cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Bill Appears to Have Dem Support





Medical Pot Bill Appears to Have Dem Support
Posted by FoM on January 31, 2001 at 10:17:41 PT
By Lowry McAllen, Tribune Reporter
Source: Albuquerque Tribune 
Gov. Gary Johnson now has some legislative allies among Republicans and Democrats to join at least part of his crusade to rewrite the state's drug laws.   Rep. Joe Thompson is expected to introduce a bill to the House today that would let patients with some debilitating illnesses use marijuana.
  Sens. Cisco McSorley and Roman Maes, both Democrats, hope to introduce a similar bill in the Senate during the 60-day legislative session.   The bill attempts to give some relief for medical conditions that produce severe pain, nausea, muscle spasms, seizures and wasting of the body.   "What we're trying to do is to help folks," said Thompson, an Albuquerque Republican.   The bill calls on the state Health Department to register patients who could qualify for help and to control how they get marijuana.   So far, Health Secretary Alex Valdez said the details of how marijuana might be distributed hadn't been worked out.   "The Department of Health is going to be given an amount of responsibility on this," Valdez said.   Patients could grow their own marijuana plants at home, according to the bill.   The department is also to set up an advisory board that would write the rules for how a person could be certified to receive marijuana for medicinal purposes. A licensed health practitioner must be included in the certification process.   A psychiatry professor visited the Roundhouse on Tuesday to promote the bill.   "Thirty different symptoms and syndromes can be treated with cannabis," said Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School.   He said the drug is a powerful painkiller and fights nausea better, and more cheaply, than many prescription drugs. It can also restore appetite to patients whose digestive tract is upset by disease or strong medicine.   Marijuana has never been shown to be toxic to the human body, either, Grinspoon said.   His own cancer-stricken son used it to counteract the nauseating effects of chemotherapy, he said, and the drug made his life more bearable for a year until he died.   Marijuana's ability to ease the anguish of a terminal illness is a prime reason for passing the bill, which is being called the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, legislators said.   McSorley, an Albuquerque Democrat, said his hope with the bill is to make life tolerable for those in intense pain toward the end of life.   "Who are we to tell people they can't have those last precious six months?" he asked.   Democrats are also looking to increase the funding for drug-addict rehabilitation programs statewide.   The Governor's Office started showing more signs Tuesday that it would at least partially meet those requests from Democrats.   "By Thursday, we'd like to have the package put together," said Dave Miller, Gov. Johnson's legislative liaison.   The bill would probably seek about $5 million for treatment and rehabilitation that would be administered through the Health and Corrections departments, Miller said.   He expected that McSorley, Thompson and Maes, a Santa Fe Democrat, would be at the top of the governor's list of people who could help carry treatment legislation through the Roundhouse.   Democrats have been asking for as much as $40 million for treatment, but Miller said it's hard to judge just how much money is needed.   "How sure are we that we know exactly how many people are hooked on marijuana or cocaine or methamphetamines or heroine?" Miller asked.   The money for treatment would come from the money won through the national tobacco settlement lawsuit, to which New Mexico was a party, Miller said.   He expected that funding might rise to the level being asked for by Democrats in five to eight years.   Passage of the medical marijuana bill could be rocky.   Already, Rep. Ron Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican, is planning to introduce a bill that would repeal an existing law allowing use of marijuana only in medical research. Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)Author: Lowry McAllen, Tribune ReporterPublished: January 31, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Albuquerque TribuneAddress: P.O. Drawer T, 7777, Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109Contact: letters abqtrib.comWebsite: http://www.abqtrib.com/Contact Information - Governor JohnsonPhone: (505) 827-3000Fax: (505) 827-3026Address: State Capitol, 4th FloorSanta Fe, NM 87503 E-mail: gov gov.state.nm.usWeb: http://www.governor.state.nm.us/Draft of Pot Bill Lists Specific Conditions http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8518.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Governor Gary Johnsonhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=gary+johnson 
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Comment #1 posted by Dan B on January 31, 2001 at 15:44:24 PT:
Miller is Hooked On Lies
"'How sure are we that we know exactly how many people are hooked on marijuana or cocaine or methamphetamines or heroine?' Miller asked."I don't know about the others, but I can give a well-educated guess as to the number of people "hooked on marijuana."Zero. It isn't addictive.Dan B
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