LEGISLATURE '98

Tobacco, evolution, marijuana use discussed by legislators Associated Press
OLYMPIA -- If and when the tobacco industry coughs up billions of dollars
to settle damage claims from the states, Washington's share would help
finance health insurance for the working poor, under a measure pushed
Thursday by the House health care chairman.

"The premise for the claims is damage to health, so we don't want this
money going to the general fund" to be fought over by other interest
groups, Phil Dyer, R-Issaquah, said as his staff briefed the Health Care
Committee on HB2541.

The committee was reminded that Congress is considering a negotiated
settlement with 40 states, including Washington, for tobacco industry
payments over the next 25 years of more than $360 billion. Nobody knows for
sure, but Washington can expect somewhere around $100 million a year for
the next several years, staffers told the committee.

Meanwhile, Washington and other states are pursuing separate lawsuits
against the industry, claiming health-related damages from tobacco use.
Washington's lawsuit is scheduled for a September trial in King County
Superior Court.

Any damages collected from that action also would finance health care for
the working poor.

•Taking aim at Darwin's theory: Since no one was present when life first
appeared on Earth, a state senator says science textbooks in Washington
schools should be amended to indicate that human evolution is just a theory.

Sen. Harold Hochstatter, chairman of the Senate Education Committee,
introduced a bill this week that would insert "a message from the
Washington State Legislature" into science texts purchased with state money.

His proposed statement to clarify the issue begins:

"No one was present when life first appeared on Earth. Therefore, any
statement about life's origins should be considered as theory, not fact."

Terry Bergeson, the Democratic state schools superintendent, said she
wishes lawmakers who keep trying to tinker with education curricula would
instead focus on helping teachers implement reforms approved in recent years.

•Medical marijuana: A bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana
was offered by Sen. Jeanne Kohl as a narrower version of the ballot
initiative that was rejected by Washington voters last fall.

Senate Bill 6271 would provide legal immunity to patients who use
marijuana, physicians who recommend it and pharmacists who provide it. The
bill also would create a campaign to inform youth that marijuana use is
illegal, except in cases involving authorized use by seriously ill people
under a physician's care.

Although the measure is different from Initiative 685, prospects for
approval appear dim.

Copyright © 1997 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash.