Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jun 2005
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2005 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Brenda J. Buote
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

NEWBURYPORT MAN MAKES CASE FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

Scott Mortimer of Newburyport deals daily with debilitating back pain,
an agony so intense it sometimes causes him to break out in a cold
sweat. Traditional medications have failed, so for the better part of
a decade, the soft-spoken 37-year-old has relied on the black market
to ease his suffering. Mortimer's drug of choice: marijuana.

The point is not to get stoned, but to get relief. ''I use a
vaporizer," said Mortimer, who suffers from degenerative disk disease.
''It allows me to inhale the active ingredients of the plant material
without burning it, virtually eliminating all the tars and harmful
byproducts of smoking." This daily ritual has placed Mortimer at the
center of a debate over use of medical marijuana.

The cannabis that eases his pain has inspired him to activism.
Mortimer is a foot soldier in the battle to change drug policy in
Massachusetts.

He wants public awareness and education.

He wants access to a reliable supplier, a manufacturer who can
guarantee that the marijuana he uses is free of dangerous pesticides
or chemical fertilizers. And he wants to be free of the stigma
attached to illegal drug use and the fear of police action. On June 7,
Mortimer testified before the Judiciary Committee on Beacon Hill and
urged legislators to embrace Senate Bill 998, a proposal that seeks to
legalize the medical use of marijuana.

The measure, sponsored by Lynn Democrat Thomas M. McGee, would protect
patients, their doctors, and caregivers from arrest and state
prosecution if the doctor signs a written statement that the patient
has a ''chronic or debilitating" medical condition and would benefit
from the use of marijuana.

A similar measure has been introduced in the House. ''People who are
living with chronic pain, who are just trying to manage their pain
enough to make it through each day, should not have to live in fear of
arrest," said Mortimer, who was one of seven people to testify in
favor of the bill at the public hearing, which was standing room only.
Similar bills were  offered in 2001 and 2003. They never made it to
the floor for a vote. However, this year's legislative effort may not
suffer the same fate. Voters have expressed overwhelming support for
the measure.

In November 2004, Steven Epstein, a Georgetown resident and cofounder
of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, asked voters in other
areas of the state whether they would favor legislation that legalized
marijuana for medical use. Pittsfield voters approved the ballot
question with 10,821 votes to 4,139. Voters in a district  that
includes Cambridge, Arlington, and Belmont passed the same nonbinding
question, 14,676 votes to 4,588.

''People who suffer from debilitating illnesses for which there is no
other cure for their pain, those people need to have options," said
state Representative Barbara A. L'Italien, an Andover Democrat who
represents parts of Boxford, Haverhill, and Georgetown, and who signed
on to the House version of  the bill. ''Studies have shown that
marijuana use could help certain patients, including those who suffer
from multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and some forms of cancer." If this
year's version of the Senate bill is passed, patients and their
caregivers would be able to possess up to 10 plants or 4 ounces of
usable marijuana at any time. To date, 10 states, including Maine and
Vermont, have  passed laws allowing sick people to use marijuana for
medical purposes. In those states, patients like Mortimer are shielded
from state prosecution. However, federal authorities could take action.

On June 6, the US Supreme Court  ruled that the federal government has
the power to ban the possession and use of  marijuana, even in states
that have legalized its production and use for medical  reasons.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classified
as  a Schedule One drug, a category reserved for the most dangerou s
of illegal  drugs, including heroin and LSD.

Congress on Wednesday rejected a proposal that would have amended the
appropriations bill that funds the Justice Department, so tax dollars
could not  be used to prosecute users of therapeutic marijuana in
states that permit it. However, a second proposal that seeks to shield
seriously ill people from federal prosecution for marijuana use is
still under consideration. Cosponsored  by US Representative Barney
Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, the measure would reclassify medical
marijuana so the drug could be used with a doctor's
prescription.

''The high court's decision makes it even more apparent to us why we
need a law in Massachusetts to protect our medical community and
patients from state prosecution," said Whitney Taylor, executive
director of the Drug Policy Forum  of Massachusetts, a statewide
nonprofit that seeks to change drug laws and reduce the harms caused
by drug use. She noted that fewer than 1 percent of arrests for
marijuana possession are made by federal authorities. ''I don't think
there are many people in Massachusetts being carted off and taken to
jail for medical marijuana, so although there is the fear of arrest,
it's not the main reason I decided to testify in favor of the Senate
bill," said  Mortimer. ''As a patient who relies on marijuana to
manage my pain, my primary  concern is quality control.

I want to be sure the cannabis I'm using was grown  organically, and
I'd like to be able to order the strains of marijuana that work
particularly well as a muscle relaxer.

My hope is that our state legislators can  show some leadership and
provide some measure of protection for people like  myself to use
marijuana."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin