COUNCIL LIKELY TO SUPPORT MEDICAL POT

The City Council is set to approve a resolution today asking the state
Legislature to legalize medical marijuana use.

Supporters say controlled dispensing of pot can provide "therapeutic
relief for many New Yorkers who are suffering from grave, chronic
conditions and life-threatening illnesses."

The resolution signals the first time the liberal-leaning Council has
come out in favor of medical pot, although some advocates had hoped
the 51-member body would have joined their cause long ago.

The resolution's main sponsor, Councilman Philip Reed (D-Manhattan),
said the Council had been in danger of becoming irrelevant in the
fight because even the more conservative lawmakers in Albany are close
to enacting enabling bills.

"Fifteen other states are already on board, and 80% of the public
supports this," Reed said last week after his resolution was approved
by the Council's Health Committee and set the stage for today's vote
by the full Council.

Reed noted that his resolution has the support of several conservative
members.

"This is not, you know, just the goofy left passing the resolution,"
he said.

Late or not, the Council's support will be "helpful" in moving the
issue forward in Albany, said Assemblyman Richard Gottfried
(D-Manhattan), who has championed the issue for several years.

Before the Legislature recessed last week, efforts were progressing to
get the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican-dominated Senate
to agree on a common bill, he said.

Legalization of medical marijuana "is very actively under
consideration by the Republicans," added Gottfried, who is optimistic
that a two-chamber bill can still pass this year after the Legislature
reconvenes in early August.

Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno
(R-Rensselaer), confirmed that the Senate leader is "taking a close
look at it."

Reed said legalization efforts were boosted by the endorsement two
weeks ago by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. The
veteran district attorney credited his support of medical marijuana to
TV talk-show host Montel Williams, who uses marijuana legally
dispensed in California to ease the debilitating effects of multiple
sclerosis.

Reed noted that it's "unfortunate" that Mayor Bloomberg has opted not
to lend his support. The mayor recently urged legislators "to think
long and hard before they change the current laws" because "drugs are
a very big problem in this city."

Resolutions do not require mayoral action.