SPECTER FAVORS RX GRASS

Arlen Specter says he "may introduce legislation" in the Senate in favor of
medical marijuana.

The U.S. senator, who has long supported the use of human stem cells for
disease research, told Your Humble Narrator yesterday that he's in favor of
a state's right to decide whether to allow its doctors to prescribe marijuana.

Specter himself, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, could be a candidate
for medical marijuana use.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that federal agents could arrest
people who use doctor-prescribed marijuana in states that have authorized
it, including California and Oregon.

Medical research has proven the drug successful in reducing pain and nausea
in people with cancer and other diseases.

Specter's remarks to the Daily News came before a speech at the Loews Hotel
(12th & Market), where he was honored by the Philadelphia Bar Association.

He during his speech to beat his cancer. His spirits were up, and he joked
several times about the Bar Association medal, which disappeared after
rolling under a row of tables when it was to be handed to him.

The medal was later found by a Loews staffer and Bar Association Chancellor
Andrew Chirls presented it to Specter, none the worse for wear.