PATIENTS CONTINUE PUSH TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN ILLINOIS

A few minutes of smoking marijuana give Ana DeVarose hours of relief
from the pain and nausea associated with multiple sclerosis so the
22-year-old Springfield woman doesn't have to take a handful of
prescription medicines every day.

But because using marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, is illegal
in Illinois, the availability of cannabis on the black market can be
spotty, its quality and contents often are unknown, and users risk
arrest.

"I don't want to be considered a criminal for something that is
healthy for me," DeVarose said. "I want to be out of pain. I just want
myself and other patients to have safe access to this. It has so many
beneficial medical effects for the body."

DeVarose is among Illinoisans with chronic health conditions who have
spent time lobbying state lawmakers, urging them to let Illinois join
14 other states, including California and New Jersey, that have made
"medical marijuana" legal.

The Illinois House adjourned Friday before acting on legislation
legalizing medical marijuana that has passed the Senate. But advocates
say they will continue to push for Senate Bill 1381, which they say
contains safeguards to prevent abuse of medical marijuana and criminal
involvement in growing and distributing the drug.

"We believe you're putting it in the hands of people interested in
being responsible citizens," said Brian Mueller, director of
Chicago-based Illinois Safe Access.

But opponents worry that the measure would lead to more illicit
marijuana use and say scientific evidence on the benefits of medical
marijuana is far from conclusive.

'Not Good for You'

"There's a lot of stuff in marijuana that's not good for you," said
Limey Nargelenas, a lobbyist for the Illinois Association of Chiefs of
Police.

It's also unclear whether the relief patients claim to receive from
marijuana is good for them in the long term, he said.

"It's like people taking meth," he said. "People feel a lot better
after ingesting methamphetamine."

Supporters of the bill say studies published in peer-reviewed journals
show that cannabis provides "medicinal relief" to patients with
cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Crone's disease.

But Dr. Eric Larson, a general internist at Seattle's Group Health
Research Institute and co-author of a 1999 Institute of Medicine
report on medical marijuana, said the studies are "pretty limited, and
they don't have adequate follow-up. Most of the science is pretty primitive."

Smoking marijuana can damage the lungs, he said, and it would be safer
if all of the beneficial chemical compounds in marijuana could be
adequately studied and refined into federally approved medicines that
could be "delivered safely and not so subject to abuse."

Larson said it's clear that medical marijuana has benefits, such as
easing nausea in certain cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. But
research on medical marijuana has been hindered by the federal
classification of marijuana as a "completely illegal drug," he said.

States' efforts to legalize medical marijuana are "not a good way to
make public policy," he said. "I wish the federal government would
re-examine its policies."

Advocates say legalization of medical marijuana would pave the way for
more research.

Possible Vote After Election

State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said last week that it appeared the
Illinois bill was a few votes short of the 60 required for passage in
the House. He said he won't call it for a vote unless he knows ahead
of time that the measure will pass.

He said he may call for a vote after the November election and before
newly elected lawmakers take office in January.

Many opponents point to problems in California, where a referendum in
1996 made medical marijuana legal. Lang and other advocates said the
Illinois legislation would have much stricter provisions on how
medical marijuana would be grown and sold and how patients would
qualify for "cards" authorizing them to buy it.

"California screwed this up," Lang said.

"What I have to overcome is the basic political calculation that many
of my colleagues take," he said. "Ultimately, this is a health-care
bill. It's not a bill about drugs. I'm here for people's health care
and pain. We should do this controlled piece of legislation ... to
help people."

DeVarose, a former server in a restaurant who is single and
unemployed, first experienced MS symptoms in 2008. She discovered in
January 2009 that marijuana relieved her extreme nausea, as well as
muscle spasms and shooting pains in her face and arms.

"It would instantly calm my stomach," she said. "This was the only
thing keeping the food down."

She said marijuana also helps to alleviate the muscle aches, chills
and fever that are side effects of injectable prescription drugs she
takes to slow the progression of MS.

Not High, Just Normal

DeVarose, who is uninsured and receives marijuana from friends who
foot the bill for it, said she no longer has to take a variety of
prescription pain medicines, one of which caused life-threatening side
effects.

"I'm not getting a euphoric high," she said. "I'm just feeling more
normal."

Dennis Garland, 61, of Chatham, a former parts manager at a local car
dealership who now receives federal disability benefits, said he wants
medical marijuana legalized because he smoked it three times to
relieve chronic pain in his back, hands and feet, and it "did wonders
for me."

"It doesn't stop the pain. It just stops it from being an
uncomfortable situation," he said, adding that the marijuana was a
gift from friends.

Garland said he can't afford the black-market rate for the type of
marijuana effective with his pain. It costs $450 to $600 an ounce, he
said.

The state legislation would allow him to grow marijuana plants, which
he said would be more affordable.

Garland said he takes morphine by prescription and hates it: "It
steals my life away. It turns me into a zombie. I'm lucky I can
remember my own name."

Garland has tried to convince Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, to
support medical marijuana. Bomke said his views on the subject have
softened somewhat after talking with Garland,.

Bomke Looks to Law Enforcement

However, Bomke still voted against SB 1381. He said he would feel more
comfortable voting for the legislation if law enforcement groups
supported it. Lang said the Illinois State Police, which had
originally opposed the bill, has changed its stance to neutral, but
that change couldn't be confirmed with ISP.

DeVarose has been unsuccessful in reaching Rep. Raymond Poe,
R-Springfield, who has said he fears legalization would allow medical
marijuana to "get into the wrong people's hands."

DeVarose lives with her grandparents, Karen and Butch DeVarose, who
oppose illicit drug use. The couple were against their granddaughter
using marijuana for her MS symptoms until they saw the effect on her
health.

"We are definitely for the medicinal marijuana now," said Karen
DeVarose, 59.

Ana DeVarose said lawmakers need to listen to people who have
experienced health benefits from smoking or ingesting marijuana.

"It's a matter of opening up the ears and having some compassion for
people like me," she said. "I'm a patient. Please help me."

[sidebars]

STATES THAT HAVE LEGALIZED MEDICAL MARIJUANA

The following states have enacted laws that legalized medical
marijuana: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada,
New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

All 14 states require proof of residency for someone to be considered
a "qualifying patient" for medical marijuana use. Home cultivation is
not allowed in New Jersey, which is finalizing rules and about to
launch its program.

Source: ProCon.org

ILLINOIS LEGISLATION

Senate Bill 1381 would allow a person to receive a "registry
identification card" to use marijuana for medicinal purposes if that
person has cancer, glaucoma, the AIDS virus, hepatitis C, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Crone's disease, Alzheimer's disease, nail patella
or another "chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition" that
produces wasting syndrome, seizures, severe muscle spasms or severe
nausea. The Illinois Department of Public Health also could approve
other conditions.

A patient wanting a card would need written certification from his or
her doctor saying the patient would be "likely to receive therapeutic
or palliative benefit from the medical use of cannabis." The bill
would set up a three-year pilot project that could result in several
thousand patients having access to medical marijuana.

Sources: Illinois General Assembly and Illinois Safe Access