Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010
Source: Star-Gazette (NY)
Copyright: 2010sStar-Gazette
Contact:  http://www.stargazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1005
Author: Cara Matthews, Albany Bureau

MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL SPARKING DEBATE IN NY LEGISLATURE

ALBANY -- Legalizing marijuana for medical use, which  would produce
millions of dollars in revenue for New  York, continues to be part of
negotiations on the state  budget, which is now more than 80 days
late, officials  said Monday.

"To me the reason for enacting it is treating patients  with serious
conditions fairly, but the revenue is  certainly a reason to make it
part of the budget. So,  all of those issues are very much up in the
air," said  Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried,
D-Manhattan, who is sponsoring the bill.

Travis Proulx, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader  John Sampson,
D-Manhattan, said Monday evening that the  Senate and Assembly had
reached an agreement to include  medical marijuana as part of the budget.

But Assembly officials said no deal had been reached.

Fourteen other states have authorized medical use of  marijuana for
patients with serious, debilitating or  life-threatening medical
conditions like HIV/AIDS,  cancer, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. It
has been  found to relieve nausea, chronic pain and muscle spasms  and
increase appetite.

If legislation is passed in New York, the state would  have the "most
narrow and restrictive of any law in the  country," Gottfried said.

Proposals to legalize marijuana for medical use have  been in the
Legislature for more than a dozen years.  Last year, when Democrats
took control of the Senate,  was the first time both houses had
identical bills and  medical marijuana was thought to have a chance of
  passing. The Assembly approved a bill in 2007 and 2008.  But neither
house passed a bill last year.

The legislation is on the Assembly calendar and could  be voted on as
a stand-alone bill, Gottfried said. It  is still in committee in the
Senate, which has never  passed a medical-marijuana bill.

The Senate included the legalization of marijuana in  its budget
resolution several months ago. The bill  could make its way to the
floor or become part of the  state budget, said Senate Health
Committee Chairman  Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan, who is sponsoring the
bill.  Medical marijuana should be available to people who  really
need to alleviate their suffering when nothing  else has helped, he
said.

"Both are still possibilities and it's possible that  neither will
happen," Duane said. "This is Albany after  all. Marijuana's a
controversial issue."

It's unclear exactly how much the legalization of  marijuana would
raise. Gottfried said the state would  receive money from registration
and licensing fees and  potentially from taxes on gross receipts on
marijuana  that hospitals, pharmacies and other entities  dispensed.

The Senate has estimated registration and other fees  would raise $15
million a year.

Advocates for legalizing marijuana for medical use are  holding a news
conference Tuesday to urge Paterson to  publicly support including a
medical-marijuana program  in the state budget.

The Pharmacists Society of the State of New York, the  state Medical
Society and the state Nurses Association  are some of the groups that
have endorsed the proposal,  said Vince Marrone, a lobbyist for the
Drug Policy  Alliance, which also favors legalization of medical  marijuana.

"I'm optimistic that the bill is going to pass one way  or the other
before the end of session because I think  the Legislature has
recognized that this is a bill  that's good for patients and the
public strongly  supports it," he said.

Opponents of legalizing marijuana for medical use think  it could
increase drug abuse and crime.

The legislation would allow certified patients with  state Health
Department-issued registry identification  cards to possess up to 2.5
ounces of marijuana. The  marijuana could not be smoked in public places.

The Health Department would register organizations to  acquire,
possess, manufacture, sell, deliver, transport  and distribute
marijuana for certified medical use.

Designated caregivers would be allowed to have up to  2.5 ounces per
patient for up to five people.

The legislation would not require public or private  health plans to
cover medical marijuana.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1986 approved  THC, the
active ingredient in marijuana, for use in  synthetic pill form, but
it has been found to be more  effective in its natural form.

A Quinnipiac University poll in February found that 71  percent of New
York voters think medical marijuana is a  good idea and 25 percent
said no. Voters between 45 and  64 are most strongly behind the idea,
but there is  support from all political, racial and regional groups. 
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