BILL WOULD ALLOW MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE IN NEVADA

CARSON CITY (AP) - The wife of a paraplegic urged Nevada lawmakers
Tuesday to approve a bill that would let her husband legally use
marijuana to help stop the seizures he suffers.

''My husband has no feeling in his body. Using medical marijuana enables
him to function,'' the woman told the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
''The goal is not to cause trouble or to break the law but to survive
and function.''

The woman, identified only as ''Rose,'' spoke in favor of Assemblywoman
Chris Giunchigliani's AB453, which authorizes medical use of marijuana
and decriminalizes possession of small amounts of pot.

The bill would create a state registry for all patients whose doctors
recommend they use marijuana for medical reasons. People with cancer,
AIDS, glaucoma, severe pain and nausea would be eligible for a marijuana
user card.

''It's time we recognize the absence of opposition that's here,'' said
Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, adding that 65 percent of state voters
favored in November for Question 9, a constitutional amendment allowing
medical marijuana.

Giunchigliani also proposed a state-managed farm for the growth and
distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. The state Department of
Agriculture estimated that it would cost roughly $750,000 to get the
program started.

Opponents included Gemma Waldron, a lobbyist for the Washoe County
district attorney's office, who said the bill isn't necessary.

''As a two-time cancer survivor, I never once used marijuana and I
didn't need to,'' she said.

Some Judiciary members were in favor of the bill, but reluctant to
support the state's involvement in cultivating and distributing
marijuana.

''We need to support the will of the people,'' said Assemblywoman
Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. ''They voted for it. But I'm hesitant to
go to a state-run program. The state doesn't always do things well. The
state has no money this session.''

Judiciary Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, was more comfortable
leaving it up to patients to find their own source of medical marijuana.

''We can process the bill and it doesn't put us in the marijuana
business,'' he said.

Among the conditions for a patient to get approval for medical marijuana
are state residency, having a qualified medical condition and having a
licensed physician in Nevada.

Assemblyman Greg Brower, R-Reno, wondered why the measure couldn't be
simplified.

''This bill seems very, very complicated. I'm not sure it has to be. If
we all agree there's a need for medical marijuana, why don't we treat it
like another prescribed drug like Valium? Why does the state have to be
involved?''

The measure also goes further than the constitutional amendment and
- -thanks to Giunchigliani - would change the law on possession of an
ounce or less of marijuana to a misdemeanor offense. Nevada is one of
the few states with a felony law for marijuana possession.

Under AB453, a person with an ounce or less of marijuana would be
charged with a misdemeanor punished by a fine of no more than $600. A
second offense would result in a higher fine and assignment to a
treatment or rehabilitation program. Third-time offenders would be
charged with a gross misdemeanor and have to pay an even steeper fine.