LAWMAKERS CONSIDER MEDICAL MARIJUANA

NEWBURYPORT - Scott Mortimer uses marijuana to relieve crippling
lower back pain that has tortured him since he was a teenager,
following an operation to correct a spinal defect.

Muscle relaxants left Mortimer, 37, lethargic. Prescription pain
relievers, including opiates, caused severe stomach bleeding.
Grasping for an alternative, Mortimer began using marijuana in 1995.
Although the cannabis relieves his agony, he has taken on a new
burden: fear of arrest.

"You don't want to add legal problems to dealing with a serious
illness," Mortimer said. "I shouldn't have to break the law to get relief."

Mortimer's worries might end this year.

Massachusetts could become the fourth New England state to legalize
medical marijuana under a plan before state lawmakers.

On the heels of Rhode Island's recent approval of medical marijuana
use, lawmakers here are pushing a measure, with the support of some
Newburyport-area legislators, that would allow doctors to prescribe
marijuana. Backers say people who suffer from debilitating pain and
chronic diseases should be able to gain relief without fear of
arrest, something 11 states have approved.

But the initiative faces high hurdles. It is opposed by the Romney
administration. Local lawmakers, aware of the plague of opiate
addiction in the Merrimack Valley, want to ensure access to medical
marijuana is airtight. Also, marijuana use - even under a doctor's
care - is illegal under federal law, and the Supreme Court holds that
permissive state laws are trumped by the federal prohibition.

Under the Massachusetts proposal, authored by Brookline Democrat Rep.
Frank I. Smizik, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health would
certify patients using or growing marijuana, also called cannabis,
for medicinal purposes. The state would issue identification cards to
patients and also would designate a single caretaker who could handle
or grow marijuana for a disabled patient.

Patients would be limited in how much marijuana they could use and
grow. Doctors would be restricted in the types of afflictions they
could prescribe cannabis for, including HIV/AIDS, severe pain and
nausea, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.

Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien, D-Andover, whose district includes part of
Georgetown, is a co-sponsor of the bill and one of several North of
Boston lawmakers who have expressed support for the proposal. She
opposes legalizing marijuana for recreational use but thinks it can
help those with serious illnesses.

"I feel very strongly that there are people who have chronic
illnesses or pain for whom this seems to bring some measure of
relief, and they don't respond to alternatives for pain relief,"
L'Italien said. "Why wouldn't we want those folks to have relief and
some quality of life?"

L'Italien's argument resonates with many area legislators, especially
those who have family members or friends who have suffered from
long-term ailments.

For Rep. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, her mother's losing
battle with lung cancer cemented her support for legalized,
government-regulated, medical marijuana. Stanley said toward the end
of her life her mother might have found relief from marijuana.

State Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, said he would support the
bill if changes were made. He wants to see marijuana dispensed in a
controlled manner, similar to other prescribed drugs.

"I may have a problem if people are allowed to grow it," he said.
"The question is, where are you going to put controls on it- You
don't know if children can get at it."

The issue of decriminalizing marijuana - not just for medical
purposes - has been raised locally before.

In the 2002 election, voters in towns represented by Costello,
Stanley and L'Italien - including Newburyport, Amesbury, Georgetown,
Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury - backed a
non-binding ballot question to "decriminalize" marijuana. Advocates
want marijuana possession treated the same way as running a red
light, where a ticket is given to offenders.

The vote instructed Costello, Stanley and L'Italien to file
legislation to make marijuana possession a civil offense, and vote in
favor of it. None of them filed such a bill.

The debate over legalizing marijuana for medical use kicked up when
Rhode Island became the third New England state - along with Maine
and Vermont - to pass a medical marijuana law. The Rhode Island law,
passed over the governor's veto, lets people grow up to 12 marijuana
plants or buy 2.5 ounces. Medical marijuana users must register with
the state and get a photo identification card.

With the New England states, 11 states allow marijuana to be grown
and used for medicinal purposes. The other states are Alaska,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Even with the state laws, marijuana use and sale can be prosecuted
under federal law. The Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts says fear
of prosecution makes it difficult to know how many use marijuana to
cope with long-term pain and disease.