cannabisnews.com: About 30 File Applications for Medical Marijuana About 30 File Applications for Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on November 13, 2004 at 11:42:05 PT By Lisa Rathke, Associated Press Source: Times Argus Montpelier -- About 30 Vermonters have shown interest in using marijuana to treat medical conditions since the state started taking applications late last month.The Department of Public Safety has fielded calls and mailed out roughly 30 applications to those who wish to use the drug legally to alleviate symptoms of chronic diseases. The state expects to receive completed applications in the coming weeks, said Frances Aumand, director of the criminal justice services division in the Department of Public Safety. "I believe the people who inquired are serious," he said Friday.Last spring, the Legislature passed a medical marijuana bill that Gov. Jim Douglas later allowed to become law without his signature. The state started taking applications for its new medical marijuana registry Oct. 28.The law exempts people with debilitating medical conditions from prosecution or arrest for using a small amount of marijuana.People eligible under the law must have terminal cancer or AIDS, or recurring symptoms from cancer, AIDS, HIV or multiple sclerosis that other medications do not seem to help. The patient and a caregiver must register with the department and pay $100 to apply.The state then has 30 days to contact the patient's doctor named in the application to verify the medical condition.If the application is approved, the individual will carry a registration card that exempts her or him from prosecution for growing and using small amounts of the drug. The law allows up to 2 ounces and three marijuana plants, Aumand said.Although the law excuses sick individuals from prosecution or arrest for possession it does not address sale or distribution of marijuana or the seeds to grow it."There is no method for someone to legally provide marijuana. The law is silent," Aumand said.The department will also maintain a database of those exempt from prosecution so that police have a list they can check any time of day.Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, who led the House effort to pass the bill, said he feared going through the Department of Public Safety may intimidate some applicants."One of the issues for me is that because it's through the Department of Public Safety, if you apply and are denied, and you've been doing it illegally," he said Friday. "Do I think the Department of Public Safety is going to go in and start busting sick people? I doubt it."He said he thought it would "less intimating" to register confidentially with the Department of Health, as earlier versions of the bill had suggested.Source: Times Argus (VT)Author: Lisa Rathke, Associated Press Published: November 13, 2004Copyright: 2004 Times ArgusContact: letters timesargus.comWebsite: http://www.timesargus.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmVermont Ready To Make Med Marijuana Legalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19106.shtmlMedical Pot OK'd; Session Ending Today http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18880.shtmlMedical Marijuana Bill Will Become Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18878.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment