MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW GETTING FURTHER THAN USUAL IN ILLINOIS

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --A proposal to legalize marijuana for medicinal
purposes is once again smoldering in the Illinois Legislature. This
time, opponents worry that it might actually catch fire.

Twin measures before the Illinois House and Senate would allow
patients to use marijuana to alleviate chronic pain and nausea when
other treatments have failed. The list of conditions includes cancer,
glaucoma, HIV-AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn's disease and Alzheimer's.

The medical marijuana debate comes to Springfield almost every year,
but Statehouse activity around the issue lately has been more
frenetic than usual. Earlier this month, one measure won House
committee approval for the first time. Last week, pro- and
anti-legalization activists -- including police officers opposed to
the plan -- packed into a Senate committee hearing where another
measure advanced on a 6-2 vote.

One reason for the heightened activity could be that state Sen. John
Cullerton, D-Chicago, a major proponent in the past, became Senate
president this year.

"That's a very big concern, absolutely," said Jeanie Lowe, an
anti-legalization activist who has been at the forefront of
Springfield's annual marijuana wars.

Lowe also questioned whether lawmakers facing a state budget deficit
might want to legalize marijuana so it could be taxed in the future.
"Seems like they tax anything that moves," Lowe said.

Also, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this month that
authorities would no longer prosecute federal marijuana violations
against people in compliance with state laws.

But for both sides in the Illinois debate, the main issue is whether
the medicinal benefits outweigh the potential dangers.

"I don't look at the medical marijuana bill as a bill about drugs; I
look at it as a bill about health care," said state Rep. Lou Lang,
D-Skokie, the bill's House sponsor. "Here's a way ... we can provide
a huge amount of relief of pain and suffering for people who live in
the state of Illinois."

State Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, sponsor of the Senate measure,
said legalizing marijuana for the seriously ill would prevent them
from "turning to the dark side" and going outside the law to get it.
Haine was formerly state's attorney of Madison County.

That argument doesn't persuade lawmakers like state Rep. Ron
Stephens, R-Highland, a social conservative and a pharmacist.
Stephens says the purported benefits of marijuana for controlling
nausea and increasing appetite can also be achieved with Marinol, a
prescription medication.

"If we pass a bill that allows individuals to grow and have what is
otherwise an illegal drug for the rest of the community, you're going
to see that the illegal use is going to expand," Stephens said.

In last week's Senate committee hearing, Illinois State Police Capt.
Mark Henry specifically cited a provision that would allow patients
to grow as many as seven marijuana plants at a time. Henry said seven
plants would produce more than 3,500 joints per year -- meaning a
patient would have to smoke about nine joints a day to use all the
marijuana grown. He said police worry that the surplus would end up
on the street.

The debate has extended beyond lobbyists and policymakers to patients
themselves, who have stood up on both sides of the issue.

Cancer patient James Ware said he smoked marijuana out of desperation
while undergoing chemotherapy when other medications, including
Marinol, did not help. "The medical use of marijuana was a godsend,"
Ware told the Senate panel last week.

The bills are HB2514 and SB1381.