SENATE APPROVES MEDICAL POT PLAN

Apr. 3, 2001 - A bill to implement the medical marijuana amendment passed
by Colorado voters in November won a preliminary vote in the House of
Representatives on Monday.

Amendment 20, which was ruled off the ballot in 1998 because of
insufficient signatures and then ordered back on the ballot in 2000, allows
doctors to prescribe marijuana as a pain reliever for certain chronic
conditions.

The implementing legislation is House Bill 1371, introduced by first-term
Rep. Mark Cloer, a Colorado Springs Republican.

The legislation poses a quandary for lawmakers. Marijuana users and
providers are violating federal law, no matter if the drug is for medicinal
purposes. But unless the legislature passes a bill authorizing its use,
lawmakers will violate provisions added to the Colorado Constitution when
voters approved the Amendment 20 ballot issue.

The amendment says the legislature must act by April 30. The U.S. Supreme
Court, meanwhile, is due to rule on the legality of medical marijuana laws.

Cloer, the bill's sponsor, voted against the ballot issue, but felt
compelled to pass the legislation because lawmakers take an oath to uphold
the state constitution.

Under the bill, patients with a qualifying medical condition, such as
cancer, would need a doctor's certification and pay a $140-a-year fee to be
issued a card and included in a state registry. Each registered patient
could have up to six marijuana plants in his or her home and up to 2 ounces
of processed pot.

The bill will be up for a final House vote today and then move on to the
Senate.