cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Bills Gain Support Medical Marijuana Bills Gain Support Posted by CN Staff on June 17, 2004 at 07:31:10 PT By Elizabeth Benjamin, Capitol Bureau Source: Times Union A bipartisan agreement on legislation that would let doctors prescribe marijuana to ease the pain and other medical symptoms of very sick patients could be reached before the year is out, state lawmakers said Wednesday.A bill initially introduced in 1997 by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, that would legalize pot for medical use was overwhelmingly passed Tuesday by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee and is now in the Rules Committee -- the last stop before a full house vote. For the first time, the measure now also has a sponsor in the Republican Senate majority. State Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Brewster, said his introduction of a medical marijuana bill is "imminent" and the legislation has a good shot at being identical to the version pending in the Assembly.Aides to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said he is sympathetic to the medical marijuana issue and is interested in seeing something done on it this session.Aides to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said he is waiting to see what the Senate does on this topic before he decides whether to let the Assembly bill to the floor for a vote.On Wednesday, Gottfried said he believes his bill would be approved by the Assembly if it is allowed out of the Rules Committee. The measure so far has 49 assembly sponsors, 10 of whom are Republicans.The biggest remaining roadblock the state Legislature appears to face on this issue is Republican Gov. George Pataki.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/mmjbill.htm Source: Times Union (Albany, NY)Author: Elizabeth Benjamin, Capitol Bureau Published: Thursday, June 17, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Capital NewspapersContact: tuletters timesunion.comWebsite: http://www.timesunion.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Montel Williams Showhttp://www.montelshow.com/NY for Compassionate Carehttp://www.nycompassionatecare.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmHigh Hopes for Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19013.shtmlMorgy: Legalize Pot RXhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19012.shtmlTalk Show Host Lobbies in Albanyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18799.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 18, 2004 at 08:49:00 PT Related Article from Snipped Source Mike Not Down With Medical Marijuana June 18, 2004 Mayor Bloomberg was once asked if he ever smoked marijuana. He boasted: "You bet I did, and I enjoyed it!" But that was before Bloomberg was elected mayor.So when Hizzoner was asked yesterday about his position on legalizing medicinal marijuana, his enthusiasm for the wacky weed decidedly diminished."I think it's a slippery slope," Bloomberg told reporters. "Pretty soon, you'd be right down into the world where everybody has some kind of a medical need."A bill now before the state Assembly would legalize pot for life-threatening ailments, if prescribed by a doctor. But Bloomberg cautioned, "I would urge [legislators] to think long and hard before they change the current laws. Drugs are a very big problem in this city."Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/203914p-175986c.html NORML's Ad Campaign Pictures 2002 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment