Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact:  213-237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Pubdate: March 18, 1998
Author:  Kevin Smith

ROGAN NOW BACKS RESOLUTION AGAINST MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Congressman says his position is no different than when he was an
assembylman and favored limited use.

GLENDALE ~ Congressman James Rogan says he will back a resolution that
opposes the use of marijuana for medical purposes, despite having supported
the idea as a state assemblyman. The first-term Republican, whose 27th
Congressional District includes Glendale, nonetheless said he is taking the
same position he took in the Assembly.

House Resolution 372 expresses the sense of the House of Representatives
that marijuana "is a dangerous and addictive drug and should not be
legalized for medicinal use."

Resolutions carry no legal weight, but are often crafted to gauge support
for legislation on issues.

The resolution has already been approved by the House Subcommittee on Crime
and is expected to be brought to the floor for a full House vote, possibly
next week. Rogan, elected to the 43rd Assembly District eat in 1994, served
through 1996.

"I supported (medical use of marijuana) in the Assembly, but only in
limited circumstances of a physician being able to prescribe marijuana for
terminal patients," he said.

He does not support Proposition 215, approved by California voters in 1996,
because it is too broad in scope, Rogan said.

"It allows any medical practitioner to use it," he said. "And that could
mean an acupuncturist or ... a witch doctor. And not all of the patients
are terminal cases."

In September 1995, Rogan supported Assembly Bill 1529. The measure, which
ultimately failed, was intended to provide a criminal defense for personal
possession of marijuana for medical purposes, but only when approved in
writing by a licensed physician for patients with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma
and multiple sclerosis. Rogan's support for limited use of marijuana was
fueled by personal experience.

In 1980, Rogan's cousin was diagnosed with cancer and given just six months
to live.

Under his doctor's advice, he began using marijuana to gain weight and
combat the nausea brought on by chemotherapy treatments. Rogan believes his
cousin's use of marijuana helped him live for another 10 years.

"It had everything to do with him being able to get out of bed, eat, go to
work and be productive for another decade," Rogan said, according to a
transcript of his remarks in front of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Pasadena Democrat Barry Gordon, who is running for Rogan's seat, agreed
with Rogan that Proposition 215 was too broad. But, he said, the House
resolution Rogan plans to support is every bit as vague as Proposition 215.

"That seems to close the door pretty solidly to me" on using marijuana for
medicinal use, he said. "And it's contrary to what the voters expressed in
1996."

Since its passage, the controversial initiative has faced numerous legal
challenges. Many establishments that have tried to sell marijuana for
medical purposes have been shut down.

The California Nurses Association supports Proposition 215. "As nurses, we
have seen that marijuana helps patients with nausea, vomiting and muscle
spasms where other medications are not effective," said Jill Furillo, a
legislative advocate for the group.

"Fifty-six percent of the voters approved it as an effective healing
methodology. The CNA believes the voters' desire to implement Proposition
215 must be respected."

Sgt. Rick Young, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, said some
who have been arrested in Glendale for possession of marijuana have claimed
they needed the drug for medical reasons. But none has been able to prove
it and no legal challenges have arisen in Glendale, he said.

"This proposition (215) fooled a lot of people," he said. "It played on the
sympathy of the terminally ill."

Young said people who really need the drug can take Marinol, a marijuana
derivative that comes in the form of a pill and is available through a
prescription.