MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAY RETURN

New Mexicans might be able to smoke marijuana under a doctor's
prescription again if efforts are successful to revive a program that
is on the books but hasn't been funded since the 1980s.

Alex Valdez, secretary of the state Department of Health, said Friday
he has been informed by the Drug Enforcement Administration about what
federal requirements he must fulfill to reinstate the program that
became law in 1978.

His inquiry began last summer while advocates were planning a
class-action lawsuit to demand that the program be reinstated. Bryan
Krumm, a potential plaintiff, said the group delayed filing the
lawsuit when Valdez told them he would move to restore the program.
"We still may file," added Krumm, a nurse who works at the University
of New Mexico.

Valdez said spending for what is called the Lynn Pierson therapeutic
research program would not be a priority in his budget request for the
next fiscal year.

"I have to think about how to proceed with this," Valdez
said.

Krumm said Valdez had sent him a letter this summer saying the health
department was going to reactivate the program. On Friday, though,
Krumm said Valdez told him he wanted to see interest from more than
one person.

About 30 people were to be named as plaintiffs in the potential
lawsuit, and many of them will be contacting Valdez, Krumm said.

Krumm said that he has a referral from his doctor to the Lynn Pierson
program, which exists only in law. He said he wants the marijuana to
help ease knee pain from an accident, as well as depression.

Ed McWilliams, another potential plaintiff, said he hasn't been able
to get a physician's referral to the program, but that he wants to be
able to use marijuana to treat migraine headaches.

"Medical research from a lot of sources has stated it unquestionably
helps in that area, with not a lot of the dire side effects other
medications have," he said.

McWilliams said his own grandfather smoked marijuana to help slow down
the progression of his glaucoma.

The state statute creating the program specifically targets people
suffering from glaucoma and the side effects of chemotherapy for
cancer. It does leave the door open, though, for a review board to
broaden the use to other medical conditions.

The state's medicinal marijuana law took effect in 1978, setting up
the therapeutic program through the University of New Mexico, where it
was run until 1986.

A news report at that time said the program would close down because
its $50,000 annual funding was not renewed by the state
Legislature.

But Krumm said he thought it died after the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services announced regulatory restrictions against the use
of marijuana to test its health benefits.

In June, however, the federal agency announced an easing of
restrictions so that such programs are possible again.

At the same time, the federal government said it couldn't provide
adequate supplies of medicinal marijuana it produces on a farm in
Mississippi, he said. "It's possible the state could become its own
supplier," Krumm said.

State law puts the Department of Health in charge. A patient
qualification review board, made up of a ophthalmologist, an
oncologist and a psychiatrist, reviews and approves all applicants and
their doctors for participation.

The marijuana would be made available to the patient through a
pharmacy, with the secretary of the health department responsible for
finding a supplier.

During the program's operation, more than 250 patients participated,
Krumm said.

Valdez said he wanted to make it clear that his attention to this
program is completely unrelated to Gov. Gary Johnson's high-profile
discussions on legalizing drugs such as marijuana and heroin.

Valdez said he has discussed the research program with Johnson and
that the two agree it would be pursued -- if a decision even is made
to revive it -- strictly for medical research purposes.

"I know others would say this is the first step toward legalization,"
Valdez said. "I don't want this to get clouded with other discussions
taking place. It (marijuana) already is legal in New Mexico for
medical research purposes."