GOV GETS PROPOSAL FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA STUDY

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Legislation seeking to settle the debate over the
effectiveness of medical marijuana has been sent to Gov. Gray Davis and is
expected to get his signature.

The measure by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, calls for a
three-year study by the University of California on the safety and
effectiveness of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, glaucoma and other
diseases.

The Senate approved the bill 29-4 Friday and sent it to Davis. The governor
supports the bill, spokesman Michael Bustamante said.

California voters, in 1996, approved Proposition 215, which permits the
growth and consumption of marijuana for medical use.

Proposition supporters say marijuana eases the nausea or pain that
accompanies cancer, AIDS and other diseases. Opponents contend that smoking
pot is harmful.

Possession and cultivation of marijuana remains illegal under U.S. law, and
federal officials have repeatedly told state officials that medical
marijuana users risk federal prosecution.

Last month a federal judge in Sacramento sentenced an outspoken supporter
of Proposition 215, B.E. Smith, to 27 months in prison for growing
marijuana on his land.

Dave Fratello, a spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights, which
supported Proposition 215, said a California study could help overturn the
federal ban.

``We may now begin to contribute to the scientific basis for reclassifying
marijuana as medicine under federal law, allowing patients all over America
to obtain its benefits legally,'' he said.