GOV. VENTURA SUPPORTS MEDICAL POT

ST. PAUL, Minn. Gov. Jesse Ventura said Wednesday he 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 has said he has smoked marijuana. On Tuesday, he said his mother
used a mix of narcotics to ease pain from an illness, and that he approved
of marijuana if it was used to relieve pain in others.

"To me, you've got a kid here with cancer," he said. "I don't give a damn
if he smokes a joint."

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

California passed one of the nation's first medical marijuana laws in 1996,
but it has been held up by a court fight.

Voters in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington
also have approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical
marijuana. In Hawaii, the Legislature passed a similar law and the governor
signed it last year.