MEDICAL MARIJUANA: EASY PANEL PASSAGE GIVES HOPE FOR SUPPORTERS

Yet again, a medical marijuana bill has sailed through a Senate
committee, creating a sense of hope for those who want New Mexico to
become the 12th state to allow patients to use the mind-altering herb
for the relief of pain and nausea under doctor supervision.

An estimated 50 to 200 patients, with conditions such as cancer,
glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and AIDS, would benefit,
proponents said.

On Thursday, supporters were outwardly elated after the unanimous
vote in the Senate Public Affairs Committee, but more cautious in
private. For the past two years, a nearly identical bill found favor
in the Senate, then stalled in the House. Last year the initiative
even won Gov. Bill Richardson's public backing, but ultimately died
in the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee.

No one is sure where the governor stands now that he has his eye on
the White House. His spokesmen did not return calls for comment.

The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act would give authority over the
supply and distribution of marijuana to the Health Department. Yet
during the hearing, Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham and Human
Services Secretary Pamela Hyde sat in silence. Last year, in the same
hearing they endorsed it.

Chris Minnick, a spokesman for the Health Department, said afterward,
"We neither support nor oppose the bill" because the agency isn't carrying it.

Erin Armstrong, whose name is on this year's bill, says she is
keeping an optimistic outlook.

"The lesson of last year is we do have the support to get this
through. We just need the time," she said.

The 25-year-old Santa Fe native, who has thyroid cancer, sat in the
front row during the hearing, next to her mother, Aging Department
Secretary Deborah Armstrong.

Because marijuana is an illegal substance in the United States,
patients who used it would take a "calculated risk," said Reena
Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, part of a
dues-paying national group that's lobbying for it. The bill cannot
shield patients, doctors, growers or others involved in the process
from the risk of federal prosecution. It would only protect them from
prosecution under state laws, she said.

If a doctor recommended marijuana for a patient, an application would
be filed with the state Health Department, which would determine the
proper dosage. The patient would carry a special card.

As usual, law enforcement groups spoke against the bill, citing the
conflict with federal law. District Attorney Donald Gallegos, who
serves Taos, Union and Colfax counties, said Senate Bill 238
contained one important change: Licensed producers selected by the
Health Department would grow and distribute the marijuana. Before,
New Mexico State University was slated for the job, which would have
put public employees "in a heck of a dilemma," he said.

But he's still concerned about people selling the drug on the side or
getting high it when they are not sick. The bill says people who use
it fraudulently would face a petty misdemeanor, and licensed
producers who give it to people not approved by the Health Department
could face criminal or civil penalties.

For the first time, Patty Jennings, the wife of Sen. Timothy
Jennings, D-Roswell, made her case. Last October her breast cancer
spread to her lungs. "It's a terrific option," she said.

Cancer patients need more options, she said, because what works and
what is compatible with other medications changes constantly.

Jennings, 51, said she isn't worried that her five children would get
the wrong idea if she smoked state-approved pot. "I have 200 morphine
pills in a bottle in my purse all the time, and they know it's a
whole lot more dangerous than a marijuana cigarette," she said.