MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS FACE DIFFICULT TASK OF FINDING DRUG

At the center of the labyrinth of issues around medical marijuana is
a snarled garden of Catch-22.

Certified patients in New Mexico can use it - but they have no way to
legally get it.

If they have a supply but end up in the hospital, nurses can't
administer the drug because it's against the law.

Earlier this year, the Legislature told the Department of Health to
find a way to produce and distribute medical marijuana - but to do so
would subject its employees to federal prosecution.

Gov. Bill Richardson told Attorney General Gary King to support the
Department of Health, but to do so would subject him to removal from
office under state law.

"It's a fairly complex situation," King said.

Since the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act was signed in April,
the issues have put the Attorney General's Office and the Health
Department in a bind, said Alfredo Vigil, secretary of the Department
of Health.

"We're going to continue the certification process for patients as
long as possible, but the whole distribution system - which was a way
we thought we could break new ground - has turned out to be a total
impossibility," Vigil said.

So far, about 30 people have been certified to use medical marijuana
in New Mexico, and applications are starting to slow down, Vigil said.

"We're ending up talking about a pretty small group of people," Vigil said.

Personally, King said he thinks the decision on use of medical
marijuana should be left to doctors and patients, but legally he
can't support state efforts to facilitate that process, he said.

"I can be removed from office if I act as a defense attorney for
anyone," King said.

Meanwhile, patients say they're glad the state has legalized their
possession of marijuana for medical purposes, but the legal wrangling
has left them wondering how to overcome the Catch-22 of getting the
drug, said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico.

"It's a very difficult situation right now," Szczepanski said. "The
Legislature wanted people to not have to go to drug dealers or grow their own."

A state-sponsored distribution system would relieve seriously sick
and dying patients from another hassle, Szczepanski said.

"It's difficult to grow, difficult to find," Szczepanski said.
"Patients don't want to have to think, 'Oh my gosh, I have to ask my
grandchild where to go and find marijuana.' "

Last week, the governor directed the Health Department to continue
planning for a distribution system, even with all the legal headaches.

But Vigil said he's not sure the problem will be solved unless the
federal government takes action.

"The only thing that could happen would be that Congress could
consider changing federal law in some shape or form to allow a
medical marijuana production process," Vigil said.

Richardson wrote a letter to President Bush last week asking him to
exempt the physicians and officials in states that legalize medical
marijuana from federal prosecution.

"At a time when the scourge of meth is coming across the border, and
cocaine and heroin use continues to ravage our communities, the
federal government should be cracking down on real criminals - not
people who are trying to help those in pain," Richardson said in the letter.

But that's not likely in the near future, King said.

"There seems to be very little clinical evidence that there's
therapeutic utility in smoking marijuana," King said. "I would think
the medical debate would need to be sharpened up before policy-makers
can come up with new policy."

For law enforcement, it's good news that the law has stopped the
state from producing marijuana. The general concern is that
legalizing medical marijuana is just a way for activists to begin the
process of legalizing the substance, said Bernalillo County Sheriff
Darren White.

"I've never supported medical marijuana," White said. "I'm very
sympathetic to the patients - I watched my father die of cancer, and
it's the most difficult thing in the world - but I don't think you
have to smoke marijuana to gain the comfort and relief that's
provided by the THC."

But Szczepanski said the issue of medical marijuana is not about
overall legalization - in the end it comes down to providing relief
for a handful of patients who see the drug as their only option.

"The reason I was passionate about working on the medical marijuana
bill was seeing the patients with these heartbreaking stories of
being impacted by pain, nausea," Szczepanski said. "Really, it's all
about helping them."