STATE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE TO KEEP TRYING

MONTGOMERY (AP) -- An Alabama legislator pushing for the legalization of
marijuana for medical purposes said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday
against medical marijuana statutes won't dissuade her.

Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, said she will be back with her bill because
she believes it gets around problems that the Supreme Court found with
medical marijuana laws in other states.

In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the Supreme Court said state laws can't defy the
federal Controlled Substances Act that makes marijuana illegal, and people
who smoke marijuana because their doctors recommend it to ease pain can be
prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.

The decision focused on California's law, but it affected similar laws in
nine other states.

In the session of the Legislature that ended in May, Hall proposed allowing
doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients with chronic or persistent
medical conditions ranging from AIDS to migraine headaches.

Homegrown Marijuana

Hall's bill originally was similar to California's by providing for
homegrown marijuana.

But with California's case pending before the nation's highest court, she
began to modify her bill.

The final version abandoned homegrown marijuana. Instead, it provided for
strict government control, with the marijuana being dispensed by
prescription through pharmacies, she said.

Hall's bill got approved by the House Judiciary Committee in the closing
days of the legislative session, but was never debated by the House.

She said she plans to bring it back when the Legislature's next regular
session begins in January.