cannabisnews.com: Medical-Pot Bill Waits on Details 





Medical-Pot Bill Waits on Details 
Posted by FoM on February 16, 2001 at 08:46:21 PT
By S.U. Mahesh, Journal Capitol Bureau
Source: Albuquerque Journal 
A bill to legalize marijuana for medical use was put on hold Thursday after lawmakers raised concerns over who would cultivate and distribute the drug.  The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Thompson, R-Albuquerque, would allow patients suffering from certain chronic and debilitating diseases to use marijuana to relieve their pain.
However, the measure does not specify who would cultivate, distribute or sell marijuana for those patients.  "I don't want an 80-year-old grandmother growing her own marijuana," Rep. Alfred Park, D-Albuquerque, said at a hearing of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.  Park, a committee member, said the language in the bill needed to be more specific before the committee could act on it.  The committee tabled the measure until Tuesday.  Thompson said after the hearing that he would clarify the language to specify that the state Department of Health would dispense the drug.  Rep. Patsy Trujillo Knauer, a Santa Fe Democrat and chairwoman of the committee, said she expects the bill to clear her committee and move to the full House for consideration.  The new bill would update the Lynn Pierson Act, passed by the Legislature in 1978. Under that act, patients could receive medical marijuana as part of a medical research program.  Thompson's bill would make a qualified patient and his or her physician immune from prosecution on drug charges if the amount of marijuana were within prescribed limits.  However, the bill would not relieve the patient from liability for damages or criminal prosecution arising out of driving while intoxicated on marijuana. The patient also could be prosecuted for smoking pot on a school bus or school property or in public vehicles and public places.Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)Author: S.U. Mahesh, Journal Capitol BureauPublished: Friday, February 16, 2001Copyright: 2001 Albuquerque JournalAddress: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103Contact: opinion abqjournal.comWebsite: http://www.abqjournal.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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