PORTSMOUTH CANCER SURVIVOR RIPS GOV. LYNCH FOR VETO OF MEDICAL POT BILL

PORTSMOUTH -- Gov. John Lynch's veto of the medical marijuana bill
was met with mixed reactions locally.

In his veto message, Lynch said while "I have been open, and remain
open, to allowing tightly controlled usage of marijuana for
appropriate medical purposes," the "defects" in the bill that passed
with bipartisan support in the Legislature prevented his support.

"I have tremendous compassion for people who believe medical
marijuana will help alleviate the symptoms of serious illnesses and
the side effects of medical treatment," Lynch said. "But in making
laws, it is not enough to have an idea worthy of consideration. The
details of the legislation must also be right."

Lynch's reasoning did not convince a cancer survivor who ate
marijuana cookies to help her deal with the painful side effects of
chemotherapy more than a decade ago.

"I am angry and I think it's just crazy that we couldn't get this
bill passed," said Nancy Grossman of Portsmouth. "This bill couldn't
be tighter. I don't understand (Lynch's) position."

Grossman and other cancer survivors had met with aides of Lynch
recently to lobby for the bill, and she plans "on a busy summer" to
convince lawmakers to override Lynch's veto.

Rep. Trinka Russell, D-Stratham, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said
she was disappointed but not surprised by Lynch's veto because of his
previous concerns. But the veto has made Russell more determined to
get the bill right.

"I think it really bothers me when there are so many in pain who
would be helped by this," Russell said. "We will try again, because
it's important to me and it's a worthy cause. Sometimes the time
isn't right, and you need to be patient to get the right bill."

The medical marijuana bill -- which passed the Senate by a 14-10 vote
and 232-108 in the House -- allowed for small distributions of the
drug through so-called "compassion centers" to serve some 150
terminally ill and acute care patients per year. New Hampshire would
have been the 14th state in the country to allow some form of medical
marijuana distribution.

Lynch focused his veto message on potential abuses of distribution and use.

"Law enforcement officials have raised legitimate public safety
concerns regarding the cultivation and distribution of marijuana,"
Lynch said. "These concerns have not been adequately addressed in
this bill. Marijuana is an addictive drug that has the potential to
pose significant health dangers to its users, and it remains the most
widely abused illegal drug in this state."

Supporters said plenty of safeguards had been built in to limit
distribution. But opponents, such as Portsmouth Police Chief Michael
Magnant, had encouraged Lynch to veto the bill.

"Calling it medicine doesn't make it so," Magnant told the Herald.
"It's not FDA-approved, and there's no quality control. It leads to
higher drug use, and it impairs driving. I think it sends the wrong
message to our kids."

But Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, said the Legislature
"leaned over backwards to create the most focused law in the country"
- -- and that Lynch's concerns and those of law enforcement were
"ill-founded" and had been addressed.

"We should have policy in place that cares for our most vulnerable,
and that's what the legislation did," she said. "The reality is that
if a person wants to get marijuana, they can get it. I don't believe
we are going to see people taking advantage of people who are truly
ill. Sometimes, controversial legislation doesn't succeed the first
time. It takes a while to educate the public, policy makers and
leaders why it's the correct and appropriate thing to do."