A DEBATABLE DRUG

Medicinal Marijuana Users Face Challenges in NM

The New Mexico Health Department has approved its first applications
from patients whose doctors prescribed medicinal marijuana under the
state's new law. Under the new statute, approved applicants are
entitled to a designated dosage of marijuana.

But there's a hitch.

It's up to the patients to figure out how and where to get the
marijuana. This is because the state has not carried out the second
phase of the law, due Oct. 1, which is distribution and production of cannibis.

Also, federal laws against possession of marijuana are still in
effect, and even state health employees could face prosecution.

"We guarantee patients with medical marijuana will not be prosecuted
under New Mexico state law, but we can't do anything about federal
law," said Deborah Busemeyer, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Health
Department in Santa Fe.

Three weeks ago, the state appointed eight doctors to its new Medical
Advisory Committee to help come up with the rules for the Medical
Cannabis Program.

The board-certified doctors also will review the state's decisions on
all patient applications, as well as conduct hearings to recommend
whether more medical conditions should be considered for the program.
"These highly qualified physicians will help guide the department as
we continue to develop a program that will help people who suffer
from debilitating conditions," said Dr. Alfredo Vigil, the state's
health secretary.

The conditions that qualify for use of medicinal marijuana include
cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, nerve
damage of the spinal cord with "intractable spasticity (spasms)," and
any terminal illness in a patient admitted to hospice care.

To obtain permission, a primary care doctor must certify that the
patient has a debilitating condition and that the benefits outweigh
the potential risks.

The state provides patients with ID cards that protect them against
state prosecution for what is considered a three-month supply.

"The doctors must be licensed to practice in the state and the
patients must live in New Mexico," Busemeyer said.

Since the program went into effect in July, nearly 50 people have
applied for permission to possess medicinal marijuana.

The New Mexico Health Department received 48 applications, approved
24 and denied five. Other applications are pending or were
incomplete. Patients can apply online at www.nmhealth.org.

The Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to enforce federal
laws against possession of marijuana, regardless of New Mexico's new
law, said Matthew Taylor, spokesman for the DEA in El Paso.

"The DEA's position is that there is no legitimate medical use for
medical marijuana," Taylor said. "It is still a Schedule 1 drug, and
we will enforce the controlled-substance laws as dictated by Congress."

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington
sent representatives to New Mexico to lobby against the law.

The office of John P. Walters, the nation's drug czar, posts on its
Web site information against the use of marijuana.

The site's "mythbusters" section also addresses potential addiction
and other health problems related to cannabis.

"Scientific research has shown that marijuana use can indeed lead to
dependency and addiction ... the consequences of marijuana use,
including changes to the brain, (are) problems with learning, effects
on mental health, and lung and respiratory damage," according to the
White House Web site.

Reena Szczepanksi, director of New Mexico's Alliance for Drug Policy,
which lobbied for the medicinal marijuana law, said it took seven
years for the Legislature to pass it.

"The final vote in the Senate was 32-3 in favor and in the House
36-31, and, of course, the governor signed the bill into law (in
April)," she said.

Szczepanksi said she believes patient testimonies, especially
regarding young people with cancer, helped sway the lawmakers.

Busemeyer said the New Mexico Health Department is waiting to hear
back from the state Attorney General's Office on "how to proceed with
implementing the second phase of the state law -- developing a
production and distribution system."

An earlier effort to decriminalize marijuana use in New Mexico,
dating back to former Gov. Gary Johnson's term, failed to garner
enough support despite Johnson's active support.

Under Gov. Bill Richardson, the New Mexico Legislature was able to
pull together enough votes to adopt the medical marijuana law.

Marijuana became illegal after the U.S. government passed the
Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Other countries eventually also outlawed
the recreational use and possession of cannabis.

Before that, the plant was widely used as a pain reliever and to
treat various ailments.

According to NORML, a national organization that advocates
decriminalizing marijuana and supports medical marijuana laws, 12
other states also permit medicinal uses of cannabis: Alaska,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Most of these states allow patients to grow their own, or in some
cases, permit for small-scale vendors to provide up to four patients
with marijuana.

San Francisco has informal medicinal marijuana smoking parlors, but
police are cracking down on them because of suspicions they are used
for recreational instead of medical purposes.

According to the Associated Press, federal agents raided 10 medicinal
marijuana clinics in Los Angeles two weeks ago, and arrested the
owners and managers, but not the patients.

Under its new law, New Mexico has the additional charge of developing
a production and distribution system for the marijuana, but state
Attorney General Gary King's office warned health officials in an
Aug. 6 letter that his staff cannot protect state health employees if
the federal government goes after them.

A letter from King to health officials also reminded them that the
U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that the production and distribution of
marijuana for medical use is illegal.

Theoretically, the state could contract with local growers or other suppliers.

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THE NEW MEXICO HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR
MEDICINAL MARIJUANA:

Eligible conditions are cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, nerve damage of the spinal cord with spasticity
(involving spasms), and terminal illness in a patient who is admitted
to hospice care.

Applicants must live in New Mexico.

Only a doctor licensed in New Mexico can prescribe medicinal marijuana.

At this time, patients are on their own finding a marijuana supply.

The New Mexico law does not exempt patients from federal laws against
possession of marijuana.

The state's next phase is to develop a production and distribution
system for medicinal marijuana.

Patients can submit applications online at www.nmhealth.org.

Additional sources to research: Alliance of Drug Policy,
www.drugpolicy.org; NORMAL, http://norml.org; DEA, www.dea.gov; White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy, www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov