NEW BILL ASKS STATE TO RETHINK PROP. 215

Rainey would limit medical marijuana

SACRAMENTO -- California voters would be asked to sharply restrict the use
of medical marijuana under a measure to be introduced in the state
Legislature today.

If approved by lawmakers and the voters, the new bill would restrict
medicinal pot to people suffering from HIV, cancer, glaucoma and "muscle
spasms associated with a chronic debilitating condition."

Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot measure approved by voters legalizing
medical marijuana, allows use of the drug for any condition "for which
marijuana provides relief," so long as a doctor recommends the drug.

Medical marijuana advocates have differed widely on the interpretation of
the current law, with some saying that pot could be used for almost
anything, and others saying it is limited only to extremely ill patients.

Sen. Richard Rainey, R-Walnut Creek, said he is introducing his bill in
order to "put some restrictions" on how medical marijuana is used.

"I think what we're doing is asking the voters to clarify what they wanted
to do," said Rainey, who opposed Prop. 215. "The voters were sympathetic to
people who needed to use marijuana for medical purposes. I don't think they
realized how wide open that initiative was."

Rainey's measure would also limit the use of medical marijuana to people
over 18 and would require a written, rather than an oral, recommendation by
a doctor.

Furthermore, only doctors licensed in California would be allowed to
recommend marijuana, and the definition of a "primary caregiver" would be
tightened. Under Prop. 215, caregivers are allowed to possess the drug.

Because the voters approved Prop. 215, they must also approve any changes.
If Rainey's measure were to clear the Legislature, it would then go to the
ballot, perhaps as early as November.

Officials at Americans for Medical Rights, the group that sponsored Prop.
215, could not be reached for comment.

An aide to Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, long an advocate of
legalizing medical marijuana, said he had not yet seen the details of
Rainey's bill and could not comment.

In 1995, Vasconcellos pushed through the Legislature a bill containing some
of the same provisions as the Rainey measure, only to have it vetoed by
Gov. Pete Wilson.

Aides to Wilson said the governor has not seen Rainey's bill and does not
yet have a position on it.

Vasconcellos has a bill pending in the Legislature that would create a
Marijuana Research Center run by the University of California to study the
medical effectiveness of the drug.