PANEL CONSIDERS POT USAGE BASED ON SYMPTOMS

A panel of the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission will consider
whether to make anyone suffering certain debilitating symptoms eligible to
legally use marijuana for medical purposes.

The commission has already added two diseases to the original list of those
for which physicians can authorize patients to possess marijuana under a
law passed by voters in 1998.

Now, Dr. Rob Killian is petitioning the board to add a list of symptoms
rather than specific diseases. Otherwise, he says, the board will be
inundated with requests to add one disease after another.

In recent months, the board added Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammation
of the bowels, and hepatitis C to the list. At the same time, Bonnie King,
executive director of the commission, noted that the board added a
condition: Marijuana may be recommended only when traditional approaches
have been found ineffective.

The list suggested by Killian, a doctor who sponsored Initiative 692, which
created the medical-marijuana law, includes:

Gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, anorexia, appetite loss
and cramping.

Neurological symptoms such as seizures, muscle spasms and spasticity.

Mood disorders, including insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Seattle Airport
Hilton, 17620 Pacific Highway S., SeaTac. Written testimony must be
submitted by March 31. It should go to Bonnie King, executive director,
Medical Quality Assurance Commission, Department of Health, 1300 S.E.
Quince St., P.O. Box 47866, Olympia, WA 98504-7866. For more information,
call 360-236-4789.

A final decision is expected June 2.