MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL HITS SNAG

Marijuana helps relieve pain, stress, nausea and numerous other discomforts
of cancer and other debilitating diseases, patients and doctors told a
Senate committee Tuesday.

But it's also illegal for doctors to prescribe it and for anyone to possess
or use it.

A Senate committee may look for a way to reconcile those factors today when
it revisits a bill that would protect patients and doctors from criminal
and civil penalties in connection with the medical use of marijuana. The
bill was tabled Tuesday for more research.

It's at least the third time since 1993 that the Legislature has addressed
the issue. Previous attempts to provide for the medical use of marijuana
failed because they established a system of production and prescription
that relied on a federal change in the substance's drug classification,
which hasn't occurred yet. A bill in Congress seeks to reclassify marijuana
as a Schedule II drug, meaning it could be prescribed by doctors under
certain conditions.

The Minnesota bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Piper, DFL-Austin, would allow
adults with a proven malady and a physician's recommendation -- not a
prescription -- to possess 1 ounce of marijuana.

Under the plan, patients under 18 would need a parent's consent.

Possession is still a felony under federal law; the bill relies on federal
authorities not prosecuting cases involving amounts of that size, which is
generally the case now.

Two cancer patients and two physicians, one a University of Minnesota
professor, told members of the Senate Health and Family Security Committee
that marijuana often makes it easier to live with a range of debilitating
diseases, as well as with the discomfort of chemotherapy and other treatments.

Marsha Tollefson, 47, a grandmother from St. Peter, Minn., told of how
marijuana helped her endure cancer treatment and the effects of systemic
scleroderma, in which excess collagen stiffens her skin, muscles and organs.

"I don't want to be forced to choose between leaving Minnesota to reside in
a state that recognizes the benefits of medical marijuana or stay here and
be considered a criminal for taking care of my health," she said in a
statement.

Dr. Dennis Dykstra, a University of Minnesota professor of physical
medicine, said he has noted that marijuana also relieves spasticity in
palsy patients. He said current law unfairly restricts physicians from
helping ease their patients' conditions.

Five states -- California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington and Alaska -- have
varying provisions for medical use of marijuana. But for it to occur in
Minnesota, an authorized system of experimental research and distribution,
under the auspices of the state Board of Pharmacy and the University of
Minnesota, would have to be established, said state Public Safety
Commissioner Charlie Weaver. That would allow physicians to prescribe
marijuana legally under federal permits, he said.

Gov. Jesse Ventura supports medical marijuana use, Weaver said, but only
under a workable system. Weaver said he opposed the bill because it didn't
allow for the state-authorized research and distribution.

"We wouldn't support anything that decriminalizes marijuana," he said.

Sen. Dan Stevens, R-Mora, opposed the bill, saying it would send the wrong
message to the public about smoking in general. And an ophthalmologist
testified that there is no scientific evidence that marijuana relieves the
discomforts of glaucoma, despite broad claims to the contrary.

The bill may return to the same Senate committee for a hearing scheduled at
6:30 tonight.