SENATE APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA

SANTA FE -- Senate President pro tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City,
said Tuesday that if he or a member of his family were critically ill
and needed marijuana to ease their suffering, he would find whatever
he could on the illegal market.

"If I was suffering and needed some help tomorrow, I would go out and
make every effort to get marijuana to help me and members of my
family," he said.

Under a bill passed Tuesday by the Senate, he wouldn't have to. On a
34-6 vote, the Senate approved a bill that would allow for the use of
marijuana by those suffering from critical illnesses, if approved by
a qualified practitioner.

The bill would create a new advisory board under the Department of
Health that would issue recommendations for registry cards for
qualified patients, determine an adequate amount of the drug and
develop a system for producing and distributing it.

The bill now moves over to the House, which must also give its
approval before it would be sent to Gov. Bill Richardson for his
signature. Those who opposed the bill said it would send the wrong
message to youngsters and would fly in the face of a Supreme Court
decision against a similar law in California.

Janet Redford, 75, of Farmington said she was concerned that if the
law passed, it would open the door for abuse of the substance. "I
truly don't know how some of these families deal with it," she said.
But those arguments were outweighed by those who said the drug would
save lives and help those in their final days have a better quality
of life. Local resident Brenda Purcell, 48, of Farmington, said, "I
do (support it) for cancer patients. If they say it's going to help
them, I'm for it." Sen. Diane Snyder, R-Albuquerque, drew from her
own experiences with the death of her father last year from
Parkinson's disease. She said he was so drugged up at the end that
she and her family felt they had been robbed of a chance to truly be
with him in his final days. She said those who used marijuana to ease
their pain did not lose their ability to communicate with family members.

"If you've ever seen pain like that, and I hadn't until then, you
will do anything you can to stop that pain," she said.

Sen. Tim Jennings, R-Roswell, talked about his experience in helping
his wife deal with breast cancer. He said that for those cancer
patients who are required to ingest chemotherapy drugs orally, the
ability to digest and keep those drugs down can be a matter of life
and death. Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal, was one of six senators to
vote against the bill. "My problem goes to the message we are sending
to the young people of our state," he said.

He noted that the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote last June, ruled
against the California law in Raich v. Gonzales.

Farmington Police Sgt. Dan Calkins said the department will stand by
the decisions made by the legislature.

"We elect officials to create laws," he said. "We can only enforce
the laws as a police department." Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque,
who sponsored the bill passed Tuesday, said that case was brought by
Angel Raich, a patient who had been growing marijuana under the California law.

"The federal government has never prosecuted anybody for using
medical marijuana," McSorley said.

Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, who along with being a senator is
also a medical doctor, said the controls the state would have under
this bill are greater than those for other prescription medication
such as codeine. He said a patient would only be allowed to used
medical marijuana if referred by a practitioner who is licensed to
prescribe narcotics, and then only with the approval of the new
board. Unlike the California law, patients would not be allowed to
grow their own marijuana. The state would be responsible for its
production and distribution. The bill would not allow those under the
influence of the drug to drive a vehicle and would prohibit its use
at schools, the workplace and other public areas.

"Anyone who wants to abuse marijuana will hate this bill, because it
in no way allows the abuse of anything," Komadina said. He noted that
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved marinol, a drug
that contains elements of cannabis, for use in treatment of those
suffering from critical diseases, but still claims that marijuana has
no medicinal use.

"You can't have it both ways," Komadina said. McSorley noted that New
Mexico allowed medical marijuana in the 1980s, but the program was
phased out due to lack of funding. The bill at that time was named
for Lynn Pierson, a Vietnam veteran who died of cancer. This bill
also carries Pierson's name, as well as Erin Armstrong, a young cancer victim.

She said she is hopeful the House will follow the Senate's lead.
"We're hoping that the House shows the same caring and consideration
and compassion that the Senate just did because we need it to stay
alive," added Essie DeBonet, 61. "Erin is on her way up. She's just
starting out. I am on my way out." The bill is SB258, and can be
found on the Internet at legis.state.nm.us

Walter Rubel can be reached at wrubel@lcsun-news.com.

Daily Times Reporters Ryan Hall and Rhys Saunders contributed to this report.