GOV. VENTURA SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

ST. PAUL -- Gov. Jesse Ventura said Wednesday that he "fully
supports" legalizing marijuana for medical use.

"Medical marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is government
to tell someone if they have AIDS or cancer, what they should be
taking?" Ventura said in response to a question from a student at
University of St. Thomas.

Ventura cited an illness suffered by his mother, who was given a mix
of narcotics to help her pain.

If marijuana provides the same sort of relief to others who are
suffering, the Independence Party governor said, he's all for it.

Ventura plans to attend a forum on the issue Friday, sponsored
jointly by the Department of Health and the Department of Public
Safety. Organizers say the state hopes to encourage more research.

A bill before the Legislature this year would appropriate $100,000 to
study potential medicinal uses of marijuana.

The study is not part of Ventura's budget proposal, but Public Safety
Commissioner Charlie Weaver said the department would be happy to
administer it if lawmakers agree.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm wrote earlier in a letter that the
forum is designed to encourage research that will "advance the
acceptance of marijuana as an important medical tool and ultimately
address the legal constraints at the national level."