cannabisnews.com: Medical-Marijuana Measure Clobbered Medical-Marijuana Measure Clobbered Posted by CN Staff on March 07, 2003 at 11:43:15 PT By Kate Nelson, Tribune Reporter Source: Albuquerque Tribune Santa Fe - Two ghosts haunted the House, writhing around a bill that would let critically ill people smoke marijuana. One of the ghosts, Lynn Pierson, died 25 years ago. The other, former Gov. Gary Johnson, left office in December.In the end, memories of Johnson and his crusade against drug laws overwhelmed memories of Pierson, a Vietnam veteran who died of cancer in 1978. On a 46-20 vote Thursday, the House rejected "The Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use Act." The bill would have let people like Pierson legally smoke marijuana - if a doctor determined it would ease their suffering.The House had passed a similar bill in the past, and this year's bill had bounced through three committees. "I thought we had fairly good momentum," said Grants Democrat Ken Martinez, the bill's sponsor.Anne Murray, a lobbyist for the Drug Policy Alliance Network, stood in a hallway, stunned and shaking her head."All kinds of weirder bills have been passed before," she said.In 1978, as a legislative aide, Murray wrote the original medical-marijuana bill that Pierson had sought. But bureaucratic hurdles made it impossible to enact.Martinez was initially reluctant to take on this year's bill, largely because of legislative fatigue from Johnson's drug-reform war."A lot of legislators are tired of hearing these issues," he said. "I had a feeling that we'd kind of heard that, done that. Everyone needed a break."He changed his mind because of people who were suffering debilitating illnesses as bad as Pierson's."Who speaks for them?" Martinez said in his closing argument. "We get caught up everyday with lobbyists and activist groups. "Sometimes we have to stop and look at the faces in the crowd. Not the ones with the nice shoes, but the ones who trek over and tentatively raise their hand and say, `Can you help me?'"House Bill 242 would have essentially given a get-out-of-jail-free card to people with cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, HIV, AIDS or spinal cord injuries. A physician authorized by the state Health Department would have provided the medical-marijuana cards.The patients would have had to obtain the marijuana on their own, either by growing it or buying it on the illegal market.Critics contended that would send a bad message to children about the evils of illegal drugs. Some called marijuana a gateway drug that leads to addictions and overdoses."For the majority of people, it (marijuana) is an addiction," said Rep. Larry Larranaga, an Albuquerque Republican. Others cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred a marijuana buying cooperative in Oakland, Calif., as evidence that the law would be struck down.But Rep. Dan Foley of Roswell, one of only three Republicans to support the bill, lashed out at those critics. The high-court ruling, he said, pertained to the sale of marijuana and left an out for states to create an exemption within their own policies."Just because Washington, D.C., makes a law doesn't mean they're right," he said. "We were elected to make laws that are right for our constituents."There are doctors out there who may find, for their one patient, this helps. . . . Maybe you don't have someone in your district (it would help), but I do. Other people do."Martinez said the bill is likely dead for this session. No proposals have been introduced in the Senate. Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)Author: Kate Nelson, Tribune ReporterPublished: March 7, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Albuquerque TribuneContact: letters abqtrib.comWebsite: http://www.abqtrib.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmHouse Rejects Medical-Pot Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15665.shtmlHouse To Debate Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15625.shtmlMedical Marijuana Bill Alive http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15410.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by i420 on March 07, 2003 at 15:34:31 PT Geneva Rights??This is a war yo... This fungus is no different than the bio-warfare they are violationg the Geneva convention ????CALL ACLU LETS SUE!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 07, 2003 at 12:49:24 PT Virgil Good Article! Thanks! http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15210.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Virgil on March 07, 2003 at 12:44:47 PT Prohibitionists are for killing everything Alternet has a new article in the Drug Reporter section.It is about developing a new fungus to use on coca and cannabis plants. These prohibitionists are really eaten up.- http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15331 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by TecHnoCult on March 07, 2003 at 12:21:52 PT Don't let them in! I am sure everyone here knows better, but shouldn't someone of told these guys (from the Wrong Number article) that when a cop asks if he can come in you say "NO!"?THC [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 07, 2003 at 12:17:57 PT I Just Sent This To Nicholas at NORML I remember a story on a show like Cops. These agents knocked on a person's door and a man answered. The agents said we are under the impression a Cultivator lives here and we would like to come in and look around so the man said sure there isn't any Cultivator that lives here. His bedroom door was ajar and the agents saw a little closet grow and they turned to the man and said you said that there wasn't a Cultivator that lives here and he said there isn't. I am a Presbyterian! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by TecHnoCult on March 07, 2003 at 12:15:05 PT Wrong number leads to pot arrests http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/03/06/offbeat.wrong.number.ap/index.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment