Pubdate: Sat, 12 Apr 2014
Source: Record, The (Troy, NY)
Copyright: 2014 The Record
Contact:  http://www.troyrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1724
Author: Josefa Velasquez, The Associated Press
Page: C3

MEDICAL MARIJUANA INCHING TOWARD LEGALIZATION

ALBANY (AP) - New York is inching toward legalizing some form of
medical marijuana as support grows in the state Legislature and is
likely to become one of a handful of issues taken up when lawmakers
return later this month.

But it remains unclear where the drug would come from for either Gov.
Andrew Cuomo's limited research program or broader, legalized use
under a proposed medical marijuana bill.

Marijuana for clinical trials comes from the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, which has a contract with the University of Mississippi to
grow marijuana for studies, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug
Administration said.

"Obtaining marijuana for research along these lines is notoriously
difficult, but not impossible," said Gabriel Sayegh, the New York
state director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for a
public health approach to drug abuse rather than relying on the
criminal justice system.

A spokesman for Cuomo referred questions to the state's health
department, which would oversee New York's medical marijuana program.

A spokesman for the agency said this week that a "senior-level team"
within the department was developing the framework for the research
program, but calls seeking elaboration weren't returned.

It is unclear how particular strains of the drug could be brought into
the state without violating federal law, which prohibits transporting
marijuana across state lines. Calls made to the sponsors of the
medical marijuana bill, Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Richard
Gottfried, weren't returned.

In neighboring New Jersey, Tom Prendergast, a manager at one of that
state's three dispensaries, said in an interview that the initial
seeds and plants came from out of the state, but would not elaborate
for legal reasons.

Advocates for the legalized medical marijuana say that the drug can
ease nausea, appetite loss and pain associated with such illnesses as
cancer, AIDS or epilepsy.

Certain strains that are low in THC have also shown seizure-fighting
properties, and in October, the FDA approved testing of a British
pharmaceutical firm's marijuana-derived drug that contains a property
that may combat seizures.

Savino, member of a group of breakaway Democrats that control the
Senate with the Republicans, has said she has more than enough votes
to pass the bill in the Senate. The Democratic-led Assembly has passed
the bill.

"Should the Senate decide to take up the bill, we would be delighted
to pass it once again," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said in a
statement Tuesday that came after he told reporters that the bill
didn't seem to have "a future in this session."

Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos can block bills from a floor vote
by using the veto power that he and the leader of the breakaway
Democrats hold under their power-sharing agreement.

A spokesman for Skelos said the senator was taking a "cautious
approach."

"Sen. Skelos has indicated that he is seeking additional information
and will continue to study this issue," Skelos' spokesman said.

A Siena poll released in March found that 47 percent of New Yorkers
support legalizing marijuana while 31 percent support Cuomo's plan to
allow medical marijuana research in 20 hospitals.
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MAP posted-by: Matt