PANEL KILLS MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROPOSAL

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota isn't ready to legalize marijuana as a
medical treatment for severe and chronic pain, a legislative committee
decided.

The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 9-4 on Tuesday to
kill HB1127, which would have legalized limited use of marijuana to
treat symptoms of illnesses such as MS or the nausea that can
accompany chemotherapy treatments.

Supporters of the bill said marijuana relieves symptoms that other
drugs can't touch. But opponents said marijuana already is a major
law-enforcement problem and legalizing a medical version of the
substance would make that worse.

A veteran of the first Gulf War said she was exposed to chemical
weapons and has had chronic pain, as well as problems with her speech.
Valerie Hannah of Deerfield said she first tried marijuana for her
pain in 2001 and has been able to quit using morphine since then.

"Medical marijuana seems to have been the best pain and anxiety relief
I've received in the past 10 years," Hannah said.

She was a leader in an unsuccessful attempt in 2006 to pass an
initiated medical marijuana law. The measure failed by a 52-48 margin.

Randy Hartley of the South Dakota Public Safety Department said
legalizing marijuana for medical reasons would make it more difficult
for law officers to enforce laws against illegal forms of the drug.

"It would be difficult for officers in the fields to determine which
is usable and which is not," he said.

Hartley also said that the bill the panel killed would have allowed a
caregiver to have as much as 60 pounds to 300 pounds of marijuana a
year.

Patrick Lynch of Sioux Falls said he has used marijuana to ease
symptoms of MS and to counter aftereffects of other treatments for his
illness.

"By taking a few puffs after I take my shot, which is an injection, it
eliminates both the headaches and the nausea that go along with it,"
Lynch said. "I'm not a pothead. I'm a human being with a disease."

Charles McGuigan, chief deputy attorney general for South Dakota, said
his office is opposed to marijuana in any form.

McGuigan also said that even if South Dakota legalized medical
marijuana, users and caregivers could be charged by federal law officers.

"It will not provide any immunity to the people who are testifying
here today, because it will remain a federal crime," McGuigan said of
the proposed state law.

Bob Newland of Hermosa has been involved in attempts to legalize
medical marijuana in South Dakota for several years. He said that,
while the 2006 initiated law failed, it received a 48 percent positive
vote.

"When we have a vote in 2010, we will have a winning percentage,"
Newland said.

Asked where South Dakota people obtained marijuana for medical
treatments, Newland said some grow their own, others get it from
dealers working in the state.

"They get it from the same places anyone did whoever smoked
marijuana," he said.