LAWMAKER SAYS MARIJUANA SHOULD BE ALLOWED FOR PTSD

DENVER - A state lawmaker wants veterans suffering from post traumatic
stress disorder to be able to use medical marijuana.

Sen. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, will try to amend proposed medical marijuana
regulations (House Bill 1284) to allow the practice during a committee
meeting Monday. The amendment would require people to get a
recommendation from a psychiatrist before they would qualify for
medical marijuana.

"Frankly, I think it's one small step to help our veterans," Pace
said.

The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project is backing Pace's
amendment as is Sensible Colorado, a patient advocacy group.

Sensible Colorado's executive director, Brian Vicente, said his group
gets calls from dozens of veterans each year asking if they can
qualify for medical marijuana.

The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote Monday on changes to
proposed regulations for people who grow and sell medical marijuana,
two weeks after the first public hearing on the rules.

Under the current proposal, dispensaries would be licensed and would
have to grow most of their own marijuana. Communities would also be
able to vote to ban dispensaries within their boundaries.

Dispensaries largely favor some kind of regulation to ensure they're
recognized as legal businesses but smaller shops fear only larger
operations will be able to meet the standards. Some patients say their
needs have been ignored in the rush to regulate the booming industry.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, argue that lawmakers don't have the power to
regulate dispensaries, which weren't mentioned in the medical
marijuana law passed by voters in 2000.

Another amendment to be considered Monday is whether to allow
home-based caregivers to serve up to 16 patients in communities which
vote to ban retail dispensaries.