Pubdate: Sun, 02 Dec 2012
Source: Staten Island Advance (NY)
Copyright: 2012 Advance Publication Inc.
Contact:  http://www.silive.com/advance/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/646
Author: Tom Wrobleski

MEDICAL MARIJUANA WILL BE ON NY LEGISLATORS' AGENDA IN 2013

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The battle over medical marijuana will be on 
the agenda when lawmakers return to Albany for the new legislative session.

State Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore) plans to introduce her bill 
legalizing medical marijuana into the Senate in January.

But not all of her colleagues in Staten Island's Albany delegation 
are convinced that medical marijuana is the way to go.

The bill would allow seriously ill patients to purchase the drug 
through a registered dispensing facility, under medical supervision. 
Patients would have to register with the state Health Department.

The bill would not allow people to grow pot for their own use, Ms. Savino said.

Ms. Savino said that medical marijuana could give a big jolt to the 
state economy through various taxes and grower-licensing fees, 
perhaps raising hundreds of millions of dollars for New York as it 
recovers from Hurricane Sandy.

She said dormant industrial spaces and factories around the state 
could be converted into pot greenhouses.

"There are multiple ways you can raise revenue," she said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this year said that he thinks the risks of 
medical marijuana outweigh the benefits.

POSSIBLE SPRINGBOARD

But Cuomo also wants to reduce penalties for possession of small 
amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation. That could 
serve as a springboard to legalizing medical marijuana, according to 
Ms. Savino.

"Let's take this discussion a step further," she said.

A Siena College poll earlier this year found that 61 percent of New 
Yorkers favored legalizing medical marijuana.

Even if the bill passes next year, Ms. Savino said there was no 
telling when a program would be up and running here.

Ms. Savino said the bill would be tweaked to make it compliant with 
the new I-STOP prescription-drug tracking program.

Medical marijuana is legal in 17 states, including neighboring New 
Jersey and Connecticut. In November, Washington and Colorado 
legalized pot for recreational use, becoming the first states to do so.

Not all of Ms. Savino's fellow state lawmakers here back legalizing 
medical marijuana.

Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island) has voted against medical 
marijuana bills introduced the last few years by Assemblyman Richard 
Gottfried (D-Manhattan).

"Marijuana is still illegal federally," said Cusick. "So it will 
cause vast confusion. We have to make sure that federal law jibes 
with state law."

"At this point, I'm a firm 'no'," said Assemblyman-elect Joseph 
Borelli (R-South Shore). "In states like California, it's a sham. 
It's sham doctors giving out sham prescriptions and allowing people 
to get high legally."

Opponents have said that the legalization of medical marijuana in 
California only encouraged pot-growing cartels to illegally set up 
shop in the Golden State.

Critics also have said that marijuana is a gateway drug that can lead 
to use of harder drugs, a concern on the Island, where abuse of 
prescription drugs is already rampant.

Others say that medical marijuana is being used as a front to push 
the legalization of recreational use of pot.

Borelli said that THC, the principal psychoactive element of the 
cannabis plant, is already available in prescription pill form.

"You can get all the benefits without having to smoke it," Borelli said.

Ms. Savino said she would sit down with Borelli after he is sworn in 
"to see if his concerns can be addressed and move him to a 'yes' vote."

She also said it may be time for Congress to "talk about some kind of 
national standard" in order to eliminate the inconsistency between 
state and federal medical marijuana laws.

The Department of Justice has cracked down on growers and 
dispensaries even in states where medical marijuana is legal.

NEEDS SAFEGUARDS

State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said marijuana ought to be 
available for medicinal purposes, "but it has to come with the same 
regulatory safeguards" as other strictly controlled medications, like 
Oxycodone.

Lanza said that only doctors should be allowed to prescribe marijuana 
and only pharmacies should be allowed to dispense it.

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brooklyn), who said 
she's "open to the overall concept" of medical marijuana, had the 
same concerns.

She voted against the Gottfried bill because it allowed nurse 
practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe medical marijuana.

Ms. Malliotakis also said that there should be a specific list of 
illnesses that marijuana can be used for.

"It should be specific and limited to a few," said Ms. Malliotakis, 
mentioning cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease as possibilities.

"All these are negotiating points," said Ms. Savino. "There will be 
changes to this bill. These are valid points for discussion."

Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore) favors legalizing medical marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom