," said Rell, who has discussed the bill with Boucher. "I wish it had this language in it: for terminally ill individuals. I think everybody would feel better about passage of the bill. People would have a better comfort level with that language. There are some drawbacks to it." A similar measure died in the General Assembly two years ago. A medical marijuana bill narrowly passed in the Senate in 2005, but failed to be taken up for a vote in the House of Representatives before the legislative session concluded. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman