GLOUCESTER DELEGATE'S MARIJUANA BILLS VOTED DOWN

Testimony from a former police officer, a professor, and patients with HIV
and an artificial hip wasn't enough to sway lawmakers on a House
subcommittee Wednesday evening. Both of Del. Harvey Morgan's bills to
loosen restrictions on medical marijuana and reduce marijuana-related
penalities were voted down.

The Gloucester Republican' s first proposal, to decriminalize possession
of small amounts of the drug and reduce penalties for distributing certain
quantities, was voted down by committee members who disputed that it would
save the state money and said it eased the punishments dealt out to drug
dealers.

But his second bill, which would allow doctors to use marijuana to treat
more diseases, found more traction, including from the subcommittee's
chair, House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, who said he helped Morgan
draft the bill.

"I truly believe if we can use morphine and opiates and narcotics, we
ought to be able to use marijuana," he said.

The bill was voted down, but delegates said they would be open to a
proposal that named specific diseases that marijuana could be prescribed
to treat.