MEDICAL MARIJUANA HERE? DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH

Arizona is not a friendly state for medical marijuana users despite two
successful voter initiatives. And a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on
pot for the chronically ill isn't likely to change things.

Arizona legal experts predict the Supreme Court will not allow sick people
here and in 10 others states with medical marijuana laws to get around a
federal ban on pot.

But even if the court, which heard arguments Monday, upholds a California
law allowing medical marijuana for chronically ill patients who have a
doctor's recommendation, the impact in Arizona is likely to be small.

That's because Arizona is the only state with a voter-approved medical
marijuana law that requires a doctor's prescription, not just a
recommendation. Unless the Drug Enforcement Administration changes its
classification of marijuana as a harmful drug with no medical benefits,
writing a prescription for it would still be illegal.

"Doctors are scared to death of getting their certification revoked," said
Nick Hentoff, a Phoenix lawyer and member of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It might ease doctors' anxiety (if the court
upholds the California law) but Arizona isn't a state friendly to medical
marijuana."

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, an ardent foe of legalizing pot in
any form, said he predicts the court will overturn California's law. But if
it didn't, prosecutors would probably not go after Arizonans with valid
prescriptions for marijuana. But securing that prescription would be
tricky, Romley said.

"Even if a doctor might be willing to prescribe it, it's required to be
filled by a licensed pharmacy," Romley said. "Where would the pharmacy get
it? I just don't see a great impact for Arizona."

Romley added that he believes the medical marijuana issue is a stalking
horse for legalizing drugs, pointing out that when backers tried to remove
the prescription requirement in a 2002 initiative, it failed.

Any doctor who writes an illegal prescription places his license in danger,
said Dr. Edward Schwager of Tucson, chairman of the Arizona Medical Board.

But upholding California's law would be a step in the right direction for
Ron Frank, a 55-year-old Phoenix resident who has been smoking marijuana
for 25 years for his glaucoma and to ease chronic back pain. Frank hasn't
been able to smoke for about two months and now faces possible prison time
because he was caught for the third time with possession of small amounts
of the drug. He supports legalizing marijuana for medical purposes only.

"I have to rest my eyes because they get blurry," Frank said. "Marijuana
usually takes the blurriness away and the pressure inside my eyeballs."

The Court appeared hesitant Monday to endorse medical marijuana, the
Associated Press reported.

Justice Stephen Breyer said supporters of marijuana for the ill should take
their fight to federal drug regulators - before coming to the Supreme
Court. Several justices repeatedly referred to America's drug addiction
problems.

The high court heard arguments in the case of a California woman, Angel
Raich, who tried dozens of prescription medicines to ease the pain of a
brain tumor and other illnesses before she turned to pot.

Supporters of Raich and another ill woman who filed a lawsuit after her
home was raided by federal agents. They argue that people with the AIDS
virus, cancer and other diseases should be able to grow and use marijuana.

Their attorney, Randy Barnett of Boston, told justices that his clients are
law-abiding citizens who need marijuana to survive. Marijuana may have some
side effects, he said, but seriously sick people are willing to take the
chance.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled against
the government in a divided opinion that found federal prosecution of
medical marijuana users is unconstitutional if the marijuana is not sold,
transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes.

Lawyers for Raich and Diane Monson contend the government has no
justification for pursuing small-scale users who are ill. Raich, an
Oakland, Calif., mother of two teenagers, has scoliosis, a brain tumor,
chronic nausea and other illnesses. Monson, a 47-year-old accountant who
lives near Oroville, Calif., has degenerative spine disease and grows her
own marijuana plants in her backyard.

The Bush administration argues that Congress has found no accepted medical
use of marijuana and needs to be able to eradicate drug trafficking and its
social harms.

The Supreme Court ruled three years ago that the government could prosecute
distributors of medical marijuana despite their claim that the activity was
protected by "medical necessity."

Teresa Campbell, a 49-year-old Mesa resident, would welcome anything that
clears the way for Arizona doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical
purposes. Her longtime friend, Josh Burner, who supports legalizing the
drug, is dying of cancer and relies of marijuana, she said.

"It builds his appetite and eases his pain," Campbell said.

But Carolina Butler, 70, of Scottsdale, is hoping the Supreme Court closes
the door on the use of marijuana because she believes it is a dangerous
drug. Butler, who has campaigned against previous medical marijuana
initiatives, feels it would send youngsters the wrong message that smoking
marijuana is not harmful.

"Why would we want to legalize another dangerous drug?" she asked. "It has
ruined lives."

This story includes information from the Associated Press