Pubdate: Thu, 24 May 2007
Source: Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
Copyright: 2007sMediaNews Group, Inc
Contact:  http://www.connpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/574
Author: Ken Dixon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

HOUSE OKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE

HARTFORD -- After a wide-ranging, six-hour debate and  several failed 
efforts to kill or weaken the  controversial legislation, the House 
voted Wednesday to  approve the use of marijuana by the seriously ill.

Nine out of 10 amendments from minority Republicans  critical of the 
legislation failed in sharply partisan  roll call and voice votes.

Lawmakers dug deeply into a very public debate on the  current 
underground availability of marijuana in  Connecticut and its 
relative analgesic qualities.

When the final vote arrived and the legislation passed  89-58, 
support came from a variety of lawmakers on both  sides of the aisle 
who agreed the General Assembly  should do whatever it can to lessen suffering.

Proponents said the bill would only affect a couple of  hundred 
people statewide who suffer from a variety of  chronic ailments, 
including cancer, multiple sclerosis  and Parkinson's disease. 
Opponents charged that it  could encourage public perception that the 
illegal  substance is somehow acceptable. The bill would allow  the 
seriously ill to obtain a doctor's authorization,  pay a fee and 
possess up to four 4-foot-tall marijuana  plants and an ounce of 
dried marijuana. Gov. M. Jodi  Rell, speaking to Capitol reporters 
toward the end of  the afternoon-long debate, said she would have 
to  review the bill before making a final decision on the  legislation.

"I really have not taken a position on this bill, and I  have to say 
I have the same mixed feelings I had  before," Rell said.

The bill still has to go to the Senate, but third-term  Rep. Penny 
Bacchiochi, R-Somers, who was scared of  arrest 24 years ago while 
trying to buy marijuana for  her dying husband, is optimistic that 
after eight years  of trying the bill will pass.

"If it gets called in the Senate, I believe it will  pass in the 
Senate," Bacchiochi said in an interview  outside the House chamber 
after the vote. In past  years, the bill has passed in the House or 
Senate, only  to fail in the waning days of the Legislature.

Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of  the Judiciary 
Committee who introduced the bill for  debate, said that there are 
currently no records of  police arresting the many state residents 
who already  smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms from 
ailments  including MS, Parkinson's, neuro-muscular deficiencies  and 
glaucoma, or to stimulate appetites dulled by  cancer treatments.

"It is in effect already being decriminalized by  discretionary 
decisions made by law enforcement in this  state," Lawlor said. 
"Maybe it's incumbent on us to say  the common sense of law 
enforcement should be the  policy in this state." Rep. Thomas J. 
Drew, D-Fairfield, said the bill would balance the  requirements of 
federal laws against marijuana that  date back 70 years, with the 
need for relief by a tiny  portion of the Connecticut population.

"What it's about is the medicinal value of the  marijuana for those 
with extremely serious illnesses,"  Drew said. "I'm not persuaded 
that this law is going to  be abused and I am persuaded that it may 
result in less  criminal involvement."

Eligible medical conditions would include  HIV-positivity, AIDS, 
epilepsy and cachexia, or wasting  disease. Rep. Themis Klarides, 
R-Derby, said two weeks  ago she visited a high school in her 
district where  many kids told her matter-of-factly that marijuana 
is  readily available and that existing drug laws aren't  preventing 
many people from purchasing marijuana.

"I really believe that this bill is not going to make  it worse," 
Klarides said. "The message is simple: We  have compassion for people 
suffering in this state." If  the bill is signed into law, beginning 
in July, a  qualifying patient, or a designated caregiver, would be 
allowed to possess marijuana. If they were to be  arrested while 
procuring the substance, they could  mount a so-called affirmative 
defense in court in  attempt to get the charges dropped.

Police would be allowed to obtain the list of patients  from the 
state Department of Consumer Protection.

The lone Republican amendment that succeeded, in a  133-14 vote, 
would prohibit anyone who had been  convicted of possession or 
dealing drugs from serving  as a primary caregiver for a patient. It 
was offered by Rep. Kevin Witcos, R-Canton, who is a police 
officer.  But most of the afternoon was taken up by seven  amendments 
from Rep. Antonietta Boucher, R-Wilton, who  was vehemently opposed 
to the legislation. Boucher took  the floor at 2:08 p.m. and offered 
amendments until 4:48. They included review of the law by 
federal  authorities; a state study of the number of 
potential  qualifying patients; a study on the potential 
psychotic  effects of the drug, and restricting the use of marijuana 
to only terminal patients, which was rejected  in a 111-36 vote. Rep. 
Lawrence G. Miller, R-Stratford,  who voted against the legislation, 
charged that there's  little medical evidence linking marijuana as a 
reliable  pain reliever for many of the medical conditions listed  in 
the leg! islation.

Bacchiochi said after the final vote that she was  prepared to 
dispute all the opposition claims, but  chose mostly to stay seated 
and let the debate take its  course.

"I felt it was in my best interest to be quiet," she  said. "A lot of 
lawmakers had their minds made up  already."

Southwestern Connecticut lawmakers who voted for the  bill included 
Rep. Andres Ayala Jr.; Rep. Christopher  L. Caruso; Rep. Charles D. 
Clemons; Rep. Robert T.  Keeley Jr., and Rep. John Hennessy Jr., all 
D-Bridgeport; Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia; Rep.  Leonard C. Greene, 
R-Beacon Falls; Rep. Richard O.  Belden, R-Shelton; Rep. DebraLee 
Hovey, R-Monroe; Rep.  Tom Christiano, D-Fairfield, and Rep. T.R. 
Rowe,  R-Trumbull.

Lawmakers who voted against the measure included  Speaker of the 
House James A. Amann and Rep. Richard  Roy, both D-Milford; Rep. Paul 
Davis, D-Orange; Rep.  Terry Backer, D-Stratford; Rep. John Harkins, 
R-Stratford; Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, and Rep.  Felipe Reinoso, 
D-Bridgeport.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman