cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Bill Advances





Medical Pot Bill Advances
Posted by CN Staff on April 29, 2004 at 08:38:40 PT
By Ken Dixon
Source: Connecticut Post 
Hartford -- The House of Representatives narrowly approved landmark legislation Wednesday that would allow the medicinal use of marijuana. But despite that action, the bill has a long way to go in less than a week to become law.Although the bill had been approved by three other committees before reaching the House floor, it was referred to a fourth committee after the 75-to-71 vote.
It now has to be approved by the Finance Committee and sent back to the House for another vote, before it could be sent to the Senate in time for the midnight next Wednesday when the legislative session must end.During a two-hour-and-15 minute debate, proponents said that the medical industry is coming to realize the benefits of smoking marijuana for seriously ill people including cancer patients suffering from nausea after chemotherapy. Opponents said the legislation sends the wrong signal to children. The debate was a reprise of last year's argument on the issue, with a closer margin than last year's 64-to-79 defeat of the measure.Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, whose first husband died of cancer more than 20 years ago, helped to forge a wide-reaching bipartisan coalition, including 18 Republicans and 57 Democrats.After the vote, as she was accepting congratulations and hugs from supporters, House Majority Leader James A. Amann, D-Milford, who voted against the legislation, announced that it would next move to the Finance Committee.The bill, which would allow seriously ill patients to get certificates from doctors allowing them to grow five marijuana plants and possess an ounce of the harvested plant at any one time, would establish a self-funding program through nominal fees for administration costs and printing."It's my hope that today there will be enough support for sick and dying people to get a little comfort," said Bacchiochi, stressing that it's important that caregivers and patients not worry about being arrested and prosecuted."This bill does not legalize marijuana," she said. "We are not telling our children that this opens the door" toward legalization.But opponents cast the bill as a political wolf dressed as a sheep."It's a cruel hoax," said Rep. Robert Farr, R-West Hartford, adding that he doesn't believe the bill is intended for the seriously ill, but to rather open the door for eventual decriminalization of marijuana.Rep. Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, said that the vulnerable teenage population would see the legislation as tacit approval of wider use of the drug. "We're talking about 13- and 14-year-olds," Cafero warned. "This is a very dangerous bill."Rep. Lawrence G. Miller, R-Stratford, a cancer survivor who voted against the bill, said pain management and anti-nausea drugs are much more advanced than marijuana.Nine states have medical-marijuana programs and no patients have been prosecuted under federal drug law, said Rep. James W. Abrams, D-Meriden, who introduced the bill in the House."It's not an attempt to legalize marijuana for recreational use, it's merely a matter of keeping people out of jail," Abrams said."This would shift the federal prosecution from the doctor to the patient so the patient would be taking the risk," Abrams said. Requirements for participating would include proof of a debilitating medical condition and the certificate signed by a physician.Source: Connecticut Post (CT)Author: Ken DixonPublished: Thursday, April 29, 2004 Copyright: 2004 MediaNews Group, Inc.Contact: swinters ctpost.comWebsite: http://www.connpost.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMedical Use Of Marijuana Supportedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18752.shtmlPot Bill OK'd by House, Then Sent To Committee http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18751.shtmlCommittee Approves Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18506.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on April 30, 2004 at 07:21:52 PT
DARE, ONDCP increased youth pot use
'when a 10-year-old girl defends a program shown to increase marijuana consumption among 12 and 13-year-old girls, I wonder about those charged with her care.'http://www.mapinc.org/letters/2004/01/lte45.htmlMarijuana is widely available throughout the United States, and this     availability is relatively stable overall. Except for one Pulse Check     source (Chicago) describing marijuana as somewhat available, every DEA     Field Division, HIDTA, and other Pulse Check source reports that     marijuana is readily, widely, or commonly available. Most reporting also     indicates that availability is stable. Specific mention of increasing     marijuana availability is included in reporting from just one DEA Field     Division (Detroit), four HIDTAs (Lake County, Midwest, Milwaukee, and     Oregon), and two Pulse Check sources (Boston and Denver) while only one     Pulse Check source (Philadelphia) reports a decline in availability.    An estimate of the marijuana available in the United States is not     definitive, in large part because of limitations in eradication and     seizure data, the unknown extent of indoor cultivation, and     unsubstantiated or outdated crop estimates. In attempting to determine     how much marijuana was available in the United States in 2001, the     interagency Marijuana Availability Working Group established a range of     10,000 to 24,000 metric tons. This is a developmental estimate derived     from analysis of limited data and thus contains a high degree of     uncertainty.    According to NDTS data, 98.2 percent of state and local law     enforcement agencies nationwide described marijuana availability as high     or moderate; 96.9 percent described it as such in 2002. The proportions     of agencies reporting high or moderate availability in 2003 ranged     narrowly across the six regions from a low of 97.2 percent     (Northeast/Mid-Atlantic) to a high of 99.0 percent (Great Lakes).    Commercial-grade marijuana, which includes buds, leaves, stems, and     seeds from male and female plants, is the most prevalent type available.     It is produced to a significant extent throughout the United States;     however, a review of federal, state, and local law enforcement reporting     suggests that commercial-grade marijuana produced in Mexico is more     widespread in U.S. drug markets. Sinsemilla follows commercial-grade     marijuana, regardless of source area, in prevalence. Higher in potency     than commercial-grade marijuana because it includes only the buds and     flowering tops from unpollinated female plants, most of the sinsemilla     available in the United States is produced domestically and in Canada.     Production of sinsemilla may also occur in Mexico to some extent.http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs8/8731/marijuana.htm#Availability
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 29, 2004 at 20:53:37 PT
Related News Article from The Associated Press
Bush Administration Official Speaks Against Medical Marijuana
 
Hartford-AP, April 29, 2004 A Bush administration drug official is speaking against proposed state legislation that would let chronically ill patients use marijuana.The House of Representatives may take up a bill that would allow patients with cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses to grow and use marijuana for medicinal purposes.Bush administration Doctor Andrea Barthwell says she has serious concerns about the implication medical marijuana could have on drug policy and on patients' health. There are already drugs on the market that use some of the components of the marijuana plant that have shown to relieve patients of symptoms like nausea. She says marijuana is not a medicine and hasn't passed Food and Drug Administration tests. An amendment supporting medical marijuana passed the House for the first time yesterday, after a similar measure failed last year. The bill was sent to committee for further review.Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on April 29, 2004 at 09:05:40 PT
Why?
Rep. Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, said that the vulnerable teenage population would see the legislation as tacit approval of wider use of the drug. "We're talking about 13- and 14-year-olds," Cafero warned. "This is a very dangerous bill."Why are you talking about 13 and 14 year olds? This has NOTHING to do with them! This is blatant fear-mongering. Youth smoking in California declined after Prop 215 passed, and this bill is WAY more restrictive than Prop 215.A lot of people don't realize that every year, dozens of state politicians around the US kill medical marijuana legislation. It's not like some stuffy old law hanging around on the books. It's actively voted down every year, again and again. By politicians "representing" a population in which 80% want change.So much for Democracy. This is at least as bad as any tyranny imposed by King George back in the 1700's.
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