Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jun 2005 Source: Decatur Daily (AL) Copyright: 2005 The Decatur Daily Contact: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/696 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Angel Raich) STATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE TO KEEP TRYING MONTGOMERY (AP) -- An Alabama legislator pushing for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday against medical marijuana statutes won't dissuade her. Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, said she will be back with her bill because she believes it gets around problems that the Supreme Court found with medical marijuana laws in other states. In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the Supreme Court said state laws can't defy the federal Controlled Substances Act that makes marijuana illegal, and people who smoke marijuana because their doctors recommend it to ease pain can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws. The decision focused on California's law, but it affected similar laws in nine other states. In the session of the Legislature that ended in May, Hall proposed allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients with chronic or persistent medical conditions ranging from AIDS to migraine headaches. Homegrown Marijuana Hall's bill originally was similar to California's by providing for homegrown marijuana. But with California's case pending before the nation's highest court, she began to modify her bill. The final version abandoned homegrown marijuana. Instead, it provided for strict government control, with the marijuana being dispensed by prescription through pharmacies, she said. Hall's bill got approved by the House Judiciary Committee in the closing days of the legislative session, but was never debated by the House. She said she plans to bring it back when the Legislature's next regular session begins in January. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake