Pubdate: Wed, 17 Apr 2013 Source: Times Union (Albany, NY) Copyright: 2013 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation Contact: http://www.timesunion.com/forms/emaileditor.asp Website: http://www.timesunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452 Author: Casey Seiler ADVOCATES: NEW YORK HAS VOTES TO PASS MEDICAL MARIJUANA, GOVERNOR BALKS Senator Says Legal Sales Will Pass but Cuomo Balks Despite "Stop and Frisk" Advocates believe that this is the year both house of the Legislature will pass a bill legalizing medical marijuana in New York. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo doesn't seem ready to apply his signature. A packed conference room of elected officials, advocates and patients with debilitating illnesses gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to renew the push for a newly revised bill to set up a medical marijuana production and distribution system. The event was led by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, and Sen. Diane Savino of the Independent Democratic Conference, which controls the Senate in coalition with Republicans. This year's version was crafted to pass in the Senate, and would create "the most tightly regulated, controlled, seed-to-sale model in the nation, " Savino argued. "We're picking up support member by member," she said. "My count now is we have 38 yes votes, solid yes votes, (and) six leaning yes. We only need 32 (to pass) in the Senate." Gottfried said the new legislation tightens the definition of a severe, debilitating or life-threatening condition that would be eligible for treatment with marijuana, and increases regulatory oversight from production to dispensing. Half of the tax revenue from the new system - raised from excise taxes of $250 per pound and licensing fees - would go to local governments. Savino and Gottfried were asked about Cuomo's intention to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana as a cure to the overuse of "stop-and-frisk" techniques by New York City law enforcement. Both said medical use of marijuana shouldn't be tied to criminal justice policy surrounding its recreational use. Even so, Gottfried said, "I guess the one connection is that it's hard to explain why on the one hand you would be for reducing the penalties for people who are possessing for recreational use - and I agree with doing that - but ... continue to stand in the way of people who are really suffering and who are desperate to be able to be allowed to use marijuana to ease their suffering." In a Tuesday news conference, Cuomo said that while he hadn't studied the latest version of the bill, "at this point I don't support medical marijuana," and added that any comparison to stop-and-frisk reform was "apples and oranges." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom