HAWAII LAWMAKERS APPROVE BILL ON MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

LOS ANGELES, April 25 -- In what marijuana advocates said was a first,
Hawaii's Legislature passed a bill today permitting people with specific
illnesses to use marijuana as a medical treatment, and the state's governor
has said he will sign the legislation shortly.

Currently, there are five states in which voters have passed initiatives
permitting restricted medical use of marijuana to relieve the symptoms of
illnesses like AIDS, cancer and glaucoma.

But Hawaii is the first state in which the Legislature has passed such a
bill and in which the governor has said he will sign it into law.

Passage through the Legislature rather than the unpredictable ballot
initiative process is regarded as a surer means of instituting a law and
keeping it on the books. In fact, Hawaii's governor, Benjamin J. Cayetano, a
Democrat, introduced the bill and has been a strong supporter of the limited
use of marijuana, an issue that some polls have shown the state's 1.2
million residents support.

The State House of Representatives passed the bill several weeks ago, and
today the State Senate passed it 15 to 10.

"Hawaii joins a handful of forward-thinking states that recognize the value
and effectiveness of medical marijuana," Governor Cayetano said this
afternoon. "We look forward to recognition on a federal level to provide
relief to those suffering."

Chuck Thomas, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, a
private group that advocates medical use of the drug, said the organization
hoped the law would be a catalyst for other state legislatures to act.
Alaska, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington have passed ballot
initiatives permitting some limited medical use of marijuana.

"We believe this is the second wave," Mr. Thomas said. "Finally, we think
the third wave will be the federal government."

As in other states, the policy was hotly debated in Hawaii, but the divide
did not follow party lines in the overwhelmingly Democratic state. Both
Republican members of the Senate voted in favor of the bill, said Pamela
Lichty, who fought for the bill and is president of the board of the
American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii. And the medical establishment was
divided, with nurse organizations supporting the bill and important doctor
groups opposing it.

"There was opposition from law enforcement and some others but there was no
grass-roots opposition, and that seems to have encouraged the Legislature,"
said Ms. Lichty, who is also the vice president of the Drug Policy Forum.

The Honolulu Police Department fought the bill and won an agreement limiting
users, who will be able to grow their own marijuana, to six plants. "There's
already heavy recreational abuse of this drug, and we think this sends the
wrong message," said Maj. Susan Dowsett, head of the narcotics division. She
added that marijuana use was still prohibited under federal law and that the
state law would technically not shield licensed users from federal
prosecution.

The bill is narrowly worded, Ms. Lichty said, and specifies both the
illnesses that can be treated with marijuana and the conditions in which it
can be used. She said it appeared that perhaps 300 people or fewer in Hawaii
would qualify, although the figure was still uncertain. Medical marijuana
would be used to relieve the symptoms of certain people with AIDS, cancer
patients undergoing chemotherapy and people with glaucoma and epilepsy.
Those qualifying would have to register with law enforcement officials.

David Tarnas, a former state representative, first introduced a bill
permitting limited use of marijuana in 1995. It was defeated, but Mr. Tarnas
said that began a slow process of educating legislators.

"The place wasn't ready for it back then," said Mr. Tarnas, who left the
Legislature two years ago after serving two terms. "The Legislature needed a
lot more education. There is now a high level of knowledge and awareness.
There was a slow, deliberate process."

He added, "It took a lot of work, but the time was right."