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Pubdate: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 Source: Rochester Post-Bulletin (MN) Copyright: 2001 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC Website: http://www.postbulletin.com/ Address: P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903-6118 Fax: (507) 285-7777 Feedback: http://www.postbulletin.com/contacts/newsroom.stm Contact: GOV. VENTURA SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA ST. PAUL -- Gov. Jesse Ventura said Wednesday that he "fully supports" legalizing marijuana for medical use. "Medical marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is government to tell someone if they have AIDS or cancer, what they should be taking?" Ventura said in response to a question from a student at University of St. Thomas. Ventura cited an illness suffered by his mother, who was given a mix of narcotics to help her pain. If marijuana provides the same sort of relief to others who are suffering, the Independence Party governor said, he's all for it. Ventura plans to attend a forum on the issue Friday, sponsored jointly by the Department of Health and the Department of Public Safety. Organizers say the state hopes to encourage more research. A bill before the Legislature this year would appropriate $100,000 to study potential medicinal uses of marijuana. The study is not part of Ventura's budget proposal, but Public Safety Commissioner Charlie Weaver said the department would be happy to administer it if lawmakers agree. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm wrote earlier in a letter that the forum is designed to encourage research that will "advance the acceptance of marijuana as an important medical tool and ultimately address the legal constraints at the national level." - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe