Pubdate: Sun, 20 Apr 2014
Source: Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)
Copyright: 2014 Daily Freeman
Contact:  http://www.dailyfreeman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3269
Author: Paula Ann Mitchell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Page: A1

SUPPORT GROWS TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL CANNABIS

ROSENDALE - Jen Pinto was in the prime of her life.

She had a good job, a nice home and a positive outlook on her future.

What happened to her at age 40 would change all that and severely 
diminish her quality of life.

It would also give her a voice in the growing chorus of advocates for 
the legalization of medical cannabis. Without warning, Pinto awakened 
one day in October of 1999 and could not walk.

Day by day, the condition worsened, and she feared the onset of paralysis.

Doctors told her she had spinal stenosis, a narrowing of spaces in 
the backbone that can put pressure on the spinal cord.

"I was told I had a spine of an 80- plus-year-old," said Pinto of Rosendale.

By December, she was undergoing an emergency cervical lamenectomy at 
New York University Medical Center to remove part of the vertebrae as 
a way to reduce pressure on her spinal cord and surrounding nerves.

Since then, it hasn't gotten much better for Pinto, now 55.

She suffers from arthritis, spinal disc problems and scoliosis, an 
abnormal curvature of the spine.

At one time, Pinto was taking eight prescription drugs, including 
opiates, which led to addiction. She then made the decision to stop 
taking drugs altogether and suffered withdrawal.

The pain, however, forced her back on medication to control the muscle spasms.

In between all that, Pinto's career as a project manager for 
construction companies in Westchester County had abruptly ended.

She moved to Ulster County to be with her children and grandchildren 
and now gets disability benefits.

"When you have all this, you end up on so many different 
medications," she said.

"You get depressed, and you start having all these other medical 
issues, and it's all stemming from the pain.

"You lose your career, the ability to make money and a place to live. 
When you lose your spine health, you lose everything."

Pinto is among the majority of New Yorkers who are in favor of 
legalizing marijuana to reduce pain and suffering among the sick.

A Quinnipiac University poll released in mid-February, in fact, 
showed that 88 percent of respondents support such legislation, while 
nine percent oppose it.

Fifty-seven percent would even like to see it legalized for 
recreational uses, according to the poll which surveyed 1,488 
registered state voters.

It is an issue that is getting a lot of attention these days as New 
York becomes one of about a dozen states to consider legalizing 
medical cannabis.

Already, 21 states and Washington, D. C. have such laws in place, and 
that has brought out the anti-marjuana forces, which continue to 
point out that making it legal will, among other things, lead to 
misuse and abuse.

There's no denying, however, that the issue is rolling ahead and 
gaining momentum with support from those in the public as well as the 
state Legislature.

Two lawmakers, Assembly man Richard Gottfried, D- Manhattan, and Sen. 
Diane Savino, D- Staten Island, are cosponsoring a bill to make the 
drug legal for medical purposes and create a growing network for distribution.

The two took note in January when Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his 
Stateof-the- State address proposed reviving a 1980 law to that would 
permit 20 hospitals to dispense medical marijuana under certain conditions.

Pot seized in drug busts would be used in the program.

Gottfried and Savino's bill, the so-called Compassionate Care Act, is 
much broader, and though it has picked up support, it was not part of 
the state budget adopted on March 31 and is being held up in the Senate.

John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, said he would support the use of 
marijuana for medicinal purposes under the supervision of a doctor 
and in a hospital.

"Medical marijuana is evolving as a potential treatment to alleviate 
pain for severe illnesses, and it must be regulated carefully and 
responsibly by licensed medical professionals. Therefore, I will have 
to review the details of any final bill before voting on it. I will 
add that I am not ready to do what Colorado has done and make it a 
recreational drug," the senator said.

Even with all the delays and setbacks, advocates like Gabriel Sayegh 
say they're hopeful the bill won't go up in smoke.

"We're very confident that it can pass this year and the votes are 
there to support it," said Sayegh, the state director for the Drug 
Policy Alliance.

"You've got strong bipartisan support i n the state Senate for this 
. and we're very confident that the bill will pass if it's brought 
to the floor for a vote. The question is when will that happen?"

For those in pain like Pinto, it couldn't come soon enough.

"People who don't understand what it's like to be in pain, don't 
understand the concept," she said.

"I was a functioning adult, a single parent. I worked. I had a career 
making good money. I was self-sufficient and then, boom.

"Pain literally destroys lives. It sucks the life out of you. Most 
people will try anything to be out of pain. I think that's what the 
non-pain people need to understand," Pinto said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom