COMPROMISE MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL ADVANCES

MONTPELIER -- For months, one man stood in the way of a bill intended to
protect seriously ill Vermonters from arrest and prosecution if they used
marijuana to ease painful symptoms or reactions to treatment.

Wednesday, House Health and Welfare Chairman Tom Koch, R-Barre, not only
moved aside, he crafted a compromise that led to a surprising 8-3 vote of
support by his committee -- and he was one of the supporters.

Koch has long argued that this kind of legislation isn't needed. Vermont
lawmakers can't change that marijuana is an illegal substance under federal
law. Its illegal status hasn't stopped some Vermonters desperate for relief
from, for example, the nausea of chemotherapy, from buying marijuana on the
black market and smoking it. Police haven't gone after cancer patients
using pot.

Koch said he changed his mind because he heard from so many people who
supported the bill.

"I think there is a real desire by the people of the state of Vermont to be
compassionate and responsive to people with end-of-life conditions and
other serious illnesses," he said.

The bill doesn't legalize marijuana, Koch stressed. "It says if you are in
compliance with the rules, you won't be arrested or prosecuted."

The committee's compromise is more restrictive than the Senate-passed
version as to who would qualify for the bill's protections. Patients must
have cancer, AIDS, HIV or multiple sclerosis and severe and intractable
symptoms that haven't responded to other forms of treatment.

People seeking the proposed protection would pay a fee to register with the
Department of Public Safety, which would be charged with checking with each
applicant's doctor to verify the person's condition. Physicians wouldn't be
required to endorse marijuana use by their patients.

The bill would allow registered patients to grow marijuana in spaces they
could lock. They could have no more than one mature plant, two immature
plants and a maximum of 2 ounces of dried, ready-to-smoke marijuana on hand.

The bill would allow patients to designate a caregiver, who would enjoy the
same protection from arrest and prosecution. Caregivers also would register.

Public Safety Commissioner Kerry Sleeper sat through the final hours of
debate on the bill Wednesday afternoon.

"This certainly satisfies the majority of the public safety concerns that
we have -- given that they want to do something," Sleeper said. "It would
be a relatively simple process," he added. "I anticipate only a handful of
applicants."

Rep. Steve Maier, D-Middlebury, had hoped for a less restrictive bill. He
failed to win approval for patients to have two mature plants. He worried
that some people who might benefit from marijuana won't be protected.

Still, he called the bill "a huge step in the right direction."

Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, applauded the bill's emergence from the
Health and Welfare Committee where it has been stuck for months. Zuckerman
has led an effort over the past several years to win passage of this kind
of bill.

Like Maier, he worried about the restrictions on who could benefit. "We
aren't talking about many people," he said of the number he had hoped to
protect. He estimates 75 to 100 people would qualify under a slightly
broader definition. "Why are we going to restrict it?"

Rep. Linda Kirker, R-Essex Junction, voted against the bill. "As a nurse, I
want people to have the tools that are out there," she said, "but there is
still the fundamental problem that it is against federal law."

The bill still has significant hurdles to clear before it could become law.
It might require review by one or two other House committees before it
could come up for a vote in the House and time is running out in this
legislative session.

Even if it passed the House, negotiations might be necessary to reconcile
differences with the Senate.

The final hurdle would be Gov. Jim Douglas, who has repeatedly voiced
opposition.

"Narrowing this bill is a step in the right direction," the governor's
spokesman, Jason Gibbs, said Wednesday. "The governor is still very
concerned that any bill would violate federal law, introduce more marijuana
into Vermont's black market and send the wrong message to children."

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MARIJUANA BILL HIGHLIGHTS

The House Health and Welfare Committee supports a bill that would protect
seriously ill Vermonters who use marijuana:

QUALIFICATIONS:

Only individuals with cancer, AIDS, HIV or multiple sclerosis who also have
severe, persistent and intractable symptoms that haven't responded to other
medical treatment.

REGISTRATION:

Patients would apply, under oath, to the Department of Public Safety,
paying a fee of $100 and providing medical records that document their
debilitating conditions. The department would contact each applicant's
physician to verify the medical information.

RESTRICTIONS:

Registered patients could be arrested and prosecuted for being under the
influence of marijuana while working, driving or operating boats or other
motorized equipment. They would be banned from using marijuana in public
places.